Run In Hardware Cloth....Raccoon?

[misskes]

I went to lock the chickens up tonight after work and noticed this run in the hardware cloth. It definitely was not there before. Could this have been a raccoon or is my cloth defective?

Edit: I know it's hard to tell but this is close to the ground. High enough the chickens couldn't have done it but not so high another animal couldn't have.

 

[Kiki]

Looks like something broke it to me.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

If it wasn't there before, then something had to do it. That being said, I've found runs like that sometimes in hardware cloth straight off the roll. I suspect something pawed at a weak section. I'd just patch it with a scrap piece of HW cloth (I use outdoor/UV rated zip ties), and keep an eye out for other signs of activity/interest by predators.

 

[Birdinhand]

mama racoons often get run down and super hungry feeding their kits in the late spring/summer. I'd try and mend that hole so they don't think they are making progress. out of curiosity, what gauge is that hardware cloth?

 

[centrarchid]

Insufficient evidence to distinguish between animal or workmanship as the cause.

 

[misskes]

If it wasn't there before, then something had to do it.

LOL that is very true.

 

[misskes]

mama racoons often get run down and super hungry feeding their kits in the late spring/summer. I'd try and mend that hole so they don't think they are making progress. out of curiosity, what gauge is that hardware cloth?

I have no idea the gauge. I already threw away the box it came in. I'll definitely be covering that section up today.

 

[misskes]

Insufficient evidence to distinguish between animal or workmanship as the cause.

That's kind of how I feel too. I'm hoping it's just a defect in the cloth that somehow "snapped" or something. I'm very unfamiliar with hardware cloth.

 

[lazy gardener]

If you have a predator who has broken that wire in one place, he will be back, and can break the wire elsewhere. I once caught a large coon in a live trap. The coon was so big that we took off the end of the trap and enlarged it with hardware cloth. The construction was sturdy. That coon, when he was caught in the trap totally shredded that hardware cloth after rolling that trap about 40' across the lawn. You might consider putting a couple hot wires around your coop/run.

 

[Birdinhand]

If you have a predator who has broken that wire in one place, he will be back, and can break the wire elsewhere. I once caught a large coon in a live trap. The coon was so big that we took off the end of the trap and enlarged it with hardware cloth. The construction was sturdy. That coon, when he was caught in the trap totally shredded that hardware cloth after rolling that trap about 40' across the lawn. You might consider putting a couple hot wires around your coop/run.

i'm curious if others have experienced coons tearing up hardware cloth just for food. I've seen it when they are caught or separated from their young but not to get into a coop. it causes severe damage to their paws and is typically an act of desperation.