So frustrated

[jbahros]

Ooh I am so frustrated. I went out to my predator proof converted dog kennel 12 x 12 with my coop centrally placed. My 4 week old chicks are in the brooder now with no heat lamp, temp 68, draft free. I was contemplating putting them into their pen and coop this week when I saw a large hole entering into the inside of the pen. The diameter of the hole was the size of a grapefruit. It enters in the ground at the outer border of the wall. I have lined the pen with hardware cloth: walls, under roof, and 2 ft around perimeter. I did not dig down into the earth but played it on top and secured with landscape staples. What kind of animal do you think did this? Im guessing the solution is digging down and placing the hardware cloth into the earth 6-12 inches. Please help. I would be heart broken if something got my chicks.

Thank you very much,

Jessica

 

[CrazyCrttr75]

Yeah, it is always recommended to dig down around the perimeter and line with hardware cloth. So many different animals can dig and it is a great deterrent. Is better to be safe than sorry. I don't know what animal it could be but so glad that this happened before you placed your babies out there and you caught it. Best of luck to you!

 

[jbahros]

Hey CrazyCrttr75!

Thank you so much for your lightening quick response. I appreciate your help. I will get back out there with my shovel and dig down a foot to put vertical HC. Yes you are right better that it happened now and not later.

Thank you so much!

Jessica

 

[CrazyCrttr75]

Hey CrazyCrttr75!

Thank you so much for your lightening quick response. I appreciate your help. I will get back out there with my shovel and dig down a foot to put vertical HC. Yes you are right better that it happened now and not later.

Thank you so much!

Jessica

You are very welcome!

 

[cmom]

Ooh I am so frustrated. I went out to my predator proof converted dog kennel 12 x 12 with my coop centrally placed. My 4 week old chicks are in the brooder now with no heat lamp, temp 68, draft free. I was contemplating putting them into their pen and coop this week when I saw a large hole entering into the inside of the pen. The diameter of the hole was the size of a grapefruit. It enters in the ground at the outer border of the wall. I have lined the pen with hardware cloth: walls, under roof, and 2 ft around perimeter. I did not dig down into the earth but played it on top and secured with landscape staples. What kind of animal do you think did this? Im guessing the solution is digging down and placing the hardware cloth into the earth 6-12 inches. Please help. I would be heart broken if something got my chicks.

Thank you very much,

Jessica

Many chicken owners put an apron around the perimeter of their run/pen. I have electric wire around mine. I do have some places where I dug a trench around a foot deep under the fence and put some welded wire in it and attached it to the bottom of the fence.
This piece I used cable ties but in other places I used hog rings and hog ringed the wire to the bottom of the fence.

 

[jbahros]

Many chicken owners put an apron around the perimeter of their run/pen. I have electric wire around mine. I do have some places where I dug a trench around a foot deep under the fence and put some welded wire in it and attached it to the bottom of the fence.
This piece I used cable ties but in other places I used hog rings and hog ringed the wire to the bottom of the fence.
View attachment 2159496

Thank you so much will do!

Jessica

 

[aart]

The diameter of the hole was the size of a grapefruit. It enters in the ground at the outer border of the wall. I have lined the pen with hardware cloth: walls, under roof, and 2 ft around perimeter.

Pics?
Hole started outside the 2' apron?
How far in did the hole go?
Stick a stick or garden hose down there.

 

[jbahros]

I finally saw that the hole started10 yards away from pen, then into pen near wall,, then up to 2 foot apron around the outside perimeter and then I think it turned around. Since all this I took your advice and dug a trench inside the perimeter of pen and put 9 inches of vertical hardware cloth then backfilled over. The chicks went out today for the first time for 2 hours because it was warm 81 F. I gave then some cracked corn but they did not eat it so I am hoping it will serve to bait any intruders. If I still have holes then I guess I will have to line the floor with hardware cloth and then cover with soil and wood chips. It is a lot of work!

 

[jbahros]

I caught the culprit!! It was a gray squirrel. I don't they are harmful to chickens right?

 

[jbahros]

The only way I see to avoid this would be to put hardware cloth along the entire bottom of the pen which would be so expensive and time consuming.