Something gnawed at and bent chain link fence last night

[SavageChicken]

Hello again everyone,

Although we raised chickens when I was a child, it has been years and all new to me again now that I have only recently acquired hens at my ripe old age. So, I apologize in advance here for posting so many questions, but I do have a new one to post this evening. This morning while opening up the coop, I noticed that something had tried to gnaw its way into the chicken area. We have a coop surrounded by a chain-linked fence - we call it "Beak Barracks" because it's basically a fortress erected around the coop. Anyway, whatever tried to gnaw it's way in made a serious attempt by bending the links. I am at a loss as to what creature may have done this, as I didn't think a racoon would have such force in its bite. We've now reinforced the fence by adding an inner hardware mesh, but I am wondering if anyone else has had this experience of something trying to bite its way into a chain link fence - can a racoon do this?

 

[CapricornFarm]

Where are you? I would think a bear or possibly a very strong dog. Coons, not likely.

 

[SavageChicken]

Where are you? I would think a bear or possibly a very strong dog. Coons, not likely.

Hi Capricorn, I live in a suburb of Minnesota. We get a lot of deer, we've trapped two ground hogs and one coon over the years, and I saw one fox in our yard two years ago. We have houses surrounding us, and I don't think we have any bear in the area at least that I know of. I took the heavy pliers and bent the links back into place, and it took a lot of force for me to do this, so I am a bit freaked out what animal could have done this.

 

[CapricornFarm]

You might want to investigate putting a hot wire around your fortress. I am thinking that is what i am going to have to do because i know there is a bear with a cub here. I am getting guinea keets in mid July, and after they come out of the brooder they will go into the coop i will be building. And it will be a sturdy one! Good luck keeping yours safe.

 

[SavageChicken]

Good grief, Capricorn. You had me wondering about a bear, so I just did a search for any bear sightings in our city - sure enough, there have been several recent bear sightings as close as five miles away from us (the next town over from us.) I've never seen a bear around these parts, so this is a bit of a shock to think this may possibly be the creature that made the attempt some time last night.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Yeah, bears are making a come back. My husband saw a sow in our driveway with a baby! The bear was a young one, pretty small , so he figured it is her first cub. She saw my husband and ran off without the cub! Mostly chain link holds up to dogs, so i was thinking bigger in your circumstance . For sure, when i get goats, they are going to be inside at night.

 

[SavageChicken]

Wow, thank you for providing me with the info on bears. After getting the coop and fence all built, it's a disappointment to think that now I may have to wire it all up with an electrical wire to boot. Good luck with your guineas as well!

 

[RUNuts]

Our dogs have chewed or pulled chain link away from the poles enough to get out. So a medium dog will bend chain link. The big dogs made a small hole and the Chihuahua escaped and met us in the driveway. So dogs probably could have done what you described. I had to reinforce the gate to keep the Chihuahua in.

Best wishes.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Either way, a hot wire is a good deterrent. I did mention the possibility of dogs in my first post. If it is a bear, bear spray for personal protection might be a good option. Check around the property for tracks, and maybe make some mud puddles around the coop so you will have tracks if the critter comes back.

 

[SavageChicken]

Either way, a hot wire is a good deterrent. I did mention the possibility of dogs in my first post. If it is a bear, bear spray for personal protection might be a good option. Check around the property for tracks, and maybe make some mud puddles around the coop so you will have tracks if the critter comes back.

It's funny that you mention the mud puddles. I just came back from outside after throwing a pile of wet garden soil around the area where this thing tried to break in. I am going to check in the morning to see if there are any tracks to help me identify what it is.