Something is digging around my run............and keeps coming back! What can it be?

[laurieshiloh]

I have something digging around my run. I have hardware cloth buried with dirt on top, then weed block, then mulch. For the past 3 days I have found several freshly dug holes around the run.
Whatever it is, hits the weed block, rips through that but stops before hitting the hardware cloth. It then moves down about a foot and tries a different spot but it's right up near the run (not out where the hardware cloth ends). I have no idea what it could be............but I'm worried. I built this run like Fort Knox but would like to know what it could be. Any ideas?

 

[Habibs Hens]

RATS

 

[laurieshiloh]

Yikes!!! That's the last thing I would have thought. I don't think I've ever seen any rats here and I work in the City so I definitely know what rats looks like.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Dogs dig- how big are the holes? Rat size or dog size?

Rats will definitely dig, and so will dogs (coyotes and domesticated dogs).

 

[laurieshiloh]

This is a pic of where the digging is. That weedblock was up to the fence. I have hardware cloth buried about 6" under the dirt.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

If I saw that in my yard I'd think it was a dog, but I am not 100% of course. You could put up a game cam and see what drifts by!

 

[kartking22]

You need to make a small place where you can determine what is coming around. I see that you have wood chips all around which doesn't leave any prints. From the pics that you show, the diggers are bigger than a rat. Make a sand pit close to where they are digging. You can then get foot prints of your predator and deal with them accordingly.

 

[Peytons Poultry]

I think the best solution is to put chicken wire horizontally on the ground along the outer sides of your coop/pen, and keep it down with landscaping staples (found at Lowes). This will prevent digging. Good luck

 

[laurieshiloh]

Thanks for the replies. I will put some sand down to try to get some tracks...I didn't think of that. I have hardware cloth horizontally underneath. I think that's what stops them from going any deeper.