Something trying to get in my coop.

[toomanyjewels]

So I live in Massachusetts in a resident type area and I have a small flock of four chickens. My run and coop is sealed up with hardware cloth on the bottom of the run. So a few times I have notice the hardware cloth was lose , but still attached so I just added more staplers. Well yesterday the husband and I are building a frame to expand the run. So I moved one brick that was under my old run. Sure enough this morning I go out and find a pile of dirt on the new frame and it looks like something tried to dig under the run. I poked a long stick under there but nothing came out. Then I wedged a a piece of wood in the hole to close it up and put some bricks on top.I checked the run and the mysterious creature found the area of hardware cloth that is that going around a pipe and dug under it. My chickens were pecking around it. So I stuffed around the area around the pipe with more pieces of hardware cloth and wedged another layer of hardware cloth on top then added rocks. What do you think was trying to get in? Weasel ? Raccoon ? I have had chickens for a year and this is the first time I have had a problem with predators. Thanks for your input.

 

[Willowspirit]

Following.

 

[starri33]

So I live in Massachusetts in a resident type area and I have a small flock of four chickens. My run and coop is sealed up with hardware cloth on the bottom of the run. So a few times I have notice the hardware cloth was lose , but still attached so I just added more staplers. Well yesterday the husband and I are building a frame to expand the run. So I moved one brick that was under my old run. Sure enough this morning I go out and find a pile of dirt on the new frame and it looks like something tried to dig under the run. I poked a long stick under there but nothing came out. Then I wedges a a piece of weed in the hole to close it up and put some bricks on top.I checked the run and the mysterious creature found the area of hardware cloth that is that going around a pipe and dug under it. My chickens were pecking around it. So I stuffed around the area around the pipe with more pieces of hardware cloth and wedged another layer of hardware cloth on top then added rocks. What do you think was trying to get in? Weasel ? Raccoon ? I have had chickens for a year and this is the first time I have had a problem with predators. Thanks for your input.

Hi, you mentioned a pipe, can that pipe be moved? do you have a skirt around your coop/run ? I've got a skirt, 6 inches of hard ware cloth out from the edge of the run and then about 6 inch down in the ground.. could you see any paw prints? if you find some, maybe a picture of them might help in id'ing the predator. I do not have the skirting completely around my coop as my coop is a solid floor..

 

[21hens-incharge]

Sprinkling flour around the coop and run can reveal footprints.

Might be worth a try.

 

[toomanyjewels]

Hi, you mentioned a pipe, can that pipe be moved? do you have a skirt around your coop/run ? I've got a skirt, 6 inches of hard ware cloth out from the edge of the run and then about 6 inch down in the ground.. could you see any paw prints? if you find some, maybe a picture of them might help in id'ing the predator. I do not have the skirting completely around my coop as my coop is a solid floor..

So the pipe is deep into the ground. When i paid the hardware cloth down i cut the hold so it was pretty close to the pipe. The gape i left open between the pipe and hardware cloth was probably 3/4 of an inch. I did not see paw prints but it has been raining off and on. I will try and check for the prints in the am. Did you bury the hardware cloth in the ground for the skirt or did lay it on top of the grass? Thanks for your help.

 

[toomanyjewels]

Sprinkling flour around the coop and run can reveal footprints.

Might be worth a try.

Thanks for the tip.It is raining now but I will try that tomorrow when the rain stops.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Thanks for the tip.It is raining now but I will try that tomorrow when the rain stops.

I didn't know you were getting rain.

The flour works well in dry conditions. They step in it and leave a trail.
Not sure about wet conditions.....I live in the desert.

 

[starri33]

So the pipe is deep into the ground. When i paid the hardware cloth down i cut the hold so it was pretty close to the pipe. The gape i left open between the pipe and hardware cloth was probably 3/4 of an inch. I did not see paw prints but it has been raining off and on. I will try and check for the prints in the am. Did you bury the hardware cloth in the ground for the skirt or did lay it on top of the grass? Thanks for your help.

I've buried mine 6 down and 6 across, but I've seen it done where it was put on the ground and then they used the landscape material pins.. they look like over grown staples, you just hammer them into the ground to hold them down. over lap them at the corners and make sure you have them secured, as for that pipe? zip ties for holding the wire to it. Beyond mice that 3/4 of a inch gap shouldn't be a issue. I'm in AZ, we have coyotes, dogs and I don't know what else around that would love a chicken dinner. Knock on wood, I've had the bulk of my flock for about 3.5 years and not lost one to a predator, but I've had friends not far from me that have lost their entire flocks to coyotes.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

Raccoons are our most common visitors. To prevent animals from digging, we buried chicken wire in a moat around the coop, and then placed paver stones all around it. It's worked perfectly so far, we've been operating for about 6 years now.

 

[The Dapper Duck]

It could be a fox or skunk. They're both great diggers. I would bury that hardware cloth 6+inches deep and tightly around that pipe and the put some heavy, flat rocks on top so they can't be rolled off. You can use some 18ga bailing wire to 'sew' that harware cloth around the pipe and then twist it so everything is tight to the pipe. The way I have this pictured is the pipe is just in the way of the hardware cloth but the pipe itself isn't a pathway into the run. Correct? Pictures would help immensely.