They chew through hardware cloth?!?

[GrovesEdge]

First 24 hours as a chicken mama and loving it! My mom and I are excited to be doing this together.

Our girls are in an elevated henhouse with an attached run. This morning there was a hole in the hardware cloth leading into the run. Thankfully, they were safe in the henhouse. (See, ladies, you really did need to go in there!)

The chickens were here less than 12 hours, and we already have predators knocking. I’m stunned they were able to chew through 1/4” hardware cloth. What do you do when hardware cloth isn’t enough? We also have a skirt of hardware cloth extending 3’ out from the coop. Any suggestions for increasing our defenses?

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Where are you located? I think it's only the bad pests that go through hardware cloth like that, like weasels/minks, but I think rats (looks too big imo) or raccoons (looks too small maybe?) can also chew through it. I could be totally wrong, I live in a weasel-free area thank god but I am not super experienced with them other than you don't want them.

There was no attempts to chew/dig/claw or otherwise break into the coop though? Is there feed in the run? I'm so sorry this happened so fast, and your coop looks beautiful!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Interesting photo. That straight line across the top looks like it may be an area of weakness. Instead of something chewing through hardware cloth I'd expect something to tear it, similar to what happened in the attached thread. I don't know what part of the world you are in or what your potential predators are.

Dog Vs. Hardware cloth... | BackYard Chickens - Learn How to Raise Chickens

Any suggestions for increasing our defenses?

Patch that section of hardware cloth with other hardware cloth to keep small predators out. Then use a heavier wire mesh on top of it to keep larger predators out. I used a 2" x 4" welded wire mesh fencing but can't remember what gauge it was. Fairly heavy.

Your connections can be your weak point. Make sure it is firmly attached so they can't just pull it loose.

People can go years without a problem showing up. You got hit within 12 hours. That could have been something going after the chicken feed and not the chickens. That just shows how inconsistent this stuff can be. A motion activated game camera could be enlightening but I never got one.

 

[GrovesEdge]

Interesting photo. That straight line across the top looks like it may be an area of weakness. Instead of something chewing through hardware cloth I'd expect something to tear it, similar to what happened in the attached thread. I don't know what part of the world you are in or what your potential predators are.

Dog Vs. Hardware cloth... | BackYard Chickens - Learn How to Raise Chickens



Patch that section of hardware cloth with other hardware cloth to keep small predators out. Then use a heavier wire mesh on top of it to keep larger predators out. I used a 2" x 4" welded wire mesh fencing but can't remember what gauge it was. Fairly heavy.

Your connections can be your weak point. Make sure it is firmly attached so they can't just pull it loose.

People can go years without a problem showing up. You got hit within 12 hours. That could have been something going after the chicken feed and not the chickens. That just shows how inconsistent this stuff can be. A motion activated game camera could be enlightening but I never got one.

Thank you for the ideas!

The lady we got the chickens from warned us to pick up any leftover feed before closing them up for the night. The right half of the coop is actually storage. We do keep their feed out there in a metal feed bucket with a latched lid. Do you think that would be a problem?

 

[McChooky]

The 16 gauge hardware cloth is thicker than 1/4" and is stronger. I don't think the 1/4" mesh comes in 16 gauge but I could be wrong.The higher the gauge the weaker the wire.

 

[StinkyAcres]

I would cover at least the lower half of the run walls with a thicker wire ASAP.

As @McChooky mentioned, 1/4" hardware cloth is made of thin wire (usually 23 gauge) and the welds aren't as strong. That's why we recommend 1/2" hardware cloth - even though the openings are larger you can get it in a thicker gauge (19 gauge is what I get).

 

[StinkyAcres]

Your connections can be your weak point. Make sure it is firmly attached so they can't just pull it loose.

I just looked closely at the photos and it appears the hardware cloth is only stapled to the run walls. Reinforcing with screws and washers will make it much less likely to come loose.

 

[GrovesEdge]

I just looked closely at the photos and it appears the hardware cloth is only stapled to the run walls. Reinforcing with screws and washers will make it much less likely to come loose.

Agreed! The hole was in the middle of the piece, but under that was a section where some staples had been popped off. It has stopped raining here, so I’m off to shore things up! Thanks for the input!