what chews through plywood?

[6of6chicks]

I tried searching the forum but didn't find anything quite like my experience, so I thought I'd throw this out there and see if anyone else had this happen. Something tried to chew through the plywood doors to the coop. The two back doors to the coop are 1 1/2 feet wide each (so 3 ft. across total) and the coop is built two feet off the ground. Luckily when I built the coop I cut the doors so that they extend down over the coop frame about 4 inches, so when whatever was chewing got through the door it then ran into the frame and gave up. But it was managed to gauge out 1/2"-1" x 1"-3" chunks. Had I built the doors to sit flush with the frame (as I originally thought I would), whatever was chewing would have had a nice little hole right into the coop.

I'm brand new to chickens - my 6 Buff Orpingtons are five weeks old today. I live south of Houston and it has been really hot so far this year, so when my girls were 2 weeks old I moved them out of the cardboard box in my house and into the coop, and continued brooding them there. It worked out really well and they are thriving. I did a TON of reading and researching BEFORE building my $900 chicken prison, but my focus was on securing windows & ventilation to deal with extreme heat and predators. It never occurred to me that something would try to chew through the plywood!!! I now have 1/2 in. hardware cloth covering the doors, and whatever it was doesn't appear to have come back.

Just curious if anyone else has had something chew through plywood? I live in a rural area, so the only culprit I am sure that did NOT do it is my dog (she's inside with me at night). But I have all the other usual suspects - raccoons, possums, skunks, rats, etc.

Thanks for the help. I'm mainly just curious, counting my lucky stars, and learning as I go!

 

[huntseat]

Usually around a farm the thing that chews the most plywood is a horse, but in your case I'm thinking rat or mouse.

Did the hole have any scratches around it? Any hairs stuck in the wood? If you find hairs you might try and see if your vet will try to ID them.

Pictures of the damage might help us in the ID.

 

[6of6chicks]

I had some trouble getting the pic to load, so hopefully it comes up okay. This is the bottom of the left-side back door of the coop. Underneath that is the frame of the coop. I built the coop two feet off the ground, then covered the frame with hardware cloth to give additional space to the run area.

I patched the door and put hardware cloth over both doors (with the cloth extending down several inches past the bottom of the door). So far nothing has come back, and there hasn't been any other evidence of something trying to get into the coop or run. I didn't find any hair or any other critter evidence. The coop sits on the corner of the concrete carport (with the run extending out into the yard), so unfortunately no footprints.

Thankfully the base of the coop is super-thick. I was using free recycled 4x6 beams & several layers of plywood, so I don't think I have to worry about anything chewing from underneath (knock on wood). Hopefully the door was just a weak spot (?) and nothing will try to go through the walls of the coop?? The vents are all large (Houston summer heat), but have an inner layer of 1/4 inch hardware cloth, outer layer of 1/2 inch hardware cloth (added due to paranoia), and all have either removable plywood panels or plywood covers on hinges to close them up at night. Am I just super paranoid, or in other people's experience are predators THAT determined? I have exactly 5 weeks of chicken experience, so in other words, just hatched myself! All help is welcome!

 

[huntseat]

Basically if a critter is hungry they go for the easiest thing to eat. Have you had any problems with your trash cans lately?

If you paint it with a "chew stop" (equine) type product that might deter the critter from this point of entry or you can make your own pepper sauce paint with any scary hot stuff from the store. Mice won't chew through metal flashing so that is a good patch material.

You might try the red blinking lights that scare off predators or place the coop close enough to your house that your outside lights cover the area. Use your dog as protection or alarm if you can. Leave the dog out even if staked away from the coop.

Another predator deterrent is urine (yours/dog/wolf) can really scare them off just by the scent of a meat-eater. Spray around the yard area.

When in doubt a handy trail cam will usually answer your questions in a few nights.

Best of luck.

 

[The Lazy L]

Coon.

 

[ChickenRisa]

I was thinking rats at first but after seeing the pic I agree with raccoon. I think rats tend to be neater chewers than that in my experience. He probably tries for a while because he smelled the chickens but then gave up when it was too hard. Sounds like your coop is pretty secure to me!

 

[petrel]

I agree with the raccoon diagnosis. Check your fortifications and set some traps. Good luck.

 

[NEChickenNoob]

That's some hefty scratching/chewing. It was basically ripping off chucks. I would think racoon too, but I wouldn't rule out coyotes, fox or a stray dog. Canine are very determined diggers and chewers. I personally have never witnessed a coon trying to will is way into something so hard, I have seen dogs chew out a hole in a log to get at it's prey.

 

[6of6chicks]

Thanks everyone for the diagnosis. It was just such a shock to come out in the morning and see that something had attacked my coop! It's one thing to read all about predators, but then to know something was in MY yard trying to eat MY baby girls was traumatic - and just a week after they had moved into their coop! I know that probably sounds so naïve - after all, I live in a rural area and deal with wildlife all the time. I guess I just didn't realize how attached I already was to my girls!

My best guess is raccoon as well, especially since I've trapped them in the yard before. I don't think it's a dog - ONLY because a few months ago I had a lot of trouble with my neighbor's roaming dog. I had to repair the fence three times (very annoying) because he was determined to get in, and after the last time I did some serious work to fortify it. Plus, last week my neighbor drove over and told me that same dog got into his coop and killed off all of his chickens, so the dog is now chained up. Usually my dog will alert me to strays (we have a serious problem of people dumping their dogs out here). But then again, you never know!

So I'm setting the traps, doing another sweep of the fence line, and thinking about getting one of those predator lights (the red ones?) that I've seen mentioned.

Isn't it so funny how attached you can get to those little balls of fluff! I went from being a nice, gentle person to someone who wants to stand guard at night with a shotgun!!

Thank you again!

 

[NEChickenNoob]

Thanks everyone for the diagnosis. It was just such a shock to come out in the morning and see that something had attacked my coop! It's one thing to read all about predators, but then to know something was in MY yard trying to eat MY baby girls was traumatic - and just a week after they had moved into their coop! I know that probably sounds so naïve - after all, I live in a rural area and deal with wildlife all the time. I guess I just didn't realize how attached I already was to my girls!

My best guess is raccoon as well, especially since I've trapped them in the yard before. I don't think it's a dog - ONLY because a few months ago I had a lot of trouble with my neighbor's roaming dog. I had to repair the fence three times (very annoying) because he was determined to get in, and after the last time I did some serious work to fortify it. Plus, last week my neighbor drove over and told me that same dog got into his coop and killed off all of his chickens, so the dog is now chained up. Usually my dog will alert me to strays (we have a serious problem of people dumping their dogs out here). But then again, you never know!

So I'm setting the traps, doing another sweep of the fence line, and thinking about getting one of those predator lights (the red ones?) that I've seen mentioned.

Isn't it so funny how attached you can get to those little balls of fluff! I went from being a nice, gentle person to someone who wants to stand guard at night with a shotgun!!

Thank you again!

It's natural responsibility. When something relies on you for safety and you care for it, you develop a bond and will fiercely protect it. Especially, the symbiotic relationship we have with our chickens adds much too this not to mention they are mostly helpless to predators. I have been hard wired this way a long time from growing up in the sticks. Feel the same way about my family and friends.