What is ravaging my chicken yard???

[Snellchicks]

I've got a problem!! We have a "bird dog" so we built an additional fence around the chicken yard. The eagles across the road nested and doubled in population so I put a net over the chicken yard. We had raccoons so I put chicken wire at the bottom of the wood fence. Now I've got ?rodents? tunneling under the yard and the coop and cleaning out the feeder!! The chicken yard "caves" in every time I step onto it. The droppings are huge so if it's a rat, he is ginormous!! What is the best way to solve this????

 

[aart]

Post pics of tunnel holes and droppings with something for scale...
......or google poop, there are several sites that have excellent pics to help ID your pest...
.....then read up on how to eliminate what animal you're dealing with.

Posting your location in you profile will help folks advise you.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum. Glad you joined us.

Yeah, I have no idea where you are located so I don’t know what animals you might have. Just visit your profile and put in a rough location. That really does help us.

There could be many different things going in. It may be a groundhog has tunneled in. It may be gophers or even chipmunks. Those tunnels under your run could be moles or voles and their tunnels are just a pathway for something else that eats the feed.

Aart gave good advice. Do a search on animal droppings to get an idea what you are dealing with.

Good luck and once again, welcome.

 

[Snellchicks]

Thank you!! I am in Washington State. The west side of the state, so between the ocean and farmland! We have had moles in the front yard and I'm very familiar with their "digging pattern". I will try to get some pics!

 

[Snellchicks]

I figured it out!! The biggest rats I've ever seen. We put out some bait traps and within a day I started finding dead rats!