What predator can rip through hardware cloth like this?

[mountainbunny]

Yeah I had considered maybe a bear but I've never seen any around here.

 

[Red5]

Quote:
I know my bird dog could do that if committed to the cause. Thank you for re-posting this thread. I'm looking forward to learning some things myself and have, as I also use hardware cloth

 

[MTchicklady]

Definitely a dog, I had an attack last year on my portable coop and they pulled out welded wire panels which had been screwed in and covered with trim. My tax return is buying poultry electric fencing and I'm booking that into hw cloth around the windows n bottom of the coop.

 

[Western North Carolina]

[QUOTE="mountainbunny, post: 18044852, member: 427401" All my chickens are safe and secure and only free range with human supervision due to the large population of hawks about. [/QUOTE]

FYI, a hawk will grab your chicken 3 feet from your face. Doesn't matter if you supervise. They are fast. I had to literally swat at one several times to get it to back off and chicken was at my feet. Was insane. I used to think they'd be fine with supervision also. Not after that experience!!

 

[Blacksmith]

No one has brought up coyotes. Can they get through HC? My catico is HC so a little concerned.
For our run we are using 16 gage 1/2" galvanized after wire fencing not HC. GAW is hard to find so bought it out of state. Expensive but galvanized before lasts about 5 years and after 20 years.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Im on my phone trying to do this, so hopefully I will get the picture to work!

A bear will tear HC to shreds if its determined enough. So its doubtful that it would have stopped after achieving some success like that.
That looks more like a dog or coyote.

 

[aart]

Old thread alert.

 

[Mtnboomer]

No one has brought up coyotes. Can they get through HC? My catico is HC so a little concerned.
For our run we are using 16 gage 1/2" galvanized after wire fencing not HC. GAW is hard to find so bought it out of state. Expensive but galvanized before lasts about 5 years and after 20 years.

They can. The success of most defense systems relys on the predators losing interest. A coyote will often test multiple locations for weak spots. If they find one, thats where they concentrate their efforts. A determined yote can cause damage just like what was photographed on this thread. If not repaired between visits, it will return to try again. But most give up if they cant find easier access.
A bear is a prime example. A bear can break into your house or car so a chicken coop or run is but a nuisance to a determined bear. But if you make it as difficult as possible, most will lose interest and move on before there is a total breech.