I came home yesterday to find that something had started to dig under my run fence. The "something" had started a hole, abandoned it, started another, abandoned it, etc. Each hole had successfully reached the inside of the run, but was only maybe 1-2 inches in diameter and the claw marks were fresh-looking enough that it seems the "something" hadn't even tried to get its head through the hole and into the run.
The "something" hadn't run into rocks or anything else that would have prevented the hole from being made bigger. No paw prints were left. The claws were rather close together. If it were a dog, it would have been the size of a small terrier - like a rat terrier or a Jack Russel. But dogs like that have enough determination to keep digging in one spot until they succeed, in my experience. What about a stray cat? Would a cat have given up on a hole and started another? Fox? Raccoon? (But I think a raccon would have just unlocked the gate...)
My chickens were spooked but not injured. A little more flighty than usual for the rest of the day, that's all.
Any thoughts on what it could have been? We have all the standard suburban predators here - dogs, cats, foxes, raccoon. (And yes the run is now more fortified to prevent digging along the fenceline.) Thanks in advance!
The "something" hadn't run into rocks or anything else that would have prevented the hole from being made bigger. No paw prints were left. The claws were rather close together. If it were a dog, it would have been the size of a small terrier - like a rat terrier or a Jack Russel. But dogs like that have enough determination to keep digging in one spot until they succeed, in my experience. What about a stray cat? Would a cat have given up on a hole and started another? Fox? Raccoon? (But I think a raccon would have just unlocked the gate...)
My chickens were spooked but not injured. A little more flighty than usual for the rest of the day, that's all.
Any thoughts on what it could have been? We have all the standard suburban predators here - dogs, cats, foxes, raccoon. (And yes the run is now more fortified to prevent digging along the fenceline.) Thanks in advance!