What varmint did this to my coop?

[stewartlake]

Hi folks,

I'm new here posting, but have been reading the forums for a while.

Can anyone tell me what varmint did this to my coop last night? That 4x4 in the top picture was pushed aside so something could dig under the coop.

Chickens (6 2.5-month-old Golden Comet pullets) are all fine. Appreciate all opinions, and all suggestions on what to do to protect the chooks.

 

[BlackBart]

I don't know where you live but if that happened where I live, I would say Raccoon.

 

[stewartlake]

Thanks, Bart, that would be my first guess, too -- I live on a small lake in southwest Michigan, and we're pretty far out in the woods.

So what do I do to protect the chickens? Obviously that hole has to be repaired.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Erect some electric fencing about that height. The nice thing about electric fencing is that it is more of a mental barrier than physical. For something to do that much digging or damage, it needs time, but when it's getting shocked, it's hard for any animal to damage the coop as such.

An electric fence isn't to protect the chickens. An electric fence is to protect the physical barriers protecting the chickens.

Unless you have a bear, I doubt the dog or coon that did it could/would have done that damage with a couple of strands of wire in the way.

-Kim

 

[mtnhomechick]

coon or dog?

 

[posey]

Coon is my guess. They can be truly aggressive and relentless. We know of one that wanted in a house so badly that it ripped the corner of the house away.

Sheet tin or metal that comes in a roll could be nailed along the bottom of the outside walls. Sort of like a kick plate only the whole way around. My hubby also used it to cover the boards of the floor inside the coop, in case they ever got that far. I would also put a buried fencing, like hardware cloth, around the coop area and down into the ground about a foot.

Just some thoughts.

 

[mediazeal]

I would repair the wood, then staple up some hardware cloth at least the bottom 3 feet, maybe 4.
Then I would run an electric wire or a few, around the whole thing.
Really glad your coop held up this time!!!

 

[archerobx]

agree with posey.

 

[Boyd]

me2. Coon!!! ps,

 

[nzpouter]

set a live trap and find out...