You think your cages are predator proof....

[cookiesdaddy]

So I'm building a quail pen and trying to find an inexpensive way to lock the doors. Door frames will be on 1" x 1" strip so not much space to mount latch. Learning from DC's loss (sorry!) we know that hook-and-eye latch doesn't work. What do you think about these options:

1. Sliding bolt:



2. Or a combination of this - 2 eye hooks and a key clip to lock them together:




Do you think either of these 2 options will be sufficient against coons?

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For my chicken run I used this latch below with the key clip, but then I've been lazy not using the key clip anymore. Probably need to use it again. Coons and Possums always lurk around my backyard.


(all images are from Home Depot)

 

[dc3085]

I need to take a picture of one, but my brother in law bends these giant "safety pins" out of thick wire they look like a diaper pin from the days of cloth diapers. I'll try to get him to send me a pic tonight.

The latch you have on your chicken pen with a clasp on it would work good too I think, but I also thought the hook and latch with the spring lock would work..

 

[ThaJuicyJuice]

I use S hooks clamped on springs, Pull the tension pretty tight, and there's no budging. But I use all wire cages.

 

[dc3085]

My neighbor has this on his door. If your using wood so you can screw it in I think this would be pretty bullet proof.

 

[hometeamfla]

I know this is an old, old thread but had to join BYC just to reply to a couple of the moronic comments relating to killing possums and raccoons to protect your flock. You know how to protect your flock? Build them a proper home. We've had a little flock for I guess it's going on four years now with no losses to predators, and we live in an area heavily populated with many potential predators like raccoons and coyotes. Why did they survive? Not because we shot the other animals trying to survive on our property. Because we took just a little time to review how to properly build a coop to protect them from the beginning. Hardware cloth on a half inch grid, doors with LATCHES and carabiner clips just like one of the poster shows late in this thread.

Don't kill animals to protect animals... do your job and protect them with your design, effort and dollars. If you can't afford a tighter grid hardware cloth and think chicken wire is ok, don't bother getting chickens. They can and will be pulled right through the chicken wire, piece by piece. Inspect your work periodically... and put the guns away. You only need a gun if you're terrible at design and execution.