Can a raccoon break single pane glass!?

[Wink]

Building an elevated playhouse coop....my husband salvaged the upper half of a Dutch door created with 2x4's and three separate panes of glass. I turned this door on the side to use as the back wall of the coop leading into the enclosed run.

I left two panes of glass and removed the third (imagine 3 separate rectangles, with the middle pane removed from the middle rectangle) so that my chicky chickies would have a pop door. (still figuring out how to add the guillotine portion of the pop door, but that's for another day).

Anyhow, obviously the ramp would lead to the middle opening of the pop door. The remaining panes of glass are single paned. Do you think that a balancing raccoon could whack the pane of glass hard enough to shatter it? Should I just HC the inside of it? I just can't imagine them balancing on the ramp to lean over to the next pane of glass, and since it's an elevated coop, they can't reach the window from the run floor.

 

[casuarius]

no, they wouldnt be able to figure out how to break it, and shouldnt have enough weight behind them.

 

[patandchickens]

I think it depends on the thickness of the glass -- there is windowglass and then there is windowglass.

While it is pretty extremely unlikely a raccoon would break the glass itself, if it were me I would still add hardwarecloth or something similar, because it would by no means be unthinkable for the glass to get broken by OTHER means (chicken flying into it, bird flying into it, blowing object in storm, etc) and if that happened you would not like to be giving raccoons a free dinner pass. Also IMO it is better to have SOME kind of mesh over ANY glass windows in a coop, simply to help misguidedly-flying chickens bounce off rather than crashing into. Although I will admit this is not the kind of accident that occurs *often*, especially if your windows are not kept the very cleanest

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[THINGUM]

There is single strength glass and there is double strength glass and then it goes into "plate" and on and on. The first two are commonly used in doors and windows, as long as the panes aren't too large. appx. 20"X30" maximum before moving to something stronger. Single strength is less than 1/8" thick and very brittle. You can break it with the tap of a fist. Double strength is a full 1/8" thick and is far more durable, and more commonly used. For a novice it is difficult to tell without being able to measure an edge. Glass isn't terribly expensive and a glass outfit will quote you for free on the measurements you give them. If you decide to change it oout then carefully remove the caulking or trim strip that holds the pane in. measure the hole ACCURATELY and go from there. If it's held in by "glazing compound", one can purchase small cans at hdwe store or lowes. It's a sort of thick putty. If you go this route P.M. me and I'll give you the rest.

The smaller the panes are the more difficult they are to break. If they ae less than 10" in width, I wouldn't worry.

 

[VI KING RANCH]

I know that we had a coon use a rock to break ours...good thing we had 1/2" mesh as well. I know it was the coon only because now that coon is on the wall of the barn with his buddies who wiped out over 60+ hens in ONE night!

 

[CluckyJay]

Raccoons are smart, strong and can get very large. They are really aggressive and wily this time of the year too. I'd use wire with the glass.