Digging predator? Who is most likely suspect?

[WoodlandWoman]

Nothing has ever tried to dig under our run, but we've had woodchucks dig under our big pole shed twice and the garden shed coop. Pain in the... Cute faces, but a pain, when they dig under buildings. One even dug down next to the house foundation one year. This is over 25 years, so guess it's not that bad. Still annoying, though!

Yours could be any of the predators mentioned, too. Reaching through an opening to get a bird sounds like a raccoon. They've reached through wire fencing to dismember birds, when the openings were large enough to get their little arm through. I cover all openings to the coop with 1/2" hardware cloth.

You could put out a live trap and see what you get. To prevent digging, you could also stake down wire on top of the ground, around the coop, instead of digging it in.

 

[ChanceRider]

After we built our run, I decided it just wasn't secure enough from digging predators. So, my very patient DH and I dug down about 6" in our run and laid down 1" x 1/2" welded wire completely covering the inside bottom of the run, securing it to the run frame with washers and screws. After we had it secured we buried the wire with the dirt we'd dug out so the girls can still dig to dust bathe, etc.

Thankfully I learned a lesson.... line the bottom of the run BEFORE finishing up. We're in the process of building a run for our meaties and yep, it'll have a wire floor buried about 3" down.

 

[Rufflemyfeathers]

what is hardware cloth..my brother told me to wrap hog wire around bottom of existing pen and bury wire which the first wire is buried..I have some bricks/blocks thinking also of place all around pen..



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[Catfishingpokey]

It could be anything doing it. Matter of fact, it could be our old dog, Buster, who delights in stealing whatever we might have given the chickens for a treat. He may have decided to try to get in to make sure they didn't have something he might want. (He doesn't try to eat the chickens, btw, just their treats. He's too old to do them much harm if he did get in, and I really don't think he could dig his way under.) We live right in the edge of town, with lots of pasture on pretty much all sides of us, so there is really no telling. It doesn't appear to be very big, because the dig marks aren't very wide. We've never seen coons around our house, but part of the reason is that up until three months ago we had several hunting dogs in the backyard, and the coons wouldn't have dared to set foot on the place. They could be coming around now. We have seen skunks nearby, but I'd think that if it were a skunk we would be smelling where he had been. YEARS ago we had a grey fox around that I am pretty sure got one of my cats and was about to off another when I scared him off. Have seen lots of them about town. Tons of coyotes around too. We'll may never know, but thinking that the wire around the bottom is a very good idea. Thanks for all of your input.....

The thing that may be bringing the predators in for a look is those crazy quail (coturnix). We've got quail cages on one side of the chicken house, and those dudes are LOUD!!!! Good grief, I had no idea that quail could be so vocal....

Again, thanks for your suggestions and input. You may learn by experience, but it's always nice when you can cut a potential bad experience off at the pass.

Thanks,

Kim (Gatorpupsmom)
(posting with hubby's screen name, didn't realize his was signed in when I started the reply)

 

[Fox]

A dog was trying to dig under the run fencing we have, just yesterday! It tends to wander onto the property. He always runs away when you go out, so we don't know which neighbor he might belong to. He comes from the neighborhood behind our property. I hope you can figure it out and prevent anything from getting in!

 

[ranchhand]

We too have predator problems- but we know EXACTLY who it is. We have a 4' yellow rat snake who goes in the pen daily and eats 2-4 eggs. I busted him redscaled(?) several times, and my husband has tried to catch him- (he's comfortable around them) But the devil keeps getting away.
The pen is chainlink with a roof, and I can't afford to cover the whole thing with hardware cloth. Don't want to kill him, he's mostly a good snake.....

Any ideas for a snake repellent?

 

[Imp]

Quote:
Funny you should ask. Last night a neighbor and I were wandering around Home Depot and they had on the clearance rack Snake Repellent. Seems like western Washington would not be a great place to sell snake repellent, all we have are little garden snakes. Guess that's why it was on the clearance rack.

 

[ranchhand]

Hmmm..... I might just go by a Home Depot tomorrow, give it a look-see. Thanks for the tip!
I sent a couple pics of "my" snake to the predator page here- just today- they or one might show up later.

 

[ranchhand]

A very nice person just suggested mothballs as a repellent. I will give it a shot and let ya'll know how it works.

 

[Attack Chicken]

Don't let the chickens get to them.