Monday, August 15, 2011

Going To Need A Better Fastener



Recently I went out for my morning chores and I saw some of our chickens out and about. This is odd because I normally do a head count when I put them away in the Super-Max for the evening. How these four hens were overlooked was beyond me. I later released all the other chickens to go about their day and life was normal.

That evening when it was time to put them away I noticed something was wonky. Some of the hardware cloth on their Super-Max enclosure was missing. On inspection the hardware cloth was pealed back away from the wooden frame. This was major. I used one-inch quarter, crown staples to fasten the hardware cloth to the wooden frame. It had been ripped back by a brute force I had never seen before. I seriously doubt I could have unfastened it with tools.

Here is my summation, though strong animals I doubt a raccoon could have done this. They would have worked at unfastening it from ground level. I suspect ti was a beat or a cougar because it was at the three foot level. The screening had large holes punctured in the mesh like a large claw had done the job. Also no chickens were harmed. The entrance into the coop is too small for a bear or a cougar to get in so the chickens were safe.

I've now fastened the hardware cloth back with roofing nails, though I'm sure this would be quick work for a bear or a cougar to get through.

3 Comments:

Blogger JustRex said...

That typo threw me for a second but it didn't take long to figure it out. The thought of a bear or a cougar in my back yard gives me the heebie jeebies. When it's nice enough to work in my shop I'm often out there way past dark and we have no yard light.

7:43 AM  
Anonymous Lachlan said...

Yikes! Glad you noticed it before any of them became casualties. What kind of chickens do you have?

7:51 AM  
Blogger The Guy Who Writes This said...

Darev, all you need is a neighbor with a corn field and you'll go over the edge.

Lach,I've got Barred Rock, Rhode Island Reds,Black Star, Buff Orpington, Silver Laced Wyondots and Americona/Araconas.

6:58 PM  

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