Not many that can turn back up after they start digging down. Armadillos are the worst diggers we have here, and they ain't interested in the chickens or the eggs. They might be too stupid to go around, though. Whatever digs under a cross tie is not likely going to turn back up inside. Nothing we have is that aggressive, anyway. A neighbor had a few chickens with little more than a 4 foot chainlink fence around 'em, but she also had a German Shepard in the yard with the coop. Having a nice big dog around the chickens can be beneficial, as long as the dog doesn't develop a taste for live chicken. Growing up, our chicken pen was about 10 feet from our dog pen, which just so happened to be filled with about 20 hunting dogs some of which would likely be very interested in any varmints that would consider approaching the chicken pen. If something digs in, then I'll put a floor in it, and might even have enough of the 5/4 x 6 decking left.
I know for a fact we have some fox nearby. We watched a groupt of 4 kits playing around several years ago just about where the coop is sitting now, but that was also before I obliterated a bunch of underbrush (thanks to one LX and a grapple). There isn't as much cover for predators. I'm also considering a small solar panel and battery system to run a little surprise (Electric Fence) for critters that get too close to the fence. Maybe a lethal surprise, depending on the size of the critter (rodents). I'm more worried about coyotes going THROUGH the fence than under it. So, I'm gonna put some heavier mesh under the chicken wire that's 4 feet high. Gonna do what I can to protect them, but only so much that's economically feasible. Raccoons won't likely try to dig into this, nor possums. If a fox does, then he's gonna need to be fast, because I plan on treating them or coyotes with extreme prejudice if they get in my chicken yard. An automatic sliding door is in the plans to make sure they're protected overnight by the fortress that we're going to call "Cluckingham Palace". So far, I've only got about $100 in the whole shebang, well, $200 if you want to count the cross ties.
New progress photo today. Got two sides done and the roof on. The cinder blocks behind it are the side of one of the compost pits. You can probably guess why I chose to put the coop near there.
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