Those Predators are Smart

I'm so frustrated! As I've reported before, we have had troubles with predators getting to our young chickens. We lost all the pullets we purchased at the Flea Market! When Chatterbox hatched her chicks we did a lot of checking of the coop and thought it was secure. It took less than a week, and the ******* got two of the chicks. It had dug under. We spent most of Sunday afternoon fixing that problem, and making what we thought was a secure fortress for the chickens. We set out two live traps. The villain did not get to the chicks, but did get the bait in the traps without getting itself trapped, two nights in a row. We would have liked to have trapped him, but were happy that the chicks were safe, or so we thought.

He found another way in last night; two more chicks gone! It took me awhile to see anyplace he could have gotten in. He didn't dig, everything looked secure. Then I saw one tiny place where two layers of chicken wire overlap that could be pulled slightly to make a gap a couple inches wide. I am assuming that was the point of entry. We will fix that and check the whole thing over again very closely. It is so frustrating to think you have a problem fixed, only to have it return in a different way. I am almost to the point of bringing the chicks in the house at night. The only thing that stops me is the hassle of trying to catch them every night, and the thought of the pecking that Chatterbox and Alpha would impose on us during the process. We've thought of tying the dog next to the chicken house at night. Add to this frustration, that we should have ducklings to try to protect within a week. I feel like a lousy farmer.