Thanks, we thought we had them safe. They coop is framed with 1"x 1" hardware cloth, and then the out side has fence stapled and buried around the coop and run. The only place I can think it is getting inn is thru a part of the bottom that is covered with bigger holed hardware cloth. That part is covered with a piece of plywood that is not screwed down, because we pull, that part up for cleaning and for their water to drain. All doors are locked up tight, 2 with key locks and 2 with medal rock climber hooks! That would be the gate to the pen, and the door inside the pen that leads to the coop. I key lock up the nest doors! Could the 2 hens fighting cause this? Would a duck poke a whole in an egg? A rat couldn't get an egg out of the coop, it wouldn't fit thru the hardware cloth! I'm off the recover the part with the loose board. Just when you think you fixed one problem, 10 more arise! Brenda

My first thought was Black Widow, but I seem to remember there is a BW look-alike, though I cannot seem to find info on it. I've looked for about 20 minutes and to tell you the truth, I am getting waaay too creeped out to continue. I'm in bed, and if I keep looking I will be imagining them crawling on me and I will NEVER be able to fall asleep. (I've got insomnia as it is...). Anyhow, I found this link where you could upload your pic and they will help you identify it. I'm sure it would be helpful to give geographical information. Here is a link that might be useful: Ask What's That But at whatsthatbug.com

Cute pics! Reminds me I better check my birdhouse on the patio. This morning I saw a chickadee sitting on top of it. It's really only for decoration but maybe she was thinking of moving in! Not sure it would be safe for them as the hole is quite large and predator birds could get in. It originally was blocked so birds didn't nest in it but that piece has fallen off. We have lots of trees and leave most snags in the woods for nesting as well and feel it's best for them to nest in their natural habitat.

By JAY REEVES - Associated Press Writer BIRMINGHAM, Ala.(AP) State wildlife officials said Wednesday they want to know how the huge hog dubbed "Monster Pig" got into a fenced hunting preserve where it was chased down and shot to death by an 11-year-old boy. The young hunter is not accused of doing anything illegal, but the head enforcement officer for Alabama's wildlife agency said agents are trying to determine if anyone broke a state law prohibiting the transportation and release of live feral swine. "There are some questions about where the animal came from, how he got there, how long he'd been there," said Allan Andress, enforcement chief for the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division. Andress said officials also will review whether the hunt complied with the state's "fair chase" law, which requires that prey at hunting plantations have a reasonable chance of escape. Eddy Borden, the owner of the spread where the hunt occurred, declined comment on how the hog got into the 150-acre fenced-in area where it was killed last month by Jamison Stone of Pickensville. Borden said he was getting tired of questions about the hog, which Jamison's father said weighed 1,051 pounds and measured 9 feet, 4 inches from the tip of its snout to the base of its tail. The kill drew international attention. "I didn't ask for the publicity. I just want it to all go away," said Borden, whose Lost Creek Plantation is located in east Alabama. Keith O'Neal, one of the guides who accompanied Jamison and father Mike Stone on the paid hunt, said he was unsure if the super swine was placed in the enclosure or grew up it. Jamison was hunting with his father and the guides on May 3 when he killed the giant pig. He said he shot the huge animal eight times with a .50-caliber revolver and chased it for three hours through hilly woods before finishing it off with a point-blank shot. Mike Stone said neither he nor his son did anything wrong. "It's an 11-year-old boy who went hunting," said Mike Stone. "He was enjoying all the attention at first, but it's all getting old." Andress said there is nothing illegal about a child hunting in Alabama.