Oh gosh, what a dilemma! Crazy Wrens. They are always building in the strangest places. Well, if the Wrens are able to squeeze themselves in through the crack, I guess they will coax their young out that way. You could keep a close watch and try to provide a little extra space when you think the babies are ready to fledge.
Oh, and call me dumb...but what kind of "fishers" are trying to eat your birds? ;o)

Thanks bandjzmom. A fisher is a viscous carnivore in the weasel family. Some people call them fisher cats. I checked the Carolina Wren nest yesterday, and the babies have hatched. The coop door is open during the day, and closed at night. So far the fisher has not returned, and the CAWR seem to be doing a fine job tending their young. When the door is closed they squeeze through the crack, but since it is open most of the day they should do fine when the young are ready to fledge. I am keeping track of the hatch date so I will know when they are ready to fledge in case the fisher returns and I need to leave doors open for them.

You really do have a dilemma for sure! Sounds like you have a plan tho...good luck! I've heard fishers are deadly to fowl!

P.S. Is there a way to drill a small wren-sized hole up high for the wrens to come and go thru? Or are fishers like other weasels and can get thru tiny holes??

Ginni, I thought about drilling a hole for them, but after observing them in the mornings before I open the coop, I can see they are having no trouble getting through the crack in the door. I am leaving a cup of mealworms in the coop in case one of them gets stuck in there for the night (up high so the Guinea fowl don't get them).

Thanks Kendra! I've never heard of a Fisher in my life, which is odd to me, esp since I watch lots of nature programming and do lots of on-line curiosity searches. You learn something new every day! :o)

All four young successfully fledged from the nest late this morning.

Good news!

Terrific! Aren't they just the cutest birds?

YEA! I was hoping for an update! Time to shut my puter down for the night, so nice to have the last thing I see happy news! SMILING!

For about 5 years there were a pair of Carolina Wrens who built a nest on our screen porch inside a grocery bag filled with other grocery bags that hung on a hook outside the kitchen door. The little rascals squeezed under the screen door through a space so small that until I saw one of them do it I would have said it was impossible. And each year when the nestlings fledged and left the nest there were always at least two of them who couldn't follow their parents under the door. My wife or I would have to leave the door hooked open so they could leave. Once it took three days for one chick to figure it out, even with its parents repeatedly coming in to lead it from captivity.

I found your story fascinating troutwind. I guess if your CAWR could squeeze under your screen door, it makes sense that mine made it through a door crack. You do wonder why they would pick such difficult places to nest. And yet they seem to be safe places so it works out for them.

I have Carolina Wrens for the first time ever. They just appeared a few weeks ago, and are raising young in a hanging spider plant on my patio. Yesterday I heard all kinds of racket, and a hawk flew away when I went out to check. They were really giving him the business. They are the cutest little birds, I'm so enjoying them.