The ear of corn trick didn't fool anyone. Some smart critter, probably a squirrel, pulled the ear of corn up by the string, ate the corn and half the cob and then lowered the half cob back into the cage. It was also looped around the re-bar and the wire mesh a couple of times meaning the critter did it on purpose or maybe it dropped the cob and had to pull it up again. Smart critters we have in Texas. So now we are going to try tying the string to a small pail full of corn. It will take something bigger than a squirrel to pick up the pail full of corn.