I hear ya on the squirrels, chippies, and voles. All of my direct seeded chestnuts have 1/2” hardware cloth cages the first year and I put some flashing a few inches in the ground around them to keep the diggers away. Year 2 I upgrade to regular 2x4” 5ft high cages to protect from the deer. This guy is in year 2 and seems to be liking being somewhat close to the back woods…maybe the roots are mixing and mingling with established oak/beech roots and contributing some mycorrhizal fungi?