Dilemma - Get up crack dawn or leave coop door open overnight? - Page 2

Wow, so nice to read your question. We have an identical situation here on Mid-Coast Maine. Generally, I leave the hen house door open if the night time temps are going to stay in high 20s or more (not sure how that equates to C?).  They get locked in if temps are going down in low 20's and below. A bit confused though, your location is listed as Hawaii but you say you are in the U.K.?

I am new at this too but it would seem they are fine with going in and out of their hen house at will, which is in a very predator (I hope) secure pen.

There's one thing though, they will get up on their pen roosts once it gets dark and pretty much stay put until dawn. So, far no frost bite so I hope leaving them like that is okay. I do pick up their feed once they have settled in for the night cause I don't want to tempt any other critters from getting in to their feed.

Certainly, it's much easier to have them decide when they want in to the hen house and their laying box. Makes my life a bit easier too, as you note dawn keeps coming around way too early!

I'm impressed that you have a predator-proof enclosure. I thought I had one, too, a number of years back, and left the pop door open. A raccoon ripped the hawk netting off of the run and killed 4 hens in one night. Now I keep that door latched at night! But, perhaps you have chain link all around and 9 inches underground? That's the only thing that would work in my neighborhood (sigh.)

I prefer locking my chickens into their more secure coop at night, letting them out at 7 a.m., even in summer when it is light by 5:30-6 A.M.  They will get off their roosts , drink water, eat, and start laying eggs, plus other chickeny behaviors.  They are outdoors a full 12-13 hours in summer, so I don't think it would be wise to leave your door open since it is cool, but also for extra protection from predators....just my opinion.

The feed issue is the one challenge I've had when it comes to sleeping in.  I leave the house door open (it's an open front -- hardware cloth -- house anyway and they did fine when it was down in the 20's early in the winter here), but as soon as I started doing that, the rats moved in to eat from (and poop in) the feeder.  So now I put the feed away each evening and get up at the crack of dawn to put it back out.  As Nana Rosana Danna used to say (for those Saturday Night Live fans old enough to remember), "if it's not one thing, it's another."

fenceman48,

"Why don't you buy/install an automatic door on your coop?  Easy & cheap to do, just have to adjust your timer with the sunrise.  Have had mine since September with no problems. "

Where can I get one of these automatic doors?

Many thanks,

 - John

x2 for the automatic door suggestion. I have a 'pullet shut' door and love, love, love it.