Moving Chicks to Open Air Coop - Bedtime Related Questions

[SB907]

SB907, thank you. How do you predator proof? Do you have a lot of coyotes near you? I have a pack of 5 running through my yard day and night and raccoons, weasels, skunks, possums, owls, hawks, etc. I don't want to take a chance on a stubborn predator getting through. I have several friends who have had predator skirts and determined raccoons still dug their way in and killed their entire flocks. I also have gophers, so I can't leave it as just dirt in the middle - it's either going to be concrete or dig a huge pit that is 2 feet deep, line it with chain link and 1/2" fabric, connect it to the sides of my dog run/coop and bury the whole thing with dirt. What choice do I have?

I am fortunate that I’m in a busy downtown neighborhood and I have 3 large dogs and an enclosed lot, so not many predators are brave enough. I do have the occasional raccoon, stray cat, hawk, and lots of opossums, but they seem to be more interested in the chicken food than the chickens as food. I did have a skunk that was stealing eggs for a while, but never seemed to care about the chickens. Here, they are are also fat urban varmints, so I think chicken nuggets from the McDonald's dumpster are easier prey than live birds. I have my run/coop all wrapped in 1/2" hardware cloth and half of it is on asphalt, the other half on hard packed dirt with pavers under the edges. I do not have a predator apron or have the bottom enclosed, but in your area I would strongly recommend that. I free-range my girls during the day, and close them in at night but I do not leave food in the coop ever since they are only really in there when sleeping and laying.

 

[Tootieboot]

First time newbie with four female chicks expected in June (blue australorp, lavender orpington, buff orpington and golden laced wyandotte) and three females expected in August (salmon favorelles):
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Where I live in Southern California, the average temp is 72 degrees, sunny, but summers/falls are very hot (dry up to 110 - hottest) and winters can get around 35 degrees at night (coldest). I feel an open air coop is the best type of coop for this part of the country, with plenty of ventilation with a 3 wall type of area for a platform with perch/windblock (I think a traditional coop would be way too hot in summer, no matter how great the ventilation). I'm getting my chicks this year in June and was thinking of some kind of brooder inside my house so I can keep an eye on them till the feathers come in. I figure they'll be ready to go in the coop outside in August, at which time they'd probably be ready to graduate to the outdoor open air coop, where the outside temps at that time are around 85-100 degrees. The super cold months are January to March. The open air coop will be under a huge shade tree, about 18'x12', 8' feet tall with a slanted reflective heat roof. The frame is a chain link dog kennel, with chain link roof, chain link floor and the whole thing also wrapped from top to bottom in 19 gauge 1/2" metal fabric. I don't have a predator apron, because the whole thing is "covered/wrapped" in the metal fabric and chain link and no digging will get a predator in, including the gophers we have everywhere. The floor will be around 4 inches of soil covering the chain link and fabric, so chickens won't be annoyed by the chain link underfoot and will have something to scratch around. I'm also putting an electric poultry fence around it. I'm planning to grow hanging and also large pots of lemon balm, lavender and mint around the run outside to help repel the flies and mosquitos. Their night perch would be three sides wood on a platform, with a ladder to walk up to it, with a poop tray filled with pdz under the perches. The nesting box: two rollaway nesting boxes with a timer, so they can't sleep/poop in it at night. There will be two sources of water and two sources of feed to avoid territory issues amongst the pecking order. My house is surrounded by trees that are filled with red shouldered hawks, red tailed hawks, coopers hawks, great horned owls, and barn owls, with the occasional daytime coyote/weasel/fox visit on the ground, so no way are they free ranging, but I was thinking they might eventually enjoy a well-constructed train that I can move around for their variety - while I'm outside to keep an eye on them. Planning on 2 sensor sprinklers and 2 outdoor cameras hooked to my iphone.
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All of the above has create the following questions:
1. Reading about training chicks to go into their lighted coop at night for bedtime, etc., how do you teach them about roosting/bedtime if there is no enclosed place to go inside to, only a roosting area with 3 sides?
2. With the amount of security I have, is there a need to teach them about roosting in the coop, or is that solely about security?
3. Will lack of an "enclosed coop" as a young chick make them more insecure/flighty, because they're out in the open? If so, what are my options?
4. I worry about predators scaring them at night (coyotes, raccoons, etc.) with an open air coop. I realize chickens can't really see in the dark, but they could probably sense them staring at them. Thoughts?
5. What if I created a coop that was 4 sides, but no roof for the privacy/fear issue? Is it needed?
6. What have I overlooked?

Bottom line: I want my chickens content and happy. I don't want them overheated and I don't want them afraid and feeling exposed.

Thank you in advance for all of your seasoned responses. I'm grateful.

I 'am new to chickens too mine are 8 weeks old now and I live in Fl. Because it is so hot here I built a open air coop / run 8 x 32. I have hard ware cloth buried 2 feet down and out all around mine. The run has 19 gauge hard wire cloth top to bottom. The coop is tin. We have foxes and coyotes in the woods behind me to but we all so have fencing around the whole property and to dogs. I put up solar security lights back there too. With what you described I would pour a concert slab and the strongest hard ware cloth they make. People tell me mines is built like fort knots' and that's ok with me. I didn't want to take any chances. Good luck.