A latch mystery

[Geena]

I'm thinking it might just be your latch malfunctioning. I had a similar one that although seeming to be fully closed would pop back open sometime later. Make sure the latch is clean inside and that the hinge side of your gate is clear so that it's closing properly.

 

[DonyaQuick]

Maybe stand outside the run with some scratch in a tin and shake it, sprinkle a little on the ground and call the chickens. See if they try to open it to get to you.

That's every morning though a rumbling ball of feathers trying to beat down the walls to get to me. If I'm right about the suspect I just mentioned in my previous post though, he doesn't partake in that and so I'd never see him try it then - my gigantic pickpocket cockerel is so timid that he'll often just go stand in a corner and wait out the chaos. If it's him I'll just have to spy a lot and hope I catch him in the act.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Soooooo....I guess I should have just waited a few more days before declaring this a mystery. It's got to be my cockerels. I has to be. They obviously forgot I was right around the corner cleaning the coop this morning and decided it was a good time to mess with the door. Although I didn't see the actual act, I heard a loud CLANG and immediately looked over to see a swinging carabiner on the latch and both my cockerels standing right at the door - and then they promptly went running around in circles with their wings up having a grand old time.

Smart boys!

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Every day is some kind of fool's day with these two stomping about.
View attachment 3295452
I should've known that I was going to be in for some fun when my hen that can disassemble coffee thermoses produced not one, but two boys.

Maybe I should just install an extra barrel latch or something further up on the outside of the door. The carabiner is already starting to drive me a bit nuts since it's a bit too fiddly to remove easily with gloves on.

they are beautiful!

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Oh those boys! Remind them that it’s October, not April fool’s day.

 

[DonyaQuick]

Well this is just going to be my life now:

Although I guess technically the reverse of that today. My big black & white speckled boy Monster got fed up with his smaller sisters stepping on him and pulling his tail every couple of minutes (they are really not nice to him lol), so he very deliberately went about shutting the little door to between my run halves to lock them in the other half. The door naturally swings open from gravity, so shutting it is non-trivial for a chicken. Wish I'd gotten that on video. Now I'm going to have to carabiner the little door OPEN during the day and carabiner the big door CLOSED. I guess I've just managed to breed evil geniuses this year.

Unfortunately I can't find anything except for carabiner-type things to use on the big green metal door that has the gravity-based latch. Everything I'm turning up that fits on round posts is just another type of gravity-based lock or one that locks automatically in a way that would trap me inside. Does anyone know of something more like a barrel latch that is meant to go on round posts?

 

[Matejka]

Hmmm....you may be overthinking this.
Does the post have chicken wire/hardwarecloth/fencing attached to it? I have a door that blocks access to run. I have a simple cup hook screwed to outside of door. When closed a loop of chain is around hook. When open I hook it on the fence wire. I'll get pics tomorrow if the explanation isn't clear.
Or wrap a chain around post leave loose and hook door to chain