Can I leave my wooden door open?Picture update, see #4

[LaurelRidgeDreams]

Our coop has a screen and a wooden door. The screen door is made of 2x4s and 1/2 inch hardware cloth attached every 5 to 6 inches with screws and washers. Can I leave the wooden door open? It's getting warmer every night.

 

[aussieheelr]

if you don't have a preditor problem and if it latches I would think it's ok. I leave my pop door open every night but it opens up to a fully enclosed chicken wire run (top and sides enclosed with wire) and this section has a latched "screen door" like what you describe and my chickies have been safe this way for a year now. I do it this way so they can go in and out as they please and my crazy shift work doesn't effect them.

 

[kayri]

Sounds secure to me, how is the screen door latched?

 

[missychicky]

Well if the door is above the ground (like mine is) then yes! Otherwise, probably not.

 

[LaurelRidgeDreams]

The door latches at the bottom with a hook that has a spring on it. There is another hook latch at the top and in the middle a small padlock. I padlock the door to keep "others" from going in the coop. The pop door, I keep closed, but am thinking about opening it too. There is a tunnel from the coop to the run. The tunnel and run are covered in 1/2 hardware cloth and there is an electric fence line along the bottom of the run and on the tunnel, top and bottom. A 18 inch apron of hardware cloth around the bottom of the run. The screen door and windows do not have electric fencing. We DO have predators. Just about everything you can imagine. It was warm in the coop this morning, I shut the door last night - above 70 at 6am. I really want to open the wooden door.

Here's a picture of the screen door.



Here's the tunnel.

 

[LaurelRidgeDreams]

Bump, I really would like to leave the door open and maybe the pop door too. See picture in post #4.

 

[chicks4kids]

Of course you can leave the screen door open--because it's hardware cloth and not screen. Sounds like you have it secured incredibly well. Just make sure that you can lock the screen door.

 

[kayri]

sounds good to me, I think you'll be alright. I mean, really what can get through the rat mesh? Nothing I can think of. Go for it.