Chicken Coop Question

[patrickfoy1]

Our five Road Island Reds are right at 4 months old.... we have been opening the coop at sunrise and herding them in and closing it at sunset.... during the day we keep the coop door shut and they stay in the run....is there any reason we cant just keep the door to the coop open all day and allow them access to the coop? Thanks for your thoughts!!

 

[clownychick]

I would leave it open. At 4 months they should be almost ready to lay? (18-22 weeks I think?) In which case you'll want to give them access to their nesting boxes, which should be in the coop - get them used to going in there during the day. And even if not laying, my girls like to hang out inside in the dark sometimes, especially when it's hot & gross out.

 

[mechanic57]

Out of curiosity, why do you shut them out of the coop? The chickens will go in the coop by themselves at night because they can't see in the dark and they should feel safe in the coop and know that is home. You shouldn't have to herd them in. Over the last couple of years I got all my chickens as day-old chicks. Once they are old enough to go in the coop, I leave them locked in the coop with food and water but no access to the run for 7-10 days. Once I let them out into the run, it doesn't take most of them more than 1 day to figure out how to get back into the coop at night. From then on, I leave the coop open to the run all summer.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I open the coop at 5:00am and close it after the girls have gone in for the night.

 

[patrickfoy1]

Thanks for all the feed back..... I appreciate your thoughts........

I will have to just learn for myself and let the chickens teach me....

Patrick