Chickens escaping through the egg door?

[vespadaddy]

Hello,
I'm new to chickens, and in the middle of my coop/run build. I have 5 chickens, still indoors in a brooder. My coop/run is 6 x 20, with the coop taking the 5 feet of one end (so a 6 x 5 coop). I'm in MN, so I am going to insulate the coop, and want to keep the nesting boxes internal to the coop for warmth and to prevent eggs from freezing, but I also want to be able to collect the eggs from outside of the coop, via an egg door, without entering the run.

Am I right to be concerned about the chickens escaping out of the egg door when I open it to collect eggs? Because if they did, they would be out in the unfenced yard, the street, etc.

Are there any design parameters I should use when constructing the egg doors/nesting boxes to prevent this, or do chickens generally not try to escape the coop/nesting box during egg collection?

Thanks!

 

[Kiki]

Hi there!

I personally, would not be worried about then escaping when the egg door was opened, if you are just grabbing the eggs and going.

You will want to make sure it has a latched lock on the outside though to prevent them from forcing it open...or having a predator open it from the outside.

Have you had a minute to look thought these designs to get ideas?
COOPS

 

[jennyf]

They don't tend to blast out the egg door, or any door in particular, in my experience. Except the one you open to let them out to free range--mine are a bit pushy there.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

If you insulate you need a wall cover or they tear up the insulation. I wouldn't bother. Am in same Northern climate if not colder than you and don't use insulation or additional heat.

 

[vespadaddy]

Thanks. I did look at other coop designs, but wanted to hear from other chicken peeps. My coop will be lined with white FRP so I can hose it out if I want to. I've already bough the insulation, and my city requires a heat source. A neighbor has chickens, and his have gotten their combs frostbitten, so I'm trying to avoid that with the insulation and a low power heater, and ventilation.

 

[aart]

Thanks. I did look at other coop designs, but wanted to hear from other chicken peeps. My coop will be lined with white FRP so I can hose it out if I want to. I've already bough the insulation, and my city requires a heat source. A neighbor has chickens, and his have gotten their combs frostbitten, so I'm trying to avoid that with the insulation and a low power heater, and ventilation.

Really?!?! Any chance you could post a link to the rules and regs for chicken keeping in your city?

Ventilation is the key to avoiding frostbite,
adequate ventilation makes running a heater like throwing money down the sewer.

Oh, and, Welcome to BYC!

 

[SueT]

I agree with the others, that they aren't prone to bursting out the door, but if they did get out, they aren't going to go running pell mell off into the distance. They would begin eating the grass right there at the edge of the coop, move a little distance, eat some more, scratch some, etc. Chickens that are accustomed to their coop don't want to run away. When first let out to free range, for example, chickens orient themselves so they know how to get home.

 

[Deltabwa]

I'm in Montana and I have our nesting boxes outside of the coop. As well as insulated. I don't run a heater tho. We insulated the nest boxes as well and never had a problem. I wanted a box attached outside because I didn't want to lose the valuable space inside that I may need on those super super cold days where they don't go out. They handle the super cold days well enough but they spent many days inside when we got a bunch of snow.

As for getting out, I'm going to say that it depends on how big it is. Mine is 4' wide and there have been occasions when I've opened it up and they were in there, either just finishing or just starting and some times, very few, but some times, they would attempt to fly out but it was easy enough to stop them, or let them if I was about to open the main door.

Here's the side view of the coop when we installed it. You can see the boxes and that is insulated the same as the rest of the coop. Boards on the outside, sheets of insulation and then plywood over that on the inside

 

[vespadaddy]

Really?!?! Any chance you could post a link to the rules and regs for chicken keeping in your city?

Ventilation is the key to avoiding frostbite,
adequate ventilation makes running a heater like throwing money down the sewer.

Oh, and, Welcome to BYC!

I ook a peek through the Mpls rules concerning chickens, and it isn't listed on the summary page. The summary directs users to read the full ordinance text, but then provides a location that doesn't exist???

The woman in charge of the chicken permitting process did tell me on the phone that the city requires a heat source, as did the guy from Egg/Plant on Selby Ave in St. Paul, where I took the required chicken keeping class. (As part of the permitting process, you have to take an approved chicken keeping class during your first year of having a chicken permit. One caveat: The permit is only good for the location where you reside. If you move to another house, you have to take the chicken keeping class again).

 

[Stephine]

I ook a peek through the Mpls rules concerning chickens, and it isn't listed on the summary page. The summary directs users to read the full ordinance text, but then provides a location that doesn't exist???

The woman in charge of the chicken permitting process did tell me on the phone that the city requires a heat source, as did the guy from Egg/Plant on Selby Ave in St. Paul, where I took the required chicken keeping class. (As part of the permitting process, you have to take an approved chicken keeping class during your first year of having a chicken permit. One caveat: The permit is only good for the location where you reside. If you move to another house, you have to take the chicken keeping class again).

Wow! I am very glad that where we live we have the explicit "right to farm" - no classes, permits and requirements...