Chickens sleeping in run

[southfloridasilkies]

Don't know what lives in the Keys, true. For the hardware cloth, would have been better to wrap it around, so fewer seams, and overlap at necessary seams, Then staple to framing, and add wood strips screwed over the hardware cloth into the framing.
Hope you're right about your predators!
Mary

Thank you for the suggestions! We’ll look into adding wood strips over the seams.

 

[southfloridasilkies]

Here are some updated photos of the run. I guess for now I’ll keep bringing them in at night and hoping it sticks! Thanks for everyone’s suggestions and I’m definitely open for more! These are our first chicks and we are completely in love with them!

 

[Finally chickens!]

Why would they go in? It's exactly the same as the run. Maybe close off a few walls so they feel more secure?

 

[southfloridasilkies]

Why would they go in? It's exactly the same as the run. Maybe close off a few walls so they feel more secure?

That’s a good point. It’s way too hot to close in the coop where we live though. Everyone in our area recommended building it this way. Half of them have started going in on their own so we’re making some progress!

 

[Jeri B]

Here are some updated photos of the run. I guess for now I’ll keep bringing them in at night and hoping it sticks! Thanks for everyone’s suggestions and I’m definitely open for more! These are our first chicks and we are completely in love with them!View attachment 3208264

 

[Jeri B]

I have 3 chickens who like to sleep on their high perch in the run. I’ve had them about a year and last summer I used to worry about it. Even put them in the coop a few times. Last winter when the weather got colder at night they went in the coop at night. Which was good but someone occasionally slept in the nest and then I had clean up work to do if you know what I mean. Then the weather warmed and they decided it was time to sleep in their “summer porch” again. The run is fully fenced and covered. Everyone is much happier since I decided to quit worrying about it.

 

[3KillerBs]

There is an area maybe 5x4 that is tarped where their food, water, and dust bath are in the run so that is sheltered from rain/shady. There is also a piece of the roofing material leaning up against the mesh that provides a large hiding area protected from sun and rain. The cloth is stapled into the wood.

Could we see better photos of the entire setup?

If they were getting wet up against the mesh under their roofing lean-to then maybe what you need is larger roof overhangs or awnings.

This is my Camp Cockerel -- all the coop needed in hot summers -- though a few feet of the open walls area gets wet when it rains.

In the winter I'd need to cover half of the near wall and, of course, use hardware cloth instead of chicken wire if I were housing anything other than my cull boys.

 

[southfloridasilkies]

Could we see better photos of the entire setup?

If they were getting wet up against the mesh under their roofing lean-to then maybe what you need is larger roof overhangs or awnings.

This is my Camp Cockerel -- all the coop needed in hot summers -- though a few feet of the open walls area gets wet when it rains.

In the winter I'd need to cover half of the near wall and, of course, use hardware cloth instead of chicken wire if I were housing anything other than my cull boys.

Sure! The last photos were added before we had moved the chicks out. We added one of the panels on the coop to provide shade. For a few hours in the afternoon the area is completely in the sun. I’ve stopped moving them in at night and decided they can make their own choices. That was the first and only rain storm we’ve had. If rain is predicted overnight maybe I’ll bring them in again. As you can see in the photos they like to go into the coop in the afternoons.

 

[3KillerBs]

Sure! The last photos were added before we had moved the chicks out. We added one of the panels on the coop to provide shade. For a few hours in the afternoon the area is completely in the sun. I’ve stopped moving them in at night and decided they can make their own choices. That was the first and only rain storm we’ve had. If rain is predicted overnight maybe I’ll bring them in again. As you can see in the photos they like to go into the coop in the afternoons.

I'm not sure I'm seeing how the coop relates to the run.

Maybe putting one partial wall on the open section of the coop would make them feel secure the way piling under their piece of roofing does?

 

[southfloridasilkies]

I'm not sure I'm seeing how the coop relates to the run.

Maybe putting one partial wall on the open section of the coop would make them feel secure the way piling under their piece of roofing does?

Maybe these are more helpful. The front and nesting box sides are enclosed while the back and side are open. They do like to get under the roofing piece but only for shade. They all sleep just out in the open in the run and didn’t look for shelter at all during the storm. I think maybe they just didn’t realize what was happening since it was their first rain. We could definitely build more shelter in the run but that’s why we built the coop so of course would prefer they just go in there. We’ll keep an eye on them in future rain and make a decision if we need to build more overhangs in the run, however they didn’t use any of the current dry areas so not sure that would even be a guarantee.