Chickens Sleeping Outside at Night

I don't think this is enough ventilation. I don't know how or where to add any more. They have been sleeping outside on and off for awhile now, and there doesn't seem to be a problem. Any suggestions?
 
I don't think this is enough ventilation. I don't know how or where to add any more. They have been sleeping outside on and off for awhile now, and there doesn't seem to be a problem. Any suggestions?
You could use more ventilation for sure. Some possible options:
- openings with louvered covers (like you'd see in the gable vent of a house)
- removing part/all of a wall and replacing it with wire, if there's sufficient roof coverage over that wall to ward off the weather. Hard to tell in up close shots, but it looks like you have a roof over at least part of the area?
 
Also I would try in printing them again. ( Keep them locked up in the coop for a week then let them out.) they may go back in to there house bc they know it’s where they sleep. Also if you don’t have a roost inside you should get one chickens like being off the ground they feel safe and secure when they are in a roost.
 
Not if you're satisfied with them being in the run in all the weather and seasons you experience. (Putting your location in your profile is helpful because climate matters).

My new Open Air coop build is essentially a roofed run with a windbreak at one end because I live in a hot climate.
We live in SW Arizona. Their run provides plenty of shade. I give them a fan during the day in the summer and had a heat lamp during the winter.
 
We live in SW Arizona. Their run provides plenty of shade. I give them a fan during the day in the summer and had a heat lamp during the winter.

So that's essentially an open-air coop and they like it.

The heat lamp isn't necessary for fully-feathered, adult chickens unless you get extended periods of below-zero temperatures. :)
 
Hello all, my hens have resorted to sleeping outside on their perch instead of inside their coop. I am kind of worried, as I live in a more rural area, and coyotes are plentiful. I have seen them walk along our fence, and as a chicken owner, that's pretty scary, knowing that predators are nearby. I have tried placing them one by one back inside their coop, but they walk right back out! Not to mention, even when it rains they stay outside....and get drenched! Could they get sick? I keep their coop clean with fresh pine shavings, and I keep all spiders out! Is this normal behavior?
I live in temperate climate in SF Bay Area. My hens, both full size and bantams loved to roost and sleep high (13') in a tree in their enclosure, rain or shine. I have racoons and occasionally a fox, but no coyotes. Fortunately, they were always safe and healthy. 2 hawks got into the enclosure once in the daytime and killed a couple. The rest died of old age.
 
If you leave the door open at night, they are no safer inside the coop than outside. I've had possums, owls, coyotes and bobcats go inside at night. Whether they free range or stay in a run, I always close them inside at night.
 
Looking at your photo of the window in your coop it looks to me as though the side unclips and drops down. To give more ventilation I would drop it down permanently for summer and cover the opening with hardware cloth. Also you need roosts inside your coop which yours appear to be a couple of 4x4 at a very low level, I suggest lifting these so they are at least 2 to 3 foot off the ground.
 
Last edited:

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom