Close door on a cold night?

[Shadrach]

I'm going to go against the grain here and suggest you close the pop door and make it secure.
The above posters are correct in that chickens will tolerate, note I don't write enjoy, temperatures below freezing provided they are dry and out of the wind and drafts.
If you are happy to get up early each morning to let them out and at night close them in shortly after they've gone to roost, then I would definitely do it for the added security a closed coop gives.

 

[Henamored]

Have you read my hot climate article?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/

IMO, shade, VENTILATION, access to the ground where they can dig down to cooler layers to sit in, and careful selection of breeds are all important.

I have and that’s what is making me rethink misters! The run is covered and they have adequate shade (I added two shade screens for the early morning sun, which I’m moving as the season changes and the direction shifts) By 1pm it’s all shaded by the woods on the west side of the run. Great article btw, gave me a lot of tips for our first summer with chooks

 

[Henamored]

I'm going to go against the grain here and suggest you close the pop door and make it secure.
The above posters are correct in that chickens will tolerate, note I don't write enjoy, temperatures below freezing provided they are dry and out of the wind and drafts.
If you are happy to get up early each morning to let them out and at night close them in shortly after they've gone to roost, then I would definitely do it for the added security a closed coop gives.

Oh I don’t mind doing that at all! I just wondered if ventilation should take precedence over a low of 37. The coop is entirely inside a run that we WAY overbuilt (erring on the side of caution) seriously it’s like Fort Knox. We may have raccoons or foxes but I’ve not seen one in the 16 years we’ve lived here. We built it like we have every predator in the world though lol. I also have cameras and so far nothing. Very rarely it gets in the 20’s or teens, if it does, I may rethink the pop door. The only time I closed it was the first night we put them in the run and they didn’t know what to do when it got dark so we picked them up and put them in there in by one. Two nights of a small solar light in there and they got the idea, now they March themselves to bed promptly every single night like good little chickens lol

 

[3KillerBs]

By 1pm it’s all shaded by the woods on the west side of the run.

Wonderful! Nothing better than natural shade!

 

[Aunt Angus]

I'm going to go against the grain here and suggest you close the pop door and make it secure.
The above posters are correct in that chickens will tolerate, note I don't write enjoy, temperatures below freezing provided they are dry and out of the wind and drafts.
If you are happy to get up early each morning to let them out and at night close them in shortly after they've gone to roost, then I would definitely do it for the added security a closed coop gives.

I'll add that my run is made of an extra large walk-in dog kennel with a solid roof surrounded by hardware cloth and cement to prevent digging plus super hot electric netting. So I feel pretty comfy leaving the coop open. This is very good advice for those whose runs aren't super secure.

Now that I think about it, the weakest spot in my set up is the coop's roof....

 

[Shadrach]

I keep the pop door open but I would rather not.
I have seen very few secure runs.

 

[Henamored]

I'll add that my run is made of an extra large walk-in dog kennel with a solid roof surrounded by hardware cloth and cement to prevent digging plus super hot electric netting. So I feel pretty comfy leaving the coop open. This is very good advice for those whose runs aren't super secure.

Now that I think about it, the weakest spot in my set up is the coop's roof....