Closing coop door....

[chickdust]

So I have 4 birds with an 8x8 run connected to their coop. It is secure. Do I need to close the coop door every night during the warm months? Or can I just let them go in and out as they please? Right now they go in at dark and I go out, open the run door, close the coop door and then close the run door.then repeat it in the morning. I think they would be fine with the coop door itself open since the run door is secure. Am I wrong?

 

[bwalden]

If your run and coop are secure then I would agree they should be ok.

 

[bj taylor]

the question is security. if you have confidence in the security of the run - i can't see a reason why the pop door needs to be closed.

 

[yakfishgirl]

We stopped the opening and closing routine a few months ago. The 6:15 wake up call was getting old on the weekends.
Our coop and run are secure with a roof and edging under the walls. So far, so good.

 

[The Lazy L]

I'm figuring this way.

The coop is elevated (no walls to dig under), 3/4" barn siding with 1/2" welded wire fabric over all the ventilation openings. People door has a dead bolt latch with the option being being padlocked.





The "secured" run walls and the flat roof are also covered with 1/2" welded wire fabric. 18" of wire fabric skirting to prevent digging under the walls to gain access.






I considered leaving the chicken door open so they could come a go as they please, but decided against it.

1. Coop provides the highest level of security.

2. I don't want the chicks to get the habit of roosting in the run at night. If a predator does gain access then I have to retrain the chicks to go back into the coop at night.

3. I don't want them to lay eggs in the run. Defeats the purpose of the outside accessible nesting boxes.

 

[joan1708]

Lazy L - I'll bet you've never done anything "half-***". That is a lovely coop. The colors are perfect for your setting. It looks perfect for the human and the chickens. Looks like it is "bomb proof" and will last a couple hundred years.