Closing coop house door.

[Cfluri]

Hello, I am really not sure if I need to close the door of the coop house at night. I worry about predators somehow getting into the run. Thanks in advance for the feedback.

 

[Grandmas Coop]

Well, do you have a pic of the coop and run?
Did you build it or buy it?
how old are your chickens?

 

[NatJ]

You should probably close it at night, but that depends on how secure your run is.

If the run has no top, definitely close the coop door at night. It is quite easy for a raccoon to climb over a fence and walk into the chicken coop to eat your chickens. (Quite a few other animals can do that too.)

If the coop and run both have roofs, then think about the floor. If the coop has a solid floor but the run has a dirt floor, some animal might be able to dig into the run and then walk into the coop, so closing the coop door would make the chickens safer.

If the run is made of chicken wire but the coop is made of something sturdier, also close that coop door. Many animals can rip apart chicken wire, especially if they have all night to work on it (raccoons, dogs, coyotes, foxes, etc.)

Some people build runs with anti-dig aprons around the bottom (or a poured concrete base), hardware cloth attached to a sturdy frame, and a good roof, with no gaps anywhere. For them, the run is just as secure as the coop, so it would be safe to leave the door between the coop & run open.

 

[neo71665]

My coop has no door but my coop is attached to a well secure covered run.

 

[CluckerFamily]

I leave my poop door open but my run is secure. I have a covered run and hardware cloth on all six sides plus an apron.

 

[Cfluri]

You should probably close it at night, but that depends on how secure your run is.

If the run has no top, definitely close the coop door at night. It is quite easy for a raccoon to climb over a fence and walk into the chicken coop to eat your chickens. (Quite a few other animals can do that too.)

If the coop and run both have roofs, then think about the floor. If the coop has a solid floor but the run has a dirt floor, some animal might be able to dig into the run and then walk into the coop, so closing the coop door would make the chickens safer.

If the run is made of chicken wire but the coop is made of something sturdier, also close that coop door. Many animals can rip apart chicken wire, especially if they have all night to work on it (raccoons, dogs, coyotes, foxes, etc.)

Some people build runs with anti-dig aprons around the bottom (or a poured concrete base), hardware cloth attached to a sturdy frame, and a good roof, with no gaps anywhere. For them, the run is just as secure as the coop, so it would be safe to leave the door between the coop & run open.

Thank you for the advice. I have a metal roof on the run and cool. We also put 19 gauge hardwire cloth all around the run. Up the sides and a foot out on all sides. I think it’s very secure. But I would rather be safe then sorry I didn’t shut it. I was told the birds will get aggressive in the coop and I shouldn’t lock them in at night. I have six in total. Five hens and a rooster. The rooster may be going, really not sure if we are keeping him. Some say to keep him and others say to get rid of him because we have small dogs and little kids. He is a buff Orpington and very sweet, at the moment. They are eleven weeks old.

 

[NatJ]

I was told the birds will get aggressive in the coop and I shouldn’t lock them in at night. I have six in total. Five hens and a rooster.

If the coop is big enough, locking them in at night should not be a problem.

A common guideline is 4 square feet per chicken in the coop, and 1 linear foot of roost space per chicken (starting when they are 8 weeks old. Younger chicks don't need as much space because they are so much smaller.)

That amount of space is meant to be large enough for chickens to spend entire days inside when the weather is bad (blizzard, hurricane, etc). So having them locked in until you get around to letting them out in the morning would be fine.

 

[Grizbrown]

Hello, I am really not sure if I need to close the door of the coop house at night. I worry about predators somehow getting into the run. Thanks in advance for the feedback.

We have on our fence in each direction, solar powered predator lights from Amazon.

 

[cmom]

Hello, I am really not sure if I need to close the door of the coop house at night. I worry about predators somehow getting into the run. Thanks in advance for the feedback.

I leave my pop doors open 24/7 but I also have electric wires around my coops and pens and so far nothing has gotten past the hot wires. I also have my pens covered with good heavy duty netting and concrete under the gates, all due to predator issues in the past.

We have on our fence in each direction, solar powered predator lights from Amazon.

I have several cameras around on my property. They are low glow. Originally I had motion lights up but the predators got used to setting them off. My game cameras have a red glow. The predators don't seem to be bothered by them.

 

[McChooky]

If a pop up doors left open predator only have to gain entry into the run.