Closing coop up and opening in the morning question?

[Stephanie739]

Quote:
This is sort of how I am set up. Mine can get to the run area of my set up (the other half of the dog kennel

) which is where food and water are always available, but they don't leave their perches during the night (99% certain), and some mornings I am up before they are, although never before the sun.

 

[JodyJo]

I didn't read the entire post...but I would suggest trying to hang the feed and water if you insist on closing it up at night, in case you don't get out there in the early am.

I leave my coop door open, I did put a cloth curtain over it to help with drafts...it was sub zero last night...they do fine in the extreme cold...so you can leave the door open at night.

 

[binders]

Here is my coop:

It is raised up 2ft above the ground and I usually keep the door open so that the chickens can go in and out at will. On really cold nights (below 25) I close the door to help keep them a bit warmer and that is when I was worried about them. I am afraid to hang anything in here because it is not very strong and I don't think it would hold a waterer without warping. I have in the past put a little chick water (the mason jar with plastic bottom to it) in there on top of a couple of 2x4s to lift it in the shavings but the chickens have dumped it over. I also have put in one of the little round chick feeders so that they have something to eat put that just gets full of shavings.

The coop is in a secure run and most days they are allowed to free range on our 2+ acres. I do not consider myself a bad chicken owner and was just asking the question on the OP to find out how others handle a similar situation. I can put the water in their coop but it isn't really going to make a difference because if it is for them when they wake up it will be frozen solid by then. When I get out to open up (8:00) I give them fresh warm water.

Can't wait until the spring when I will be building a stronger, bigger coop with an autodoor and all the accessories but right now I have to deal with what I have and was only looking for what others did. Thanks for all your suggestions.

 

[ECBW]

Actually, your coop does not look that small. Mine is no larger and houses 10 birds. I also only close the pop door in extremely cold and windy nights. But I also keep the water and feed in the coop. You can alway find room for feed and water. For example, use a PVC pipe feeder hugging the wall will not take up much room. You probably need only three nests, so convert the extra nest to watering hole.

 

[bleith]

Quote:
Sounds perfect. That's my set up exactly and ave no issues

 

[Chickmate]

I leave my pop door open 24/7 because my covered run is 99% predator proof. The feeder and heated water dish are in the run. I say 99% because the only predator that could get in would be a weasel. The 12x23 run is constructed of 1x2 welded wire, top and sides. The top is also roofed with clear corrugated fiberglass panels over the welded wire. The wire is buried 1 1/2 feet in the ground and topped with large chunks of broken concrete. The coop is 10x12, insulated, wired and sided with a shingle roof. There are two human access doors, one is a stainless steel "screen door" with two locks and over that is a solid door with two locks. Yes, I might have rodent problems in the future, but chickens are pretty good at taking care of mice and I have three Chinese Crested dogs who are born ratters and two cats who frequent the coop. For the winter I have one heat lamp hung from the ceiling of the coop and two bales of straw positioned in the run in front of the pop door to block wind. I also have the entire run tarped to keep out the snow and wind. If I need to go away over night I know the chickens are fine and they have access to food and water as soon as they are up in the morning. So far this setup has worked great for me as I am also a "lazy" person and do not usually get up until 8:00 a.m. If I had to keep the pop door closed I would probably keep the food and water in the coop. The second picture was taken before I added a bolt lock 2" from the top of the door.

 

[RedDrgn]

We used to keep both food and water in the coop, but since having an issue with a leaky waterer and the chicken's developing a proclivity for getting in/on top of the waterer and spilling/fouling it, we moved the waterer outside of the coop. At the latest, we're up by 5:30AM on week days and open the pop door. They're all usually still on the roost and don't even come down. On weekends, we simply leave the pop door open since the run is secure and we usually sleep in until 8:00-9:00AM.

If getting up early enough is an issue for you, then just put a small bowl of food and one of water in the coop so that if they're up before you, they can get to food/water until you open the door. When you open the door, take the bowls out. When you close them up at night, put them back in. No big deal and then they have everything that they need all of the time.

 

[swatchick]

Quote:
I second this.....why not leave the door open all the time?
For what it's worth, although I don't get truly frigid weather where I'm at, it does get down into the high 20's and we get some pretty wicked wind, and I've got an open (3 sided), south facing chicken house full of happy, prolific layers no matter what the weather. (I do put up plastic and/or an old wool army blanket curtain in front of the roost for windy weather -- but the rest of the south side remains open all the time.)