closing the chickens in at night

[samsr]

I am Very new to chicken raising. I have built a coop and run right next to my shed, using the shed for one side of the run and incorporating the nesting boxes on the inside of the shed. The coop itself attaches to the side of the shed. I will post a few pics later. The chickens will enter the coop for the night through the bottom.
My question is is it necessary to close up the coop at night? Do I need to make the ramp up into the coop so it can lift up and close. Reading some of the information here has been great and I have found out the answers to many questions (I need to ventilate the coop better) But have not found the answer to this question. Thanks for the input in advance.

 

[stephanieepley]

yes close it. i have lost so many chickens to dogs and raccoons.

 

[samsr]

yup, That is what I was thinking also. Looks like I need to get a couple more hinges and a cable.

 

[PeepsAreForMe]

Unless your run is predator proof I would close them in at night. Our run is pred proof so most of these hot nights I have been leaving their pop door open. My girls are just like me - they like to sleep in late! They stay in the coop until I come out to let them out into their yard! Do you have any pictures of your coop/shed?

 

[Gigiintheforest]

Even though my run is completely enclosed and predator proof (I hope), I always close them into the coop at night because nothing is completely predator proof. I have lots of ventilation and a box fan going to keep them cool while roosting.

 

[mondotomhead]

Its better to be safe than sorry. You wouldn't want to find your chickens dead in the run, or worse, just missing.

I close mine up every night so I can sleep

 

[samsr]

here are a couple of pics while it was under construction. I will take some more this afternoon and post up some almost completed pictures. Now the roof is on and the coop for the inside is constructed as well as the nesting boxes which are mounted so the go to the inside of the shed. You go into the shed and lift the lid on the nesting box to get the eggs out. This should work nicely in the early morning hours durring the winter as the shed has electric in it and a light. The coop itself is 4"X 3"X4" elevated off the ground (but not in the picture) I still need to put a window in the coop also. The far tall wall faces north so the colorado wind wond freeze the chickens durring the winter. It should be pretty secure. Any suggestions

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

I free range my chickens but usually close their front door at night. Our dog is a great protector though and keeps my chickies safe. Because of him I never worry if I forget to close the door or don't get home until it is really late.

You can get an automatic door closer thing for chicken sized doors, but I'm not sure how well they work. I would close them up at night just to be safe, but I wouldn't worry to much about it if you can't do it every night either.

 

[samsr]

here are a few pics of the coop, almost finished. I just have a bunch of trim work to do now. The pic with the PVC sticking out of the side of the shed will be my feeder. PVC pipe in the shed that gravity feed through the wall to the feeder tray. This way I can feed and get the eggs from the inside of the shed. It not quite as fancy as some on here but should work nicely. Some of the coop pictures on the forum are very outstanding.

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

Very cute!