Coon Question

[citrusdreams]

My chickens free range all day and are in a coop and run from dusk till dawn every day. The henhouse door is always open, even in the winter. If you really think a raccoon or other predator can't get into your pen, then I'd say, yes, you can give them access to the henhouse and pen.

But you have to make sure that a raccoon can't pull up your top, or sqeeze through any partitions. Can a raccoon stick his furry little arm in the pen and grab a chicken if one decides to roost out in the pen? Can a predator dig under the coop?

If they really can't get in and you build Chicken Fort Knox, then I'd leave it open. But my henhouse, though well ventilated, seems to get really hot and stuffy in the summer and I wouldn't dream of cooping them up in it. But that's just me.

 

[jojo@rolling acres farm]

Don't chance it...Lock Them Up Tight - Every Night!

 

[C_Dzchicks]

I may sound like I work for the CIA but, never get over-confident, never underestimate the enemy. You will be suprised what predators can do. If there is something we missed, theyll find it. If your coop is a fort/compound, then think of your hen house as a bomb shelter. Safe and secure each night (which is the most dangerous time) in the hen house. Just my thoughts.

 

[deerman]

Quote:
Agree, to prove this, just go out and catch a chicken on the roost, Other on the same roost will stay put. same when coons come a picking.

 

[BigSkyChickens]

My run is 100% hardware cloth on the outside, but I still padlock the girls inside the coop and padlock the outside of the run every night. I also do an inspection of the perimeter every morning to make sure nothing has started digging. I'll admit, I'm attached to my girls and a little overprotective. We have a ton or racoons in our area.