Coop door for enclosed run?

[jjunge08]

Is a coop door necessary with an enclosed run? I am new to chickens. Getting prepared to build my first coop this spring. I have been looking at a lot of plans and designs and have settled on a coop and run all under one roof. I keep going back and forth between a manual door and an automatic door for the coop. The automatic door is my preference just in case we need to leave for the night. With having an enclosed run is an automatic coop door really necessary? If we were going to be gone for the night could the door to the coop just be left open?

 

[Mvan42]

You want a way to be able to clean the coop. We have had our coop door(the small one to the run) open for several hours after dark. But in my area there are all kinds of predators which hunt at might. Even the run is secure, I prefer not to leave the door open just as a second defence for safety of my birds. If something getting into the run they have another barrier before they can get my birds..

 

[JacinLarkwell]

If you fully trust your run, you don't need it. I never shut my coop door, but the run door. But that means if something got in, all my birds would be there for the taking

 

[ChicNmom]

We close the people door to the coop but leave their chicken door open unless it's really cold.

Mu husband is a general contractor so he went overboard on our coop. I don't think anything could get into the run.

Even our chicken ramp is at an ADA compliant 45 degree angle. LOL

 

[mowin]

I only close my pop door at night when the temps are below 20°f, little warmer if windy.
My run and coop are predator proof.

 

[rosemarythyme]

It really depends on how predator secure you feel your run is. Mine is not, so I absolutely close up the coop at night.

 

[Doug in NY]

Our first coop had a door from coop to run. We were not always great about closing, one early evening the hens were making a big ruckus and we went out to see what was up and found a great horned owl had come in via the open door, the hens were all outside in the snow. We put a coat over the owl and carried it outside. The hens came in and we started closing the coop door every night. The owl flew off into a yard tree. The owl spent most of the year at our farm but never took any chickens.

 

[catballou]

Is a coop door necessary with an enclosed run? I am new to chickens. Getting prepared to build my first coop this spring. I have been looking at a lot of plans and designs and have settled on a coop and run all under one roof. I keep going back and forth between a manual door and an automatic door for the coop. The automatic door is my preference just in case we need to leave for the night. With having an enclosed run is an automatic coop door really necessary? If we were going to be gone for the night could the door to the coop just be left open?

I thought my coop was pretty well predator proof until a possum got in and ate half of my sweetest chicken. I will never have a coop without a door again!
It's pretty much a necessity and a given.

 

[Justicedog]

I've not closed my chicken door to my coop. Maybe once or twice in the last 10 years when it was really cold in the beginning of chicken keeping. It's all inside a run. So, you would really have to determine how secure your run is from predators and then decide how many security features are needed.

I'm comfortable with the chicken door being open all the time. I've also never had any predators breach my run.

Now, my heat lamp is secured by 3 different ways to prevent it hurting my chicks.

 

[Sally PB]

But in my area there are all kinds of predators which hunt at night. Even the run is secure, I prefer not to leave the door open just as a second defence for safety of my birds. If something getting into the run they have another barrier before they can get my birds..

I feel my run is safe... but not perfectly secure. Each time I move it (2x year), I find more things that can be made tighter/better.

It really depends on how predator secure you feel your run is. Mine is not, so I absolutely close up the coop at night.

Me too. I wouldn't sleep at night if I didn't.