Coop open to run all the time?

[True Grit]

I have coated chicken wire under the sand floor of the run and a 12 inch hc apron with hc everywhere and padlocked doors. I have left the popdoor open for about 3 weeks and so far so good. It is in front of our house in a lightly fenced area.

 

[70monte]

I close the pop door at night. My coop is inside of a 20x20x6 dog kennel run with nothing on top of the run so I feel better with the door being shut at night. We do have three dogs in kennels about 15ft from the coop so I doubt anything would get that close anyway, but I would rather be safe than sorry.

Wayne

 

[NewHen]

I leave it open but I have a 3 to 4 foot apron of hardware mesh with pavers around the coop and run.

 

[kichohana]

I keep my pop door open 24-7. My yard is fully fenced with a 6' wood privacy fence, 5' chain link across the back. My run is attached to the coop and is very secure. I have not had a single sign of a predator anywhere near my coop (knock on wood) other than my mini-dachshund "marking his territory." I live in a subdivision, but in a rural area. My lot backs up to a wooded area. There are raccoons, possums, foxes, snakes and hawks all around. I put in a pop door and have it available to close from the outside, but so far I have kept it open so the girls can go in and out as they please. Now this winter I may be closing the pop door at night but more for an insulation reason that a safety reason.

Check out my BYC page for pictures of my coop/run setup.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Won't stop raccoons or possums

and the top of the run will be covered with hardware cloth, with screws and washers. So I guess I thought that would be as secure as the coop.

Go browse Predators and Pests to see how many other people though the same way. All it takes is ONE weak point...

Is a foot of hardware cloth not enough? I had read lots of threads that said an apron was just as good or better than burying it.

Aprons are very good, I am a big fan. A foot out is not *much* of an apron though. It is a lot better than nothing of course, but 2-3' is a whole lot safer.

It really just comes down to your personal tastes and philosophies of life, though. I do not think there is a right or wrong answer about what to do. I just want to help people make *informed* decisions, based on the ACTUAL rather than imagined predatorproofness of their setup.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat​

 

[Schroeder]

This won't be an issue if you have an automatic door, but they aren't cheap.

 

[helloroe]

Quote:
It is a house type aluminum screen door with sliding glass windows that went up and down. (Can be seen on my BYC page) I thought it was great for ventilation. The raccoon came off the roof, verified by scratch marks on the overhang and hit the top window hard enough to bend the aluminum frame and knock the window into the coop smashing it and allowing his entrance. I now have the windows placed with metal brackets behind the windows so no coming out.

They are strong. Do a search and find the threads with traps that have been torn apart by them. The one we caught did bend the plate that closes the trap and bent the wire enclosure. Do not underestimate them. They want food, they will do anything to get it, dont make it easier for them.

 

[Caincando1]

My coop door is open 24/7 to the run which is a chain link dog kennel on all sides and top. I have 7 preditor hunting dogs and was actually hoping the chickens would attract in some preditor onto my property to make for easy hunting. No such luck, they wander close by, but haven't messed with the chickens yet.

 

[mlorne]

My pop door stays open unless there is driving rain from the south (not very often at all). That being said, the run is concrete floor and concrete walls on three sides, 12' high. The 'open' side has a metal farm gate bolted to the concrete and that is covered with hardware cloth.



The key is to create the outer defences as solidly as possible. Once inside those defences, your chickens are vulnerable...unless you have a secondary defence.

My motivation was to be able to go away on weekends and vacation without having to worry about opening and closing the pop door.

 

[chickp]

Wow, 2-3 feet of hardware cloth was not on my checklist, but I think it's do-able. We have tons of hardware cloth and are going to just go all out with it. I do appreciate being able to make an informed decision; we are so new to this and have no one to ask but the internets!

I get that it only takes one weak spot....but if there is hardware cloth fastened with screws and washers all the way around, is that considered as secure as it gets? We have tried tugging on it and getting my almost five year old to open stuff, and he couldn't.