TL/DR: has anyone just opened up their coop into a locked, protected run, and managed to sleep at night?
We have a Nestera coop and love it. It is absolutely fabulous for many things, but this does not include the ventilation needed for safety and comfort in latitudes lower than in the UK, which pretty much means all the US except for Alaska. (Our pullets are perfectly fine with the size, and frequently pack together at night, per the pattern of chicken doots on the floor.)
We’ve scrambled up some tarp shade, which is working well. But I’d also like to construct an outdoor roost area for daytime and possibly nighttime use in hot weather. I’d probably wrap it on two sides with vertical bamboo/reed “fencing” for a sense of containment and a bit of a sun- and windbreak (see pic of one type below.) The Nestera would still be there as a place to sleep at night.
My brain keeps getting stuck on predator proofing. This area is completely enclosed within a locked HWC-wrapped 8x15 run, including ceiling and aprons (not floor.) There is no sign of anything having attempted to get in over the last 3+ months. If something DID get in the run, and if it could then get in the coop, the chickens would be trapped and doomed. But if chickens were roosting at night on this future roost and something got in, they could fly around and raise holy hell, waking us up.
But I just can’t get past the thought of an unlocked coop.
Has anyone done this to some degree? Essentially deconstructing your coop by removing one or more walls, but within a strong, locked run.
We have a Nestera coop and love it. It is absolutely fabulous for many things, but this does not include the ventilation needed for safety and comfort in latitudes lower than in the UK, which pretty much means all the US except for Alaska. (Our pullets are perfectly fine with the size, and frequently pack together at night, per the pattern of chicken doots on the floor.)
We’ve scrambled up some tarp shade, which is working well. But I’d also like to construct an outdoor roost area for daytime and possibly nighttime use in hot weather. I’d probably wrap it on two sides with vertical bamboo/reed “fencing” for a sense of containment and a bit of a sun- and windbreak (see pic of one type below.) The Nestera would still be there as a place to sleep at night.
My brain keeps getting stuck on predator proofing. This area is completely enclosed within a locked HWC-wrapped 8x15 run, including ceiling and aprons (not floor.) There is no sign of anything having attempted to get in over the last 3+ months. If something DID get in the run, and if it could then get in the coop, the chickens would be trapped and doomed. But if chickens were roosting at night on this future roost and something got in, they could fly around and raise holy hell, waking us up.
But I just can’t get past the thought of an unlocked coop.
Has anyone done this to some degree? Essentially deconstructing your coop by removing one or more walls, but within a strong, locked run.
