Do anyone's chickens have access to their predator-proof run at night?

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

thank you thank you thank you!

I was starting to think I'm missing something.... I'm glad that not locking a coop door is the norm for so many of you. Phew! I can relax now. LOL.

And yeah, it's FL and hot as it gets here in the summer. My hens have a hot-weather coop so it's fully open for them to stay as cool as possible in this oppressive heat.

Edited to add...

sunshineinsc - YES! that's one of my main issues too. They're up when the sun is up and some days I just can't get out there early and I feel guilty to know there sitting there waiting for me to open the door. Then the other day I went out in the late afternoon and ended up getting treated to dinner and a movie (as a surprise) by my hubby and I was so stressed about the chickens being in their predator-UN-proof hoop-run in the dark. I knew they'd be panicking and wanting to be in their coop....

 

[highcountrychickens]

Mine do - they have a super predator-resistant run and I leave the pop door open all summer. We didn't last summer because we had a rooster who was particularly noisy, and we wanted to keep up friendly terms with our neighbors (though all of them confessed to enjoying hearing him in the morning - and we compensated with eggs when we forgot to close the door or had to leave and let the chickens out before 7:00... when we normally let them out)

One thing I would recommend if your run is on dirt... even if you 'dig in' the hardware cloth, or whatever you're using, something can dig under it, so I would recommend stringing an electric wire a foot or so off the ground around the run. Lots of peace of mind there.

 

[elmo]

I'm not even building a "coop" at all, just a predator proof run with a sheltered area where my chickens can get away from rain and wind.

 

[ams3651]

my pop door does not have a door, they can come and go to their run as they please. They let themselves out when they want and at night they do back in and roost on their own. I do have a board I can slide across in the winter when it gets really cold or blowing. But I also dont have a large predator problem.

 

[LynneP]

I lock mine up because we are so rich in predators that the hens could be panicked and injure themselves if startled at night. Not only that but I don't believe for a moment that our run is predator-perfect no matter how proud I am of it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=7693-LynnePs_Run

If there were an attack, even an unsuccessful one, I would not want my hens to be nervous and on-edge at all times after. They are layers and deserve to have a calm existance- the stresses of producing daily eggs are sufficient!

 

[Chickenaddict]

I keep my pop door open at night every night in the summer due to the heat factor, their run is a dog kennel with a kennel panel over the top as well. I have it sitting on my back patio so nothing can dig under to get them. Where the kennel meets the coop I put hardwire cloth on each side but not all the way up and around the door way so technically it's not predator proof but we have never had issues. Mine free range all day everyday except over the winter, they prefer to stay in when its cold and snowy.

Here is a pic of the run, it's not pretty but its functional and keeps them nice and shaded as well as dry

 

[LizzyJo]

Quote:
The reason I decided to lock them up at night even though they had a predator-proof run is Murphy's Law.

 

[mom2chicksandpups]

We never shut ours up in the coop. We leave it open day and night. The run is as predator proof as we are able to make it and we haven't had any problems so far.

 

[consdrs]

A couple weeks ago the same question was asked. I don't remember who wrote this but was spot on. "only lock up the ones you want to still have in the morning". Yep
I lock mine up every night. but then again it is not a hassle I have automatic doors on both coops.

Connie

 

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

Quote:
If my coop is made from wood and hardwire cloth and my run is made from wood and hardwire cloth.... what makes the run less secure than the coop?