Do Chickens Have to be Locked in Coop @ Night?

[ksg68]

I have 4 13wk old EE's & an 8wk Golden Comet who have been in their run/coop for a month now (the GC 3wks) & I've never seen them go into their coop @ night & stay there. I've seen all 5 of them troop into the coop to eat & get water & the troop right back out during the day but every evening @ precisely 7:30pm all 5 of them will fly up & park their collective feathered butts on 1 particular board in the run & stay there well after dark. The 1st week they all gathered under the coop @ 7:30 every night in the same corner & then they started roosting on that board. I've read on BYC about people locking their birds up in the coop @ night in the Winter but wasn't sure if this is done year round.


Do they have to locked in the coop @ night or is OK for them to roost in the run @ night as long as their happy? The run has 2 layers of wire around it & netting over the top so I'm not worried about predators. I know I may have to shut them in the coop @ night during the Winter once in a while since the weather in the Tidewater area of VA is like a yo-yo (it was still in the 30's a few nights the last week of April).

 

[SIMZ]

As long as you aren't concerned about predators getting them it shouldn't matter. There are lots of time I feel bad locking mine up in the hot coop! When the weather gets bad they may go ahead and go into the coop. If it bothers you, they can be taught to go into the coop at night, although it may be more difficult now that they're used to roosting outside. In bad weather, you could always pick them up and put them in the coop if they won't go.

Since I'm slightly paranoid about predators I'll throw this out there. You may already know this and have it covered, so just disregard me if that's the case. Many predators could climb over the top, so netting may not be enough (depending on what kind of netting). Also, weasels may be able to get through that fencing (if it's field fence) unless you have it enclosed in poultry wire all around. Finally, some predators will dig under, so make sure that area is predator proof, too.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

If they're happy and you're happy and you're sure you're predator proof, it doesn't really matter where they roost. There's nothing magical about the coop, but for most of us it's the safest place for them. As you probably know, once hens go to roost they are easy pickings for predators.

I do see that you only have chicken wire instead of hardware cloth on the inside of the run. Weasels would be through that pretty easily, and can get through spaces as small as 1" square. I also had a Great Horned Owl tear right through some netting in a chicken tractor once and take out my broody hen.