Do chickens have to be locked in their coop at night?

[hawk]

We have a small door for the chickens to go out of the coop and into a 3' by 8' fenced in area that is totally fenced in and preditor proof, do we need to lock them in the coop at night or can they always have access to the little run area?

 

[consdrs]

Quote:
this means FORT KNOX proof. pit bull proof, raccoon proof, fox proof etc, etc, etc. If you feel that NOTHING could possibly get in your run and then to your coop then yes leave it open. I have FORT KNOX and I close it up every night.
I read recently about a pit bull having got through a chain link fence and killed someones chickens. THROUGH CHAIN LINK. yikes!

I am totally paranoid just so ya know...
Connie

 

[ARchick]

I just learned first hand this past Friday night it is better to lock them up each night. I had 13 beautiful 11 week olds that I've been raising since they were a day old. I never thought anything would go through the small hole in the side of my barn to where there coop is & bother them with a light on inside. Well, Saturday morning I went out to check on them & found a big pile of feathers outside the run. I immediately knew something happened because none of them were outside in the run. A raccoon had gotten inside & got 7 of them in one night. I only found 2 in the ditch behind the barn with just their heads missing. NEVER AGAIN!!!, I built a door that day for the coop.

 

[bluecoop]

I'd thought my coop Fort Knox proof, wire dug in at least a foot below grade. Last fall a skunk climbed up and found a little loose wiring where starlings had been getting in, the next day 'Fatty' my favorite chicken was dead

 

[Chicken03]

If their run is predator proof then you can leave the door open at night.

 

[hawk]

I don't know of any pit bulls close by but we do have foxes, I don't know how hard a fox would work to get into it there were a couple 6" gaps I had to cover with chicken wire but we also have a very good blue heeler that hears the smallest noises at night so I think that helps.

 

[bluey]

I really can't imagine chickens utilizing the run at night, they are basically zombies after dusk until dawn. Locking them in the coop is the safest option.

 

[Mahonri]

You only lock the chickens in the coop that you want to be alive in the morning.


I also say this one at least 15 times a day.

Just floss the teeth you want to keep, don't worry about the other ones.

 

[quiltnchik]

Quote:
I feel the SAME way!

 

[backpack09]

Quote:
Chicken wire only keeps chickens in. Just about any of the night critters can easily chew their way right through it.