Do I need to close up the door at night?

[Pequena Bandada]

Oh yes! Even the best run made of hardware cloth is not as secure as wood walls. And if your run is just chicken wire, it's definitely not predator proof. Also, leaving the door open could create drafts up by where your chickens roost - and it's not the cold that can make them sick, it's drafts. You need good ventilation above the roosts and a well sealed lower part of the coop, including the door.

 

[pontoosuc]

yes, yes, yes

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Quote:
ALWAYS close that door... every night!

 

[rainbowlake mama hen]

ok, coop door closed.

Thanks everyone and yes, I learned AFTER we built our coop that the chicken wire was not strong enough. So far we've been ok, but we will reinforce it as soon as possible. My 3 girls and one boy are tucked in for the night.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Bear in mind that practically no runs are TRULY predatorproof, even though I realize that gajillions of people look at their heavily-wired runs and think "ah, nothing could get through *that*". Browse the "Predators and Pests" section of the BYC forum to see how many threads with titles like 'something ate my chickens last night' involve predators getting into what people had, right up to that moment, been SURE were 'fort knox' type runs. So by all means beef up your run fencing -- even just running 2x4 welded wire mesh over the existing chickenwire would be a really big improvement and probably give you about 80% of the security level you could obtain by going berzerk with expensive hardwarecloth and such -- but I would not suggest letting that lull you into thinking it is "safe" to leave hte popdoor open at night. Of course you CAN certainly leave the popdoor open, but be aware that some predator can probably get into your run (and thence into the coop) if it really wants to.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[gsim]

Quote:

You should still shut them in at night. I have a run that has a 6 ft tall 2 x 4 welded wire fence and it is set in cement. I also have a fence charger and 4 courses of hot wire. (check 'My BYC Page' ) Still, we shut our coop up at night because the fence and fence charger are only one line of defense. Our coop itself is the 2nd line of defense. You can never tell if one night your power will fail, or a circuit breaker will trip, just when a coon decided to investigate your run. Then there is always Murphy's law. What if a limb fell across the run fence allowing a predator to breach the run? It is worth it and also it is a good excuse to take a last look around at your chooks before they are shut in for the night. There are testimonials on the 'Predators' segment of this forum that will bear witness to alarming things people have found when locking down their coop for the night. You just never know.

Gerry