Do I need to lock up the coop at night?

[Joyryder]

Half of my chickens have been in a preditor proof run since July. The coop I had wasn't big enough for all of them. I bought too many (doesn't everyone for just in case) I consider myself lucky because I never had a casaulty. They had a plastic play house (set away from the fence) which they love too roost on. You should see 16 trying to fit on it? They've grown and now only 10 are on it. The second coop will be finished this weekend. Sometimes I wonder if stuffing them in the coop for 12 hours is a good thing. My others spend more time in the coop than outside, they want to be couch potatoes and they're demanding a TV and Xbox. They don't get off their roost for morning treats "its too early" But I always know they're safe at night! And I don't have too worry that my luck will run out! And it is so much easier to clean their run when they're locked inside.

 

[ShaggysGirl]

My smaller coop has a sliding bolt installed upside down and the coon would have a hard time getting to it as it is high on a door which is under a metal roof over hang.
The larger coop has a pop door with a hook and eye inside. Yep it can be a pain going in each night to lock it but it is worth it knowing they are safe.
Two days a week I don't get home till 10 pm I get so worried about them. So far knock on wood they have been ok when I get there.

 

[jjthink]

Quote:
Unfortunately that is a tragedy waiting to happen. And I hate to see that, for their sakes or yours, because it sounds like you really care. Unless your run is Fort Knox, I would get someone to close them in on those nights.
JJ

 

[rstampa]

My coop is built into the run and the whole thing in fenced in with 1/2"x1/2" wire fence (hardware cloth) predator prof. So I leave my coop open so they can come and go.

 

[briana1975]

LOCK them in each night so you don't have to one day post about somthing reaching through the fence and pulling you chickens out piece by piece.

 

[twistedpickle]

I always lock my coop at night, racoons have thumbs and can be very tricky, with the ability to undo hindge locks and sliding bolts. better safe then sorry.

 

[patandchickens]

Some ways a predators create/find a gap to get into an apparently predatorproof run:

- rip apart the wire (this includes chickenwire and cheap chainlink; and for a really motivated predator can include other kinds of wire as well)

- chew through the wire (mainly chickenwire, but also includes other kinds if you've attached them at seams with zipties or light-gauge wire)

- pry at an edge or seam of the wire til it bends enough to let the predator sneak through the gap

- rip the wire off the what it's attached to (raccoons, dogs and coyotes are FAR STRONGER at this than nearly everyone can possibly imagine)

- rip apart a piece of wood framing that the wire is attached to (that is, pull it off whatever it is nailed/screwed to, either by pulling out the fastener, or pulling the wood off over the fastener, or breaking the wood), especially likely once the fence has "aged" a bit

- push a fencepost over, (see comment about peoples' ability to imagine things), also likelier once fence has "aged"

- climb over the run (possums, raccoons, foxes, and some dogs are excellent climbers and can scale things you may think are unclimbable, like wood siding; some other predators will climb too) and do one of the abovementioned things to whatever top you may have on the run

- dig under (if you have dogs or foxes around, even burying the bottom edge of the fence 18" deep is not a guarantee of safety, nor is a 4' wide apron, and anything less than those is definitely for sure breachable by a number of predators)

- find an existing gap -- weasels can go through a 1" opening, young raccoons and possums can go through a 2x4" or 3x3" opening, a number of adult raccoons can go through a 4x4 or 3x6" opening, etc.

- push gate open enough (even if locked) to squeeze in the gap

- open or break or rip out the gate latch.

This is not an exhaustive list.

Really, spend a few hours in Predators and Pests to see how non-rare it is for people with really pretty stout runs to have predators get in.

If you are cool with risking it, that's fine, but it sure seems like a very large number of people just can't imagine it could ever happen to them, or figure that because Joe down the road has had chickens in a topless chickenwire pen for ten years there are obviously no predators around that could get into your own run. Which is not the way it works.

Just sayin',

Pat

 

[phoenix rooster]

I do not lock them up, but I also have many strands of electric fencing covering the run and coop in addition to other fencing. I have not lost one so far. before the electric fence they free ranged, after 10 lost hens I finally saw the predator, a bobcat was taking them. The fence run is 6 feet tall and coop 10 ft tall.

 

[SC_Hugh]

Quote:
Unfortunately that is a tragedy waiting to happen. And I hate to see that, for their sakes or yours, because it sounds like you really care. Unless your run is Fort Knox, I would get someone to close them in on those nights.
JJ

No, I disagree with your reply JJ. This thread is about leaving the pop door open 24/7.

Having a pop door open and unlocked during the day and for a few hours after sundown IS NOT as risky as leaving it open and unlocked all night. In the evening, families are still awake, domestic animals are still being let out into their backyards, etc.

I agree that predator attacks can happen at anytime during the day or night (we have a daytime bobcat in our neighborhood that stalks my neighbors chickens), but I expect that my worst predators will strike between midnight and 6am.

Automatic pop door openers and closers are a great idea, electric wire all around coop and run at a couple of heights too.

My coop and run are solid, but I will bet that my coop made of solid wood will protect my birds 10x better than the run made of mostly wire stapled to wood.

I am not worried as long as I close the pop door before my dogs and family go to sleep.

--Hugh

 

[CityChook]

Quote:
That predator section gives me nightmares. Seriously.

My coop is secure. And I mean SECURE. Yet still, I lock the pop and human doors every night because I just can't imagine walking out in the morning and finding a scene like some of the photos I've seen on that forum. Or, God forbid, have my kids discover it.

Locking up at night is a small gesture and it becomes a habit, but mostly I do it so I can sleep at night.