Does anyone let their chickens sleep outside?

[jolenesdad]

My coop is a coop/run combo. There is no enclosed coop. It has a roof and three sides and it’s a totally enclosed space with hardware cloth panels. The roosts are just sitting in the corner.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

I live in Upstate NY, have a secure, roofed, predator proof run and lots of room in my 2 coops, but several of my chickens prefer to roost outdoors in the run....even in the frigid NY weather. I have tried to bring them in and close the coops, but I gave up!

Most of my flock roost indoors, but several are happiest roosting in their run. So far, they continue to be healthy & happy. Some have a little frostbite on the tips of their combs, but it doesn’t seem to bother them enough to go inside!!!

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

We have an indoor/outdoor coop too. Works great. They often choose to roost in the outdoor section.

If you have breeds that are susceptible to issues if they get wet, maybe roof the run area. Ours is just hardware cloth like an aviary, but our marans love it and do fine. But I catch them out in the rain some nights.

 

[Tired old Rooster]

In a secure run? I am also talking about "letting" them if they choose, rather than "forcing" them into a "hen house" during the hot months. I have been considering using an existing "building" as a "coop". Works great in the cooler weather. (Currently use it for my turkeys.) But it does get hot in there in the summer. Increasing cross ventilation really isn't an option due to the way it is constructed. With the current cost of lumber, I am really trying not to have to spend $9457864 on a new structure. Especially since I have never HAD chickens before and therefor not 100% sure it will be something I will want to do "forever".

Temperature and predators. That is all. Give them a place to go if it is cold and shade if it is hot. I recommend a pack of five big dogs with access around their pen to keep the naughty creatures away.

 

[ackie]

I let my chickens sleep literally outside. My main concern with a run would just be making it predator proof since I assume they wont be roosting up high enough to be safe without it.

 

[3KillerBs]

I'm building an open-air style coop. The chickens will roost where they choose to roost -- either in the protected end or in the more open end.

I figure that as long as I give them the option to choose they know how to be chickens better than I know how to be a chicken.

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

Temperature and predators. That is all. Give them a place to go if it is cold and shade if it is hot. I recommend a pack of five big dogs with access around their pen to keep the naughty creatures away.

The only naughty creatures are coyotes and badgers. (Don't know if badgers would even be an issue, but we do have them here.) And coyotes aren't going to breech the pen. (Hog panels with chain link attached on one side and SUPER heavy duty welded wire panels on the other sides. Dang near killed myself setting them up! (Even very determined dogs much larger than any coyote known to man have ever damaged either one AT ALL.) (Pic attached to show the welded wire kennel panels. Also shows the building (12x12) I am thinking of using for if they choose any time, and for the winter. This is as it is NOW, not how it will be if I decided to use it for the chickens.) Luckily there is also a very large cottontail and jack rabbit population so there is a LOT of "coyote food". (Not counting the road kill mule deer and all the mice and voles. LOL) And while I KNOW they are wild animals and will "do what they do", they haven't been an issue for me SO FAR in the 10 years I have lived here. Not even with my goats or turkeys.

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

The winds here are hard to explain too and kind of unpredictable at times. Perhaps you can make sure that at least the west wind is blocked. When you get your chickens in there just watch their reactions, and adjust when/if needed. Make the run easy to add wind breaks. Add additional areas in the run where they can shelter if needed, to help during the day.

LOL I have plywood, wire, screw gun etc... And know how to use them. LOL Pic shows one of my "wind breaks" attached to the run currently.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Yes, some of my banties, & standards sleep outside on outside roosts. Their runs are secured, & covered.

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

We have an indoor/outdoor coop too. Works great. They often choose to roost in the outdoor section.

If you have breeds that are susceptible to issues if they get wet, maybe roof the run area. Ours is just hardware cloth like an aviary, but our marans love it and do fine. But I catch them out in the rain some nights.

They are mottled Java's. (And "rain"? I'm not familiar with this word. LOL I live in the high desert. We had 7 inches precipitation in all of 2020. (Jan 1 to Dec 31.) But I do plan on roofing at least part of the run area, mostly for shade and to keep at least part of it snow free in the winter.