Does anyone let their chickens sleep outside?

[Mtnboomer]

I listed the biggest requirements i had for sleeping outside to work already. But that is not an option for me. I have both free range chickens and penned up birds. My coops are very secure.

But, we have bears. There is no such thing as a secure run with bears; coops either if one is determined enough. If you choose to let them sleep outside, the run must be secure enough to handle the biggest baddest predator you've got or its not an option.

 

[Stephanie8806]

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".

I am going to be entertaining this concept this summer. We will be building a cantilevered awning off the side of our coop inside the run... I’m thinking that the horizontal supports will be highly attractive to some of our flock in summer when our nights can get into the 70s and 80s. Since we have 10 foot fences and netting covering the run, I’m thinking it’s not any less safe than inside the coop, if they choose to roost out there.

 

[Vickischics]

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".

I love the picture of your dog! Please tell me more about your heeler or cattle dog.
I love the working dog breeds.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I am going to be entertaining this concept this summer. We will be building a cantilevered awning off the side of our coop inside the run... I’m thinking that the horizontal supports will be highly attractive to some of our flock in summer when our nights can get into the 70s and 80s. Since we have 10 foot fences and netting covering the run, I’m thinking it’s not any less safe than inside the coop, if they choose to roost out there.

What about critters that can get under or through the fence? Got any of those around?

 

[Stephanie8806]

What about critters that can get under or through the fence? Got any of those around?

Not really. Fencing is buried in the ground, and all gaps(like in the run door frame) are less than half an inch. We don’t have raccoons at all. I hear there are a few weasels, but my neighbor have only seen one... and their cat killed one so maybe that was it? We also have a lot of owls out here and some hawks so that may help mitigate the weasel problem. Regardless, it’s never been an issue.

Im not sure it would be an issue anyways, with the concept of a cantilevered awning. No ground posts, and horizontal supports(potential roost spots) would be about 6 feet high for walking clearance. The only way onto them apart from a straight vertical jump or flying up would be if an animal climbed up the sheer smooth side of the coop, and I don’t know that that’s possible?

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

I love the picture of your dog! Please tell me more about your heeler or cattle dog.
I love the working dog breeds.

What do you want to know? LOL His name is "Shotgun". He is an AKC registered ACD. He is still in the "jackass" phase. (He just turned 22 months old so he thinks he knows everything and doesn't need to listen! So we battle daily. Hopefully he will "out grow it" sooner than later!) I used to tell him DAILY "I should have gotten another German Shepherd! I've had working line German shepherds since 1978. I wanted to downsize a little bit this go around. (What was I THINKING?? LOL) I had a cattle dog/Australian shepherd mix that was in the top 2 of "best dogs EVER.) My main thing was wanting something that was easy to pick up in case I needed to. While I can P/U a GSD weight wise, the fact that they are so long bodied makes it harder to manage.

 

[Jajika]

In nature, chickens will find the highest point they can manage and sleep there. Before there were coops, there were trees. That was the safe place to sleep. I have trees in the chicken run (75 x 25 x 15) and they love to sleep there. A few sleep on top of their coop and a couple like to be snuggy inside. If it is nasty weather or raining, they all go into the coop on their own. As my weather is mild (Northern California) I don't have the same extreme weather conditions others have that could be deadly, I'm sure.

 

[Anon112]

I built (with lots of help!) a large run for my chickens, including a coop that is fully enclosed. The chickens love the coop . . . to sleep on. They will go inside of it to lay, but even in the coldest weather they will only sleep on the roof of it. The coop is in a sheltered corner of the run. And while there are some improvements I want to make to the run (having learned a lot since I built it--like getting a smaller sized hardware cloth and digging in a better, deeper apron), I mostly feel good about them being in there. I have coyotes, bears, foxes, raccoons, possums, etc.

In the winter, if there are high winds and cold temps, I hang a tarp on the "open" side of the run to block the wind. (I built the run out of an old horse run-in, so part of the side and back are solid wood.

I would just echo others that you need to consider what kind of predators there are in your area and whether being outside at night would expose them to more extreme weather (which it sounds like you have already considered).

One advantage of them not being locked in a coop is that they can get out and about on their own in the morning. I don't have to feel guilty sleeping in until 8 or 9am, thinking about them being literally cooped up. I know that there are automatic coop door openers and such, but mine are not fans of being in the coop so I have not super looked into it.

 

[chickentrains]

the entrance from the coop to the run doesn't close. they have a choice, they spend the day in the run, and they always go up at night.

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

In nature, chickens will find the highest point they can manage and sleep there. Before there were coops, there were trees. That was the safe place to sleep. I have trees in the chicken run (75 x 25 x 15) and they love to sleep there. A few sleep on top of their coop and a couple like to be snuggy inside. If it is nasty weather or raining, they all go into the coop on their own. As my weather is mild (Northern California) I don't have the same extreme weather conditions others have that could be deadly, I'm sure.

We don't have trees either. LOL (We have sage brush since this is the desert.)