the coop we are building, will have 2 doors. one small one for the ramp for the girls to go down, and it will be built into a larger one i can hinge open to clean out the coop. would you suggest leaving the larger one hinged open all the way during the day while im at work so the coop can air out, or does it need to be closed and just let the hens have their access door open is all? the weather here is still warm and decent, so i wouldnt really see a problem unless they want privacy for some reason. i figure once the weather turns cool, then i will just leep the smaller door open. any suggestions?
I use the same systems on my coops. big door for me with a little door for the hens built into it. I leave the big door open on warmer days. i shut the big door when it is windy or really bad wet weather. I find that wild birds are more likely to go into the coop when the big door is open, maybe they feel more comfortable with a bigger escape route!
Our coop, which is all the way inside our run, has 2 doors like that. One chicken door and one swinging human door. When the weather was hot we kept the swinging door open for maximum air flow. Then one pullet decided she liked to roost on the top of the door and I got tired of chasing her off of it, so we started closing it in the afternoon, before roosting time. Now since it's cooler we keep it closed but it has a big window on it which we keep open. Our new coop will not be in the run so we won't have this option-so we put a lot of windows on it.
