Door opening

[Dark Rooster]

Does the human door to the coop run open in or out?

 

[SilverBirds]

I think most open outwards, but there may be some exceptions.

 

[BlueBaby]

Mine open's out, and I think that it's a better idea. If you have it open inward's, there could always be a chance that something might block it from opening.

 

[townchicks]

Mine opens out, so I don't smash the chickens in the face.

 

[BlueBaby]

Mine opens out, so I don't smash the chickens in the face.

That's a good reason, too!

 

[Starlord]

From what I have seen if you live in snowing areas in is better so you don't have to deal with snow blocking it.

 

[Battlepants]

Mine opens out for a couple reasons.

-the locking mechanism that I made is just a bar that comes down in front of the door, if the door opened inward, there would be quite a bit of added complexity to being able to lock from the outside
-don't want to hit a chicken with the door or potentially knock something over inside the coop
-the area that this coop sits gets a good deal of wind, with the wind blowing on an outward door as it currently is, it just kinda holds the door shut. This is opposed to blasting the door open while I am working in there - potentially hitting me, hitting a chicken, knocking things over or even damaging the door

Now, to the point of people worrying about the door getting snow blocked - There was some decent modifications to the ground that had to be made in order to mitigate water getting into the coop, so effectively this door is about 1 foot up from the former ground. It hasn't had a real snow yet, but I expect that it shouldn't be too bad in the winter. Further modifications may be made to this door so it splits about a foot up the current door and I just need to step over it. This would mitigate upwards to 2 feet of snow... and if we had that much snow, a door opening is the least of my worries.

 

[3KillerBs]

Mine open out so that they'll still function when the deep litter has built up and because it is easier to deter chickens from running out that way. I live in a hot climate where snow is never an issue.

Either way works depending on your specific needs.

 

[Flockincrazy]

Mine opens out so I can get it open when I do deep litter for winter

 

[chickmamato7]

I have mine so it opens in. I didn't do it that way intentionally, but it was just easier to install that way for some reason I can't remember now. Turned out to be the best mistake I've ever made:
1. The chickens don't get out when I enter, because I push slowly forward and only enough to let myself in.
2. Allows for easier biosecurity, because I can place my boots sideways along the covered threshold and step into them before moving forward into the coop (vs having the door swing outward into unprotected space)
3. In winter, the snow builds up on the outside of my covered run, so with a push forward door there is no shoveling needed to gain access to the coop.