Ever Been Locked In?

[Cluckies]

That is horrible. how about putting out night vision game cameras around the yard? They have them pretty cheap now...

 

[bigmrg74]

I worry more about two legged predators than four! Every year when we get chickens, someone steals them. Seriously, the entire flock a couple years in a row. And it definitely was a human. My mother just gave up. They would come and steal a few every couple nights or so. No pattern or whatever. The door would be closed but locked feebly like they were in a hurry, and a few less birds inside. Sometimes they would all be gone in one night. One time, someone stole a dozen ducks, a few Cornish cross, and half a dozen layers in one night! How? Why? I was afraid to try having my own birds here. I have only had two pullets stolen so far, both my Ameraucanas. This time it was in the day and my mother saw their car. She just was not fast enough to get the license plate.
One day we were driving and came across a lady trying to steal someone's free range flock off the side of the road. We stopped, they hopped in their car empty handed. It is crazy around here. And it is not like this is a city, we are very rural, all farms around here.

perhaps some motion activated lights with an alarm? That would make somebody want to bail out quick.

We have waited with weapons, all night. They never come when you want them to. By the time you hear who ever it is, they are pulling out and everyone is gone. We have had people poison our dogs and cats. I do not even know if it is the same person. That kind of stuff happens all the time. People's pets go missing because high school boys want to play "Critter Bashing".

Sick puppies! You get a few of them arrested for thief and animal abuse, that would do a lot to stop that nonsense.

That is horrible. how about putting out night vision game cameras around the yard? They have them pretty cheap now...

Wouldn't stop them, but would allow you to have their licence plates and just what they swiped dead to rights. You track down their names and post it on Youtube and you could make a hell of a mess for those boys for the rest of their lives. Drop that bomb on some star jock type at the local HS where his goose is cooked and that nonsense will stop in a hurry.

 

[Blooie]

I don't have any two legged predators. The reason our door has a latch and a lock is because when we built our coop, we cut out the space for the door and then used the piece we cut out as the door. No standard door would have fit and a regular door knob wouldn't work on that thin sized door anyway. So the piece we cut out has stabilizers, hinges, and 2 sliding latches......if the latches aren't shut the door sometimes slowly creeps open. I have a second hook and eye type closure on the inside so I can keep the door shut to prevent escapes when I'm working in the coop. The only way anyone can be shut up into the coop is if the latch is physically closed by someone on the outside. So when Ken saw the latch open on his way to the garage he just automatically closed it and since it was getting late he went ahead and put the caribineer on it too. Presto - Instant wife-locked-in-the-chicken-coop. I am partially deaf, so I didn't hear him out there and he had no idea I was inside.

I don't know what I'd do if I had to deal with folks stealing my chickens. It's bad enough sweating about raccoons, skunks, and stray cats and dogs.

 

[RonP]

We have waited with weapons, all night. They never come when you want them to. By the time you hear who ever it is, they are pulling out and everyone is gone. We have had people poison our dogs and cats. I do not even know if it is the same person. That kind of stuff happens all the time. People's pets go missing because high school boys want to play "Critter Bashing".

OMG....

I will never say on a public forum what you should...but you definitely have all my support and wishes for a successful outcome!

 

[N F C]

As soon as I saw this article in "Grit", I had to add it to this thread about accidental lock ups:
http://www.grit.com/animals/trapped-in-the-hen-house-it-was-bound-to-happen.aspx

Poor kid! And poor Dad, he'll be hearing about this for a long time, lol.

 

[RJSorensen]

On my older coop, if you close the door quickly enough, from the inside… well you could be in there for a while. I suppose that this would be most unpleasant (cough, cough) embarrassment and problematic for one, so unfortunate to be thusly confined. The old adage, that goes to the tune of "If something can go wrong, it will." Well he knew what he was talking about. Be careful out there folks, protect yourselves from accidental confinement.

Best to all and your birds,

RJ

 

[m80fierro]

Great thread, I have to admit that I locked myself in the run once before. I'm in the middle of a remodel to my coop and run setup and had installed a new door with a quick latch locking mechanism. I walked in and didn't want the girls to get out so not thinking I shut the door behind me. Luckily, I had my iPhone, I called my wife and said "come check out the progress on the coop". 5 minutes later she walked out and said "looks good". I replied "can you open the door"? Lol

 

[N F C]

Great thread, I have to admit that I locked myself in the run once before. I'm in the middle of a remodel to my coop and run setup and had installed a new door with a quick latch locking mechanism. I walked in and didn't want the girls to get out so not thinking I shut the door behind me. Luckily, I had my iPhone, I called my wife and said "come check out the progress on the coop". 5 minutes later she walked out and said "looks good". I replied "can you open the door"? Lol

Great story, your wife should get a lot of fun out of that one!

 

[Cluckies]

Great thread, I have to admit that I locked myself in the run once before. I'm in the middle of a remodel to my coop and run setup and had installed a new door with a quick latch locking mechanism. I walked in and didn't want the girls to get out so not thinking I shut the door behind me. Luckily, I had my iPhone, I called my wife and said "come check out the progress on the coop". 5 minutes later she walked out and said "looks good". I replied "can you open the door"? Lol

Hahaha! Happens to the best of us! Now I also always have my phone on me when I go tend the coop, even though we rigged it with a latch lifter rope from the inside!

 

[TJordan]

Oh my oh my!! Yesterday was my first official "locked in" situation. We just moved to a new house and Decided that we had way to many birds to try to buy a coop big enough so we spent 2 weekends leveling, cutting and building a big coop/barn area for my chickens. We installed a great lock Set it real high to keep kids and critters from opening it and put the birds in. Well... The 3rd day they are in there I decide to go into the coop for eggs (none

) and that's when it happened... A big gust of wind throws the door closed and I hear that sicking sound of the latch engaging. Now... Many people call for help. Won't do me any good. I'm surrounded by elderly house bound neighbors and a couple that work long hours. My kids can't reach the latch and my 5 year old boy is starting to cry. What to do... Call on my phone.... Oops.... No charge. I was playing a stupid game and killed the battery. So I talk to my kids and calm them down by telling my 8 year old girl to go get ice cream for them both while I debate over what to do. Nobody can hear me... Can't call for help... Can't wait for my husband to come home because he left the day before for the hunting camp and wouldn't be home for 4 DAYS!!! I've been sick so not that strong but I start kicking the side of the coop praying that I could break part of it loose. Finally after 20 mins of birds laughing at me I knock a section loose. YEAH... Lesson learned... I'll be repairing the coop wall today and installing a release catch wire inside the barn. So there is my story.

hope you liked it.