Help on Locks for Coop

[Lala-chicken]

Hi everyone! We are in the final stage of our coop and appreciate all the feedback and advice in building it. Question....my husband thinks adding these locks (attached pic) to the top and bottom of the egg doors and coop doors is sufficient. Also, the coop and doors is 6' off the ground and attached to a run with wire. I don't think they will be secure and predator proof against raccoons, rats, foxes and maybe a bobcat. We do have a fenced in back yard but obviously a fox will dig and a racoon will climb
Any and all advice is much appreciated.

 

[LTAY1946]

I use that kind of lock and they work fine unless the coop begins to settle and they get out of alignment and need to be moved or the coop adjusted to the shaft can enter the second piece of the lock. I understand that raccoons don't easily open this lock.

 

[Lala-chicken]

I use that kind of lock and they work fine unless the coop begins to settle and they get out of alignment and need to be moved or the coop adjusted to the shaft can enter the second piece of the lock. I understand that raccoons don't easily open this lock.

Thank you!

 

[rosemarythyme]

That is the type of latch that raccoons can jiggle open. You really want a latch with 2 steps, something more like this with a carabiner through the padlock hole, so that would have to be fully removed first before the latch could be lifted.
https://www.national-hardware.com/p/29-automatic-gate-latches?model=N342-600

Or anything lockable would work too, you can even hang the key next to the lock if strictly dealing with wildlife.

 

[DLA]

I use carabiners on mine and I know from trail cam raccoons fiddled with them on the run door but couldn't figure them out, finally gave up. I don't have any worries over people stealing my chickens so those are easier to thaw out in winter/freezing rain than an iced-up padlock. If raccoons are a concern I'd also recommend that you make sure you're covering or removing any food overnight and cleaning up spilled feed. Food left out in the open overnight will draw raccoons quicker than anything. I also stopped filling my wild bird feeders as that is also a raccoon magnet.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Question....my husband thinks adding these locks (attached pic) to the top and bottom of the egg doors and coop doors is sufficient.

Gorgeous coop.

I use hasp latches with carabiners. similar to what seen in this home depot link..

https://www.homedepot.com/s/hasp latches?NCNI-5

 

[Mouthpear]

Hi everyone! We are in the final stage of our coop and appreciate all the feedback and advice in building it. Question....my husband thinks adding these locks (attached pic) to the top and bottom of the egg doors and coop doors is sufficient. Also, the coop and doors is 6' off the ground and attached to a run with wire. I don't think they will be secure and predator proof against raccoons, rats, foxes and maybe a bobcat. We do have a fenced in back yard but obviously a fox will dig and a racoon will climb
Any and all advice is much appreciated.

If you want a secure and adjustable option , I suggest using a combination of:

• Heavy Duty Toggle Clamp Latch
• Locking Carabiner Clips

The Heavy Duty Toggle Clamp Latches can be adjusted when the door sags,

as been mentioned.

I use that kind of lock and they work fine unless the coop begins to settle and they get out of alignment

The Stainless Steel Locking Carabiner Clips, always rotated down to where the smaller loop is on top, will make it very hard for a racoon to open and lift.

If you still want more security, add a 2x2 block of wood as a toggle, that blocks the the carabiner from lifting. 4" long with a hole drilled on one end. Screw it to the wall above the carabiner, and left loose, so it always swings down. Block of wood has to be lifted out of the way and the carabiner has to be twisted, opened, lifted and removed. Easy for you, predators will never be able to do.

 

[Debbie292d]

My husband made our coop door and put that lock you have on the right on it. We knew raccoons would try get in so that one they can't figure out. We keep a small paint brush close by to brush the pellets and dust off the frame so it closes better, but otherwise, we've never had issues. We have mostly raccoons, skunks, coyotes, and fox, but this coop survived a bear attack once, meaning, the bear took one look at it and said "Skip that idea, let's go for the bird feeders," and she sure did! It's lasted about 7 years now.

 

[Sic]

From your pic, I don't see a way to keep that sliding bolt in a locked position. I use similar bolt locks, more like the old garage door slides, using two, one towards the top, one towards the bottom and they are secured in the locked position with stainless steel carabiner, as someone already mentioned. I don't have experience with coons, though i have heard they are quite dexterous. I have mink and marten to worry about, aside from large brown bear, the bears will just rip the doors off, locks or no locks...lol, so there's that.

 

[Trishc100]

Hi everyone! We are in the final stage of our coop and appreciate all the feedback and advice in building it. Question....my husband thinks adding these locks (attached pic) to the top and bottom of the egg doors and coop doors is sufficient. Also, the coop and doors is 6' off the ground and attached to a run with wire. I don't think they will be secure and predator proof against raccoons, rats, foxes and maybe a bobcat. We do have a fenced in back yard but obviously a fox will dig and a racoon will climb
Any and all advice is much appreciated.