How big should a door/opening of a hangout structure for chickens be?

[JuliaSunshine]

I'm building a 4 feet wide, 6 feet long and 2.5 feet high structure in a new garden area for my chickens that free range all day. It'll be covered with hardware cloth and plastic and I'm going to leave the front side open during the day so they can go in there to eat, drink water, hide or hang out as the garden area doesn't have much cover for them.
I'm wondering how big the front door should be for the chickens to feel safe inside of the structure. Do they like or dislike going into an enclosed space?

* How big should the door be to be a perfect hangout place for chickens? The door will be left open during the day and closed at night to protect the food inside from rodents

1. Whole 6 feet on the front
2. 3 feet (half of the front)
3. 1 foot

Any ideas?

 

[igorsMistress]

My chickens l have used both an enclosed space and an open one, it just depends on their mood I guess. Ideally you should have two doors and the wider the better. The reason is that if a predator was to show up you don’t want anyone getting boxed in, and you want ample space for more than one chicken to get through those doors in a hurry.

 

[JuliaSunshine]

My chickens l have used both an enclosed space and an open one, it just depends on their mood I guess. Ideally you should have two doors and the wider the better. The reason is that if a predator was to show up you don’t want anyone getting boxed in, and you want ample space for more than one chicken to get through those doors in a hurry.

Then the 1 foot door is out.
I can open up the whole long side (6 feet),
or open a half of the long side (3 feet) and the end side which is also 3 feet. But then it would be less cozy inside as the wind would blow through it.
Maybe I'll make two 3 foot doors on the front and see whether they like only one door open or two?

 

[igorsMistress]

Then the 1 foot door is out.
I can open up the whole long side (6 feet),
or open a half of the long side (3 feet) and the end side which is also 3 feet. But then it would be less cozy inside as the wind would blow through it.
Maybe I'll make two 3 foot doors on the front and see whether they like only one door open or two?

I don’t know your layout or how the wind blows, but if that works for your spot go for it. You can always change things up if you need to later. You can also add straw and such for them to cozy up when it’s cold. How cold does it there?

 

[JuliaSunshine]

I don’t know your layout or how the wind blows, but if that works for your spot go for it. You can always change things up if you need to later. You can also add straw and such for them to cozy up when it’s cold. How cold does it there?

Thank you for your input.
I have some hay I cut in the summer so I might put it in there. The structure is in the open even though there are lots of trees a bit far away.
It doesn't get that cold here. It's been close to freezing during the day for a couple of weeks but that's an rare occasion.
The average temperature for Dec and Jan is 37F at night 42F during the day even though it can get as low as 14F once or twice in the winter.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Mine don't like run shelters it if they're too enclosed so if wind/weather intrusion isn't an issue, I'd leave the whole front open. If they don't use it like that (or turns out that wind is an issue) you can always add more coverage later, or use something temporary to block off part of it in bad weather, i.e. a bale of straw.

 

[JuliaSunshine]

Mine don't like run shelters it if they're too enclosed so if wind/weather intrusion isn't an issue, I'd leave the whole front open. If they don't use it like that (or turns out that wind is an issue) you can always add more coverage later, or use something temporary to block off part of it in bad weather, i.e. a bale of straw.

Thank you. I'll try that. I think the openness is the key. Today, I saw a couple of chickens going into the half-made and front-open structure and preening themselves contently. They seem to do preening only where they feel safe. (So wherever my husband or I stop walking and stand for a bit on our property, they show up and start preening, circling our feet. So underfoot!).

Also I noticed my chickens don't like being in the 6'X8'X8' coop either. They go in there only to eat or lay eggs and come out as quickly as possible during the day. They'd rather be outside in the rain than in the drier and warmer coop. I feel so bad when they're walking around looking wet, cold and miserable. Maybe I'll keep the door of the coop wide open and see if they're willing to hang out in there.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thank you. I'll try that. I think the openness is the key. Today, I saw a couple of chickens going into the half-made and front-open structure and preening themselves contently. They seem to do preening only where they feel safe. (So wherever my husband or I stop walking and stand for a bit on our property, they show up and start preening, circling our feet. So underfoot!).

Also I noticed my chickens don't like being in the 6'X8'X8' coop either. They go in there only to eat or lay eggs and come out as quickly as possible during the day. They'd rather be outside in the rain than in the drier and warmer coop. I feel so bad when they're walking around looking wet, cold and miserable. Maybe I'll keep the door of the coop wide open and see if they're willing to hang out in there.

Yeah I have 2 "shelters" in the run and both are completely open across the length (ignore the flooding in the photo lol). The birds seem to enjoy hanging out in them regardless of the weather, but they get used most heavily when it's rainy.

Mine are the same with the coop - unless the weather is absolutely miserable (like cold, driving rain) - they only go inside if they have a reason to be in there. But I need to keep the human door closed (unless there's an extreme heat wave) to keep the elements out.

 

[JuliaSunshine]

Yeah I have 2 "shelters" in the run and both are completely open across the length (ignore the flooding in the photo lol). The birds seem to enjoy hanging out in them regardless of the weather, but they get used most heavily when it's rainy.

View attachment 3327305

Mine are the same with the coop - unless the weather is absolutely miserable (like cold, driving rain) - they only go inside if they have a reason to be in there. But I need to keep the human door closed (unless there's an extreme heat wave) to keep the elements out.

Your shelters are much smaller than what I thought for chicken shelters. Chickens would probably feel cozier with low ceiling! I'll think about making something like that for my chickens too!

 

[Ridgerunner]

They'd rather be outside in the rain than in the drier and warmer coop. I feel so bad when they're walking around looking wet, cold and miserable.

Reminds me of a story. Our dog was laying in the front yard when it was right at freezing. Bright sunshine, very calm (no wind), and frost on the ground. My wife saw her and said, "That dog must be miserable".

The dog was not miserable. She was where she wanted to be. She could have gone through the pet door into a garage where it was in the 60's F. There were other places she could have been. She chose to be there.

What my wife was really saying is that she would be miserable if she were the one out there. Had nothing to do with the dog.

Also I noticed my chickens don't like being in the 6'X8'X8' coop either. They go in there only to eat or lay eggs and come out as quickly as possible during the day.

Mine only go in the coop to lay eggs. I have food and water outside so they don't need to go in to eat. I just think they like being outside. With a hawk or other predator scare they will go in the coop.

I think your purpose of providing the shelter is to have a feed and water station where the feed stays dry and you can lock it up from the rodents at night. And provide a place they can run to if they see a hawk. I would not use clear plastic on the roof, I'd want that opaque. To me the sides could just be wire as long as the feed stays dry.

I'd lock them in that shelter for a couple of hours the first day so they know there is food and water in there and that the shelter is available in case of a predator scare. Don't be surprised if they don't hang out in there during the day. Mine tend to do what they want to do, paying no mind to what I want them to do.