How do you securely close your outside-the-coop-egg box?

[4CiTyCHicHENs]

the hardware store suggested a Fort Knox like design to me & I dont really think it necessarry to put a MATER KEYED LOCK on it... Help! I live in a city so I do have raccoons & opossums (i have never seen any in MY yard but Im sure they are there....)

 

[95yj]

the lock may have been to deter people more than animals. Maybe just throw a lock on, but don't actually lock it. giving it the appearance of security.

 

[elmo]

I use a keyed lock at night or whenever we're going away from home for a couple of hours. At other times, I just use a spring loaded clip. You can see pictures on my BYC page.

 

[Uzuri]

Use keyed locks if you have coons. Any given individual may be smart enough to open just about any other sort of latch.

But, that said, don't lock them during the day if you're not worried about human predators. Unlock them the first time you look for eggs and just loop them through the hasp until nighttime; snap them shut then. That's how I do my locks, and really, it's not a big slowdown in the morning when you figure I'm already feeding, watering, scooping and general checking over. Unlock, Unlock, loop loop, open the doors.

(Actually, my morning is more like: Bungee bungee slide slide slide slide unlock unlock loop loop... but I have pest problems.)