I feel horrible!

roz

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For the first time in 2 years, I forgot to close the coop last night. When I woke up this morning, the girls were all walking around their run, but it is cold and rainy here in MA, and I'm not sure what temp it got down to last night. Do you think it put stress on them having their chicken door open all night? I always put their food inside at night too, and because the rain is being blown sideways some of the food is wet. Should I replace that? Ugh! I feel sooo bad!
 
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They are not stressed out about the door being left open. They don't understand what it is for. They were probably glad to get outside when they woke up.

If it is raining and they are walking around outside, it is certainly not too cold. Even if it were snowing instead of raining it would not be too cold. At 2 years old, they can easily handle that weather.

The risk of not locking the door is that a predator might find them. I accidentally leave my pop door open a couple of times a year, usually around the change to or from daylight saving time when my routine gets messed up. Nothing has found them yet, but, yes, there is a risk. Predators don't find them each and every time you don't lock them up but the risk is certainly there. I'm not happy with myself when I forget to lock them up.

You don't want their feed to mold. It should not bother the chickens whether the feed is wet or not, but if it gets moldy it can be dangerous for them. Some people routinely wet the feed and their chickens really like it. But if your chickens don't clean it up before too long, I'd change it. I let mine run out of feed about once a week just so they clean up everything in the feeder to keep it fresh. When it gets wet, they get nothing more until they clean it up.

From a predator viewpoint you were lucky but leaving the pop door open is something that is not that unusual for some of us. When I first started reading your post, I was expecting a less happy outcome. Be grateful and stop beating yourself up. It will probably be at least another two years before you forget again.
 
Remove the wet food and stop beating yourself up. They were glad to get outside early this morning. Ridgerunner is right - the possibility of predation would be my biggest concern - you and they got lucky. Everyone forgets now and then. Some of us more than others.
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Thanks for your replies. I will just (try to) let it go. If it had been a dry day, I wouldn't have been so upset with myself, but yesterday and today it is just a rain fest outside so they were wet from yesterday already. It would have been nice to lock them up in their freshly cleaned coop last night so they could dry off a bit. You're right...they were probably happy to be outside before I got there, and right again...I'm guessing it will be a long while before I forget to do this again! My husband built fort Knox for them because of our aggressive predators around here, but it is always more peace of mind knowing they are behind lock and key at night. thanks for the input.
 
My coop doesn't even have a door. The run is well secured so they come and go from the coop whenever they want. They come outside in all weather unless its below 20 degrees then they stay in the coop most of the day. My coop is raised so they have a dry outdoor place but they don't even do that. They hung out in the rain all day this past Saturday.
 
I felt bad about LOCKING them in last night, but I figured because of the rain & wind that I better lock them up instead of having a wet coop in the am. Usually I leave their pop door open, only in the coldest months do I close it up. They do enjoy the freedom to get out early in the am.
I would replace any wet feed & I'm sure they won't be too stressed out.
 
It the temperature is going to be below zero, then I close the pop up door. If the coop is inside the run, and the run is part of fort knox, heck I would not worry about it. Chickens put off a lot of heat, and were probably dry within a little time of roosting. Ventilation is almost more important, than the door shut. It really did not bother your hens.

MrsK
 
I sometimes forget to close the door, but they are certainly up and walking around much earlier the next morning! I don't think they mind.
 
They're perfectly fine. Don't worry about it.
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Definitely replace any food that gets wet, but your chickens should be just fine. They're quite resilient to cold temps, especially if they have some sheltered place to get out of drafts (which even a coop with an open door should mostly be able to provide).

Also, if you're super worried about closing the coop door and foresee an issue down the road, you may want to consider getting and automatic coop door. We're absolutely loving ours.
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