Is closing coop door on chicken tractor necessary?

[KrazyChicks]

I work some evenings and have to trust my 7 and 8 yr olds to secure the coop and turn on the hen's nightlight. I have a solar light on a dusk to dawn timer on order, so that solves their nightlight situation, but I wonder if I could leave their coop door open during the night. It's a chicken tractor with 1/4 inch hardware cloth.

 

[CracklesIsACrow]

Well, a fox could get in there and totally ruin/kill everything.

 

[KrazyChicks]

How do they get in? My coop has no floor either, so if the predator digs, then does it matter if the door is open? My thinking in closing at night is to hide the hens. Trying to figure out how to post a pic.

 

[KrazyChicks]

 

[CracklesIsACrow]

Hm, well some coop's are different and yours looks like it doesn't need the doors close.
Mine a fox can get it very easy, if you don't close the door.

 

[KrazyChicks]

Thank you, Crackles, for your input. The chicks have been putting themselves to roost on their own recently....they've only been out for a week. I didn't know if I should get a nightguard light, or invest in electric fence. Nothing has tried to dig yet. Would like to give them the freedom to go out in run before I wake up in the a.m., but want them safe too.

 

[waldeneffect]

My wife made an entire blog post on some of the chicken tractor doors I've made over the years.

http://www.avianaquamiser.com/posts/Chicken_tractor_doors/

 

[jenniemig]

My coop and run are still under construction, and I'm making sure they're as predator proof as possible. I will not be closing the door that leads from the coop to the run either. There will be some days that I won't be here to open early enough, or closed late enough, so I'm going to let them come and go as they please. I don't want them to be stuck inside our outside because of my crazy schedule.

 

[petrel]

You may want to consider adding a wire "apron" or a wire floor. With an open bottomed coop and run a predator could just as easily dig into one as the other.

I had an attempted dig in the first night my tractor was occupied. Fortunately the wire floor thwarted the effort.

 

[petrel]

My coop and run are still under construction, and I'm making sure they're as predator proof as possible. I will not be closing the door that leads from the coop to the run either. There will be some days that I won't be here to open early enough, or closed late enough, so I'm going to let them come and go as they please. I don't want them to be stuck inside our outside because of my crazy schedule.

I was concerned about the same thing. An automatic door can help with that. We installed an ADOR1 and have been very pleased. It is nice not to have to worry about buttoning up the coop each night or opening it up each morning.