Do you close the coop door nightly? Is that for warmth or security? Or is there another reason you want the chickens inside the coop? We have really hots temps here in Africa, and I was considering leaving the coop door open at night, so the ladies can spend time in the run if they choose. The run will be secured...
I close mine every night. You could make a door frame and put wire on the door. That way the breeze could still come in but prodators couldn't get in.
You might should re-think your coop design. Try this on for size: https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=27985-open-air-design-coop Yes I close the "door" every night, to keep out predators, but the door is a 6ft tall chainlink gate so I don't have to worry about them roasting in there.
All of my coops and runs and pens stay locked up tight all day and night regardless. Preditors abound. AL
mine run is fairly secured, so my coop pop door stays open, 24/7. I have dogs that keep most predators at bay.
All doors closed for warmth and security in winter . I have a window that opens but is sheathed with hardware cloth, and the entire porch is sheathed for hot evenings. The pop opening has 2 doors, one latched on the inside, the other latched on the outside for predator protection. We live where things go bump in the night, including most north woods carnivores...
Coop door and pop door get closed/locked for the night. The pop door goes into a fenced, roof covered run. I don't always manage to close the popdoor when it gets dark and the girls go to roost but I close it every night. Now the run is pretty secure, only one are that has chickenwire and that is higher up and not very large. The rest is hardware cloth and/or wood on the lower part. Screendoor to go to the yard. So even if it is already dark the few times I am late, the chickens are safe from predators. Also, the coop nd run are inside a fully fenced yard - 5 ft chainlink fence. We have coyotes, racoons, possums, squirrels plenty here. Also red-tail hawks and several resident owls and other birds of prey. ETA: The coop has vents up high and a few windows that are fully screened. I the winter the windows are closed, summer they stay open for ventilation.
Quote:Our coop is open to the run day and night because of Arizona's hot temps - the crun is secured. The chickens get up on the roosts each night and go out to the run each morning when the sun comes up. You can see how open it is on my BYC page.
