Is your coop door closed every night?

[LynneP]

I was just thinking that if you wanted an extra layer of predator protection with ventilation that you could build a mesh porch outside your pop door. Then the birds could exit for fresh air and you'd have that and the run for protection...

 

[RAWR]

oh my yes! we have too many fox, coons, dogs, and God knows what else runing around here

 

[huntsman]

Quote:
That's exactly what we do have, Lynne!

The entire run is sealed and the coop is inside, so we don't even have a coop door...

 

[gsim]

I have a 6 ft steel fence dig proof and with a fence charger too, and I still do a coop lockdown at sunset every day. Better to have two lines of defense instead of one. Remember Murphy's law.

 

[kota1369]

In my winter coop which is a hoop house over a raised garden bed and a 2x3 insulated dog house. I only shut the door once it is below 15 degrees at night. I have a large yard and 4 dogs and I do not have a night time predator problem as my entire yard smells like predators. My chickens are within 10 feet of my back door and I normally have at least one dog in the window who will hear and see anything messing with the chickens.
If you have predators and no guard type animal I would suggest you shut the door. I have some big dogs helping keep it smelling like predators.

the lady with 4 dogs and 4 city chickens

 

[SoCalChick]

I live in CA - its gets pretty hot here in the summer (although im sure not as hot as where you live). Year round my chickens are locked in their coop at night, but in the summer time I replace my solid front door with a secure screen type door so the coop doesnt bake in the summer heat and they are protected and locked up.

 

[gitanesteel]

Because of the cold the big door in the coop is closed and I close the small door every night after the headcount. After having a screech owl in the coop a month or so ago I try to make sure the doors are closed up as soon as the birds go back in the coop.

 

[Bizzybirdy]

ABSOLUTELY! 2 hen houses, both closed every night as soon as they all go in...about dusk. Both doors are inside a 5 ft. high chain link run with small wire tied along the bottom 2 ft. high so none will get pullled through by a racoon. I also use a baby moniter. Better safe than sorry.

 

[KirstenRichter]

Quote:
YES, YES and YES. I am right there with you. After waking up to a bobcat inside the coop and three of my girls already gone- that place is like Ft. Knox. Lockup every night as soon as they roost- I have a converted playhouse as a coop and we have retrofitted a door on the front which is locked. I also have a baby monitor-

 

[TrystInn]

We're in a unique situation in that we don't have predators here and we have a fenced yard with three dogs who will chase away anything that comes around. And what they don't chase, the barncat kills and eats. I know all this because the duck flock goes into high alert whenever anything approaches the yard.

In all honesty, I've likely gotten a bit careless with our coop - I leave the slot door open to their pen for ventilation (yes, I have other sources of venting) and so they can go dust themselves, scratch a bit, or just get away from the others in the unheated old coop at the other end of the pen, etc. I close the slot door if the night temp is under 40F, which is pretty rare here. Their pen has another door via the old coop and I tend to leave that one open just in case one of the gals comes home late (I have 4 month old BCMs that sometimes forget where the doors are and perch on the back of the pen waiting to get in - they aren't bright).

The barncat likes to sleep up in the coop with them where it's warm and cozy (she sleeps on top of the feed bins!), she seems to prefer it to our home as the basset hounds hog the sofa and fart like foghorns.

She's very protective of her gals as they'll share kitchen scraps with her.