Leave them in the coop until late morning?

[paullad]

Newbie here. From what I understand, most people let their chickens out of the coop early in the morning. Is this really necessary? What would happen if we left them in until 7 am or so?

 

[sourland]

As long as your schedule is consistent - no problem.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

If you have enough coop space and the conditions in the coop are comfortable they'll be fine. Mine don't get out until 7 most days.

Some basics:

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

Where, in general, are you? Climate matters so if you put your location into your profile people can give better-targeted advice.

 

[SourRoses]

Wait, since when did 7am become "late"?

Personally, I don't think it's late till 11.
Good thing my mom is a morning lark and does all the morning stuff.

Still, she varies from crack of dawn to sometimes 9am depending on what she's doing, and the chickens whine and fuss because they want to be out playing with the bugs, but they get over it as soon as the door opens.

Just as @3KillerBs said above, they have to have enough space to make things comfortable. Any birds in tight spaces need to get out as soon as the sun starts to shine.

 

[Sammi_0411]

Yeah agree with others 7 is absolutely fine mine wake me up at 5 and hubby gets annoyed so mine come out then wish they didn't lol x

 

[3KillerBs]

Just as @3KillerBs said above, they have to have enough space to make things comfortable. Any birds in tight spaces need to get out as soon as the sun starts to shine.

Yes, this is important.

My birds are in a 16x16 open-air coop.

 

[MarkRainbolt]

Put in a automatic door and let them out as soon as the sun comes up. That way if you want to sleep in a little bit longer you can. Without any hassle.
Mark

 

[Sammi_0411]

I swear my gals are louder then any cockerel lol especially first thing in morning x

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

my auto door opens at 8am and I usually head out there to feed them shortly after that, but sometimes as late as 9. as long as they've got water when they wake up and you'll feed them soon after, I think they'll be fine

 

[NatJ]

Newbie here. From what I understand, most people let their chickens out of the coop early in the morning. Is this really necessary? What would happen if we left them in until 7 am or so?

I'm not sure about "most people," but I have never expected to let chickens out "early." If it suits my schedule, it happens, but it doesn't have to.

I first kept chickens in a place with long, snowy winters, and they went months without getting let out of the coop. As long as the coop is suitable, and the chickens have food & water, a few hours in the morning is no problem at all.

If you only provide food & water in the run, the chickens need access fairly early so they can eat and drink ("fairly early" might mean within 2-3 hours of when the sun comes up.) You can let them out, or have an automatic door that opens, or if you have a predator-proof run you can just leave the pop door open all the time.

If your coop gets too hot, you should provide more shade, more ventilation, or both; and until you get it fixed, you should let the chickens out before it gets too hot each day.

If your coop is not big enough, you should get a bigger coop or reduce the number of chickens, but as a temporary measure you can let them out as soon as the sun comes up, so they don't kill each other (metaphorically or literally) while crowded in there.