Leaving chickens for a few days

[aBirdNerd]

I am going away for a few days. The chicken run is right next to a forest, and our predators are raccoons, hawks, foxes, and more including coyotes. Or run is very solid, all hardware cloth with a plywood roof, and the coop is inside it. The chickens are going in on their own in the evening. Do you think we should ask someone to open the coop in the morning and close it in the evening? Should I leave them in the run/coop with the run locked and free access to the coop? Or should I leave them in the locked coop all day for a few days? Six chickens, 2 months old, coop is 4x5, run is 11x8, and the ventilation not great in the coop.

 

[Kaesi2020]

I am new to chickens but speaking from my own level of comfort with my chickens- I find I feel more at ease knowing they are locked away in the coop at night, especially if I am not home. That would mean someone would have to let them out in the mornings and lock them up at night though. It would give them another layer of protection since they would be in a secured run within a secured coop. I'll be interested to see the other opinions though! Do you have any pictures of your setup?

 

[HudspethsHens]

I am going away for a few days. The chicken run is right next to a forest, and our predators are raccoons, hawks, foxes, and more including coyotes. Or run is very solid, all hardware cloth with a plywood roof, and the coop is inside it. The chickens are going in on their own in the evening. Do you think we should ask someone to open the coop in the morning and close it in the evening? Should I leave them in the run/coop with the run locked and free access to the coop? Or should I leave them in the locked coop all day for a few days? Six chickens, 2 months old, coop is 4x5, run is 11x8, and the ventilation not great in the coop.

Looking forward to replies. We are also going away for a few days and I am wondering the same thing. My coop has an automatic opener so my thought was they should be ok just in the coop with the access to the run. Even if they miss the door closing my run is like fort knocks.

 

[aBirdNerd]

I am new to chickens but speaking from my own level of comfort with my chickens- I find I feel more at ease knowing they are locked away in the coop at night, especially if I am not home. That would mean someone would have to let them out in the mornings and lock them up at night though. It would give them another layer of protection since they would be in a secured run within a secured coop. I'll be interested to see the other opinions though! Do you have any pictures of your setup?

 

[aBirdNerd]

Here's a front and side view of the run.

 

[Kaesi2020]

Sure, let mr

View attachment 2226397View attachment 2226398

Here's a front and side view of the run.

Is there trench and screening or a hardware cloth apron around it on the perimeter of the ground? We added that to ours after feedback from BYC to prevent predators from digging their way in.

 

[aBirdNerd]

Sorry about my reply, "Sure, let mr". I'm not sure what the message i was trying to convert was.
And yes, the hardware cloth is buried in the ground about 1 and a half feet deep.

 

[Kaesi2020]

Sorry about my reply, "Sure, let mr". I'm not sure what the message i was trying to convert was.
And yes, the hardware cloth is buried in the ground about 1 and a half feet deep.

That is great! Hopefully other BYCers with more experience can evaluate your structure and give you their opinions. Hope all goes well no matter what you decide!

 

[aBirdNerd]

So you think we should leave them in the run with access to the coop?

 

[Laurahowemt]

How far out from the run walls is the hardware cloth? I made a skirt of cloth out from the walls 1.5-2.5 feet. I plan to let me ladies have free reign of the run.