Leaving coop door open at night?

[Brandy2512]

At night I have been leaving the coop chicken door open to the run so they can come out when they want in the morning. Now I am second guessing the safety of this. My thinking was that it would allow my 2 girls who are timid and low on the totem pole to get away from the more dominant girls. It opens to a very secure run, but I am now thinking that if a predator were able to somehow get into the run they would have free access to my sleeping babies. What does BYC say about this? My husband thinks I am worrying unnecessarily. Of course, he built th coop & run and thinks he created Fort Knox, lol.

 

[darkbaysfordays]

My opinion is that if the run is predator proof (good netting, buried edges, etc.) then it shouldn't be any less safe than the coop. I wouldn't think the chickens would be coming out to the run a whole lot during the night, they just might get up before you would. Closing the door would add another level of protection but I don't think there's really a right or wrong answer

 

[Ridgerunner]

It depends on your confidence in how safe your run is. Many people leave the pop door open day and night, it does open up the entire area so weaker chickens can get away from bullies.

You are correct. If a predator gets in the run day or night they have access to the coop too if the door is open. Generally they are more vulnerable at night but practically any predator you can think of can be active during the day too. They are just more cautious during the day due to human activity.

We cannot make that decision for you. Some of us do, some don't.

 

[21hens-incharge]

For me and mine I close the coop every night. I too worry that if there were somehow a breach my birds would have no chance.

I don't believe anything is truly predator PROOF predator RESISTANT yes.