locked myself in the run, TWICE NOW.

[scooter147]

My job has changed and I will be out of town about 5 days a month, so my mom comes over and stays with the critters while I'm out of town.
I had to lower the lock on the chicken run gate (it's a portion of the privacy fence) because mom is much shorter then me and she has difficulty reaching the lock at the top of the gate. It was 7 feet off the ground (had to dig out about a foot on the outside of the gate out to swing it open).
The lock on the outside of the run was one of those self latching types, when you pushed or pulled the run gate close it locked on it's own. So when it was time to exit I just reached up and over and let myself out.
So I have several hook and eyes laying around that I installed on the inside so when you went into the run you could latch it behind you. I was smart enough to use the three inch hook so has not to have to pull the gate shut all the way and latch the outside lock.
WELL, twice now I have pulled it shut (not thinking) and locked myself in the run. So I have to crawl and squeeze through the chicken pop door into the coop and then work my fat fingers through the chicken wire to flip the hook and eye that keeps the chicken wire "screen door" shut.
I'm stopping at the hardware store tonight and getting a bolt latch, I'm getting too old to be crawling through chicken pop doors.

 

[flagday76]

I accidently barricaded myself in my coop this winter! I went out to feed the chickens and rabbits before leaving for Christmas Eve dinner...the rest of the family had left already and I was running late. It was an unusually warm day for winter in Northern New York, and the snow was melting off the roof. As soon as I shut the door, a whole bunch of wet heavy snow fell off and barricaded the door shut! No one was home, and I forgot my cell phone in the house! I tried to crawl out the window, but it was WAAY to small! I finally rammed the door hard enough to move the snow a little, and I squeezed out the door. I thought I was going to knock it off the hinges! I am always late for dinners, so when I told my family what happened, they thought I was kidding! Really, it did happen...

 

[dipence71]

LOL glad to know I am not the only one who does that. I had to rig a kind of rope that ties to it that goes through a hole we drilled in the 2x4 on the top of the run to pull it to get it open. Well the first time I used a link chain and well you guessed it it broke ...while I was in the run. "Someone let me out of here PLEASE!!!!"
Then I used a plastic type band that is on boxes when they are shipped. so far so good but I really need to get some heavy duty string for it before I get locked in yet again.... lol

 

[pips&peeps]

First off:

Can you put a piece of string on the latch and weave it through so that you can pull it to open from the inside?

 

[scooter147]

Jean,
I do have the string on there now, however, I can see the string breaking after a short time exposed to the weather so a three dollar bolt latch will be purchased.
The first time I had to crawl through my pop door, Wrong Way, my polish hen freaked and ran over my head, claws and all, to get out. There was barely enough room for me in that door way but somehow she managed to squeeze through. She's named Wrong Way for a reason!!

 

[Chicky Tocks]

We have a c-latch lock on ours. It's like a sem-circle that drops down over the bolt on the jam. My DH foresaw that we might end up locking ourselves in the run, so he tied a string on the part that pulls up and threaded it through to the inside of the coop. It still makes me nervous though, to close that door behind me when I'm working inside of it.

 

[Mahonri]

pips&peeps :

First off:

Can you put a piece of string on the latch and weave it through so that you can pull it to open from the inside?

My thought exactly with the exception of I'd use a wire or a piece of trimmer line...it's what I have for my pop door.​

 

[FrenchHen]

 

[Brindlebtch]

wire wire wire

 

[patandchickens]

I locked myself into the run part of my chicken tractor twice (and it's only 3' high!), due to having the hasp installed unintelligently [upside down from the intelligent way!]. Had to patiently poke at it with a small stick until I got it unlatched, the first time; the second time it happened I'd wised up and hung a small aluminum rod in there to use as a pokey thing to get the hasp open. Still felt very stupid though

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I really like it when people post about doing these sorts of things, because it makes me feel like I have company

Have fun, fix that latch

,

Pat