Locking chickens up at night

[ADuckOnQuack]

Sometimes we forget to lock up our chickens at night and it can be a pain sometimes in the morning as they like to get outside at 4:30am. Obvouisly apart from electric doors because there costly is there any other way of shutting them in and opening or a door design that lets the chickens in and out but keeps the foxes out? Thanks G

 

[Poultry parent]

we have some of those nightgaurd lights by the coop door at fox height, and we leave the coop door open, we have only lost one hen during 6 months of doing that, just make sure the fence is predator proof

 

[JackAubrey]

My girls meet me at the fort every evening . I let them in and they go about their evening routines. I usually wake up about 6am, but I will not let them out until 830-9 am. They have food and water in the fort, they just want out to free range. I have my morning tea, THEN I walk out and let them out. The "fort'" a 6'x10' square chain link dog kennel that sits on a foundation of 14 gauge welded wire, hog clipped to the kennel. Under the awning, up top, is another covering of welded wire,also hog clipped to the kennel, then chicken wire hog clipped to the welded wire to keep out squirrels. Inside the fort I have hog clipped 1/4 inch hardware cloth along the inside from the ground up to 3 feet.Chicken wire extends up the interior from where the hardware cloth ends and meets with the welded wire under the awning. I lock the gate with a padlock. NOTHING gets in!

And my girls are safe at night! JA

 

[bobbi-j]

Sometimes we forget to lock up our chickens at night and it can be a pain sometimes in the morning as they like to get outside at 4:30am. Obvouisly apart from electric doors because there costly is there any other way of shutting them in and opening or a door design that lets the chickens in and out but keeps the foxes out? Thanks G

Yes. It's called, "walk out to the coop and shut the door". After you've lost a few chickens it might help you to remember to close them up for the night. Do you have an attached run? If so, you might just want to leave them in their run (if it's big enough) and leave the pop door open between the run and coop. That's what I do. Well, my chickens are let out of the run in the morning, so I still have to walk out and shut the gate - but on occasion, they need to stay in the coop/run for a few days. I don't have to worry about forgetting to shut the door during those times.

 

[centrarchid]

I use hot-wire. Chickens do not respect it but foxes and other mammals do when it is properly setup. Arrangement I use during season where birds free-ranged during day allows me to simply step over fence in location te predators do not seem to be able to find. Once a predator does figure that opening out then I have to change its location.

 

[ChickenLegs13]

Google "automatic chicken door."