Locking up at night? Do you or dont you? (Newbie needs to know)

[BuddhaChick]

I wasnt sure how to find this subject, so forgive me if I am asking a silly question...Is it common practice to lock in the girls and their Prince into the coop each night? I have the coop and run built...I have the chicken ladder into the coop, but it does not have a door on it...the run is locked of course. I understand that they dont eat and drink at night (usually)...so if I dont keep food in the coop and just in the run I guess if they want a late night snack they will have to leave the roost/coop....

What do you do? What do you suggest?

Thank you for your help.
BuddhaChick
Diane
Rainier, OR

 

[farmer_lew]

We lock our girls up every night. They go into the coop at sundown and we go out, once they are all in, and lock the coop. We don't have a run, our grls free range the backyard.

 

[easttxchick]

Not silly at all.
I lock my birds up every night. I do keep food and water in the coop, not for nighttime, but for when they wake up in the morning. I like to make sure they can get a drink first thing.
Is your run covered? I guess my only concern would be, if your coop doesn't have a door, can an owl or something get into the coop through the run?

 

[maizey]

Didn't start locking them up till I discovered coon tracks all over the coop in the snow

 

[ginormous chicken]

YES! Every night. Don't trust racoons, skunks, and opposums!!! Very over protective mommy!

 

[Dunkopf]

Lock them up. A determined predator can get in your run unless it has guard towers. Make sure they can't dig into the coop either. Being a chicken is a dangerous life.

 

[Imp]

Yes, lock up. If the run is secure you may be able to get by without a pop door. If the run is not secure, then you need to lock the coop.

Imp- Good luck

 

[Ema]

I got all kinds of predators in every season. I lock them up for their safety and my piece of mind as soon as it begins to get dark they go inside and roost anyhow so I just close the pop door and lock it until morning time.

I do not keep food in the run, I keep it in the coop. the reason for this is because leaving the feed out around here does attract predators so to avoid Issues I never leave any animal feed outside what so ever.

Most chickens once roosting stay up there until the sun starts to come up. then they get down and stretch about drink and eat if they have feed and water int he coop and lay their eggs. No run can be claimed to be predator proof though you can build in a manner that will deter many predators. If you don't want to chance losing your flock I would lock them up at night. Its all about preference really. I am sure many others will chime in and tell you how they do it and then from there you can decide what is best for you.

What you should also share with us is how your run is built, what materials, did you bury wire mesh into the ground etc... how big is the mesh, If a mouse can get into your run so can a weasel and they can and will kill your flock.

good luck,

Ema

 

[NonnasBabies]

My coop is a 3 sided so there's no way to lock it up but my run is completly enclosed and that gets locked up everynight!!

 

[farmerlor]

We have to. We have very good, secure fencing but girlies with an open door would just be too much temptation for all the predators in this area.