Question about coop use at night

[PortageGirl]

If I had a run like yours I think I'd leave them out in it too. (especially in texas! Only spent part of one summer there but that was QUITE enough thank you very much!) I can see it's got good hardware cloth and the box wire looks like excellent reinforcement against dogs etc, buried wire against digging. My only question is about where the roof meets the sides, but still, I'd probably leave my hens out especially since your new dog looks like he'd at least sound an alarm if something came sniffing around, probably defend them too. (sounds like both you and he picked good people to hang out with!)

Also a fact in favor of them being relatively safe in there. If something got in during the hours it was light at all, the birds have room to evade since it looks quite large. If it got in after full dark of course, chickens just do NOT react and are literally "sitting ducks" (or hens) cause they will just sit there being eaten. Still, that cuts out a little of the dangerous time for them. Many coops and pens restrict the hen's movement to the point that they can get cornered very easily.

I'd leave mine out in that.

 

[newTexan2chickens]

Several people mentioned the top.... the R panel sits directly on top of the side 2x4 so no gap at all and it is solid tin.... the same stuff the sides of my horse barn is made from. At the end we 'filled the gap' with that spray foam filler crap- only to keep out snakes as the gaps down there are no bigger than 4x4 and they are 6 ft in the air.... no way to reach a chicken as none of the roosts are on that end anyway. So is that enough? I know for a fact that an owl or hawk can't possibly get them!

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

We got the roof on our run this week while my husband was home; wire and door will go up next time he is home and we can install the girls!!

I'm hoping to make it so tight my chickens can stay in it during the night since it is hot here for more months than it is cold. I hate snakes so we are trying to stop up even the smallest holes...if we could afford it, it would be like a Christmas gift wrapped in hardware cloth!

Our run is roofed with PVC panels, back of the run is a privacy fence, front and one end will be wire (hardware cloth up 3 feet, then 1" welded wire to the top) and the other end is an old shed that will be their coop when we have the time needed to remodel (hopefully by Winter).

Tis just the two of us and we are now considered 'senior citizens' (ya know when EVERYONE says to you 'Well, at your age it's to be expected!!

) so we are sloooow

We are going to have one heck of a party when the girls finally make like the Jacksons and move on up to the Big House. Maybe then I can get the #$%^ dust out of the house...they are on the enclosed porch but that dust penetrates everything!

 

[elmo]

Your "run" is actually an open sided coop. I use something similar here in North Texas for summers, where a traditional closed coop would lead to "roasted" rather than "roosting" chickens.

 

[MIKE555444]

I would leave them out in the run.... only issue i see is will you be able to change there mind when winter time comes?

 

[PortageGirl]

Quote:

Funny but true! As I said, I'd leave them out in that run!

 

[newTexan2chickens]

Hey Elmo.... I am probably one of the few on here who actually know where Elmo is... I am assuming you live there?

 

[joebryant]

Ain't nuttin gonna get into that FORT KNOX! Who cares where they sleep. If only all members cared about their chickens' safety as much as you do and could be worry-free at night like you are.

Edit: Actually though, for YOUR sake, it would be best if they roosted "somewhere" where you could catch their manure. That would make for a cleaner run and less work for you.

 

[dsc6]

I would be totally secure with that run IF the roof, either under or over the panels, was covered in nailed down hardware fabric. With no gaps at all. You KNOW that sooner or later ANY weak spot will be used to get in. I had a very secure run--at least the sides--and the top was only a little less secure, and sure enough if we didn't lose chickens from a nighttime roof attack. If there is NO WAY the roof panels can come off, even when being pulled on by, say, a bear, then you'll be alright.

That's a good solution for Texas.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Nope. "Elmo" is our dog's name. I'm not very creative about picking user names; he was sitting on my feet when I registered.