Questions about cooping

[MissAbraKadabra]

i was looking thru pictures of coops on here and i noticed that it seems alot of people have the coop set up to totally isolate the chickens once inside, my coop isn't like that. Is there a guideline on what you should do for coops
my coops is made of pallets this is not a recent picture
i have a perch and the back has been filled in with lumber cuts
this was just the first photo after it was constructed
we will be adding a door soon but then i have to rethink my ramp bc it wouldn't be access able when the door is closed next time i clean and rake the coop i will take new photos of it

 

[ChickenCanoe]

IMO the only reason to have a coop is for predators and to a lesser extent to keep the rain off them.
With that being said, I think an open air design is good but it is difficult to make it predator proof.
No matter where you live, predators will find your chickens.

 

[MissAbraKadabra]

up until recently my chickens had their own person guard dog that slept under the coop and kept after them,he recently passed away, i live in a well housed area with lots of neighbors near by that have chickens and roosters down the way, i havent seen any signs that something was lingering after my chickens nor even seen a raccoon or anything like that but it is something i worry about from time to time

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That only means the predators haven't found them yet.
My first loss was to an opossum. Then the neighbors pack of huskies killed 9 in about 3 minutes.
I've lost only 1 to a hawk but mostly because of my good roosters. I lost a few to raccoons and a couple more to possums. I trapped religiously. For almost 2 years I didn't lose a bird and became complacent. I couldn't always make it home by dusk and still didn't lose any. All of a sudden raccoons have come in droves. I've lost 26 this year, mostly from the coons that broke into my basement on 2 occasions and ate all the chicks down there.
My coops have very big windows but covered and well secured with hardware cloth.

 

[MissAbraKadabra]

well with the aggression my youngest one displays she might just fight off anything that tries to come her way
she use to go after my shy dog which was a rather big dog

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That may be true during the day. At night chickens are blind and vulnerable to anything that wants chicken dinner.
I have very good protective roosters with each flock. I've seen them take a hawk out of the air. But in the last 2 weeks I lost 2 roosters to raccoons. There hasn't been a chicken developed that can take on a raccoon and survive. Raccoons have killed lots of big dogs.
No offense but you're kidding yourself if you think you don't have raccoons and that they aren't a threat.

Good thread here.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/261440/the-worst-predator

 

[MissAbraKadabra]

i will probably continue to think i don't have predators til something happens, but like i said i will be getting a door added to my coop soon i just need the hinges and latch, i slightly pride myself on only using recylced goods to use for my chickens needs like my coop made of pallets which all came from my boyfriends job site. i just had to screw everything together. but the day one of my chickens gets killed i will probably be very upset, i have a huge shed i don't really use that i have considered converting it for the chickens but that's a ton of space for just 2 chickens

 

[jetdog]

Make a clean out door on one end and have a up and down door for your hens you can use a rope to open and close, pretty easy to build.

 

[jetdog]

this is how I have mine.