Retrofit sliding bolt latch?

[mobius]

My coop, now delivered, has three sliding bolt latches on the outside; one to a walk-in person door ( to the run) and one to a coop access cleanout: large door, on the back-end of coop not protected by run, and one on the nesting box (also to be accessed outside of the run). All latches are about three or four feet off the ground.

The coop is very heavily built and solid. I will be putting hardware mesh over the window...etc etc.

In the interest of predator proofing as much as possible, is there a way to retrofit this sliding bolt latch to make it more secure? I have racoons in the area and I wonder if those locks will really be safe....also thinking about putting another bolt towards bottom of the person door...

I don't really like these sliding bolts...I was hoping for a latch I could slip a small carabiner through. Any thoughts, preferences, what has worked for you????

Or should I post in coop design forum?

 

[slingshotandLAR]

Easiest solution would be R latches.

They sell them at the hardware store or lowes or wherever. They are a buckle style latch most also have a spot for a lock or bolt.

You could just add a couple to your existing doors and your all set. You could also just add simple gate latches, I have these on my nesting boxes, Uwe what ever you like as a lock.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I personally use a hasp. I’ll give a link just so you can see what I’m talking about. This is not the specific one I use, I just grabbed an image so you can see what kind of lock I’m talking about. I’ll admit I had to look up an R latch. I wasn’t familiar with that terminology.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt...Adjustable-Staple-Safety-Hasp-15122/202033919

Many of the online or prefabricated coops come with barrel locks and I agree, they are not secure enough for me. I much prefer something I can put some type of lock on. That’s not just for raccoons. I don’t want the wind to rattle it loose and I want to make sure I actually lock it, not carelessly leave it unlocked.

A word of warning, decide on what you are going to use to lock it before you buy it. Don’t use really small hardware where a raccoon could just rip it off, it needs to be robust enough to do the job. Also make sure the opening you are going to slide your locking mechanism through is big enough to accept that locking mechanism, whether that is a carabiner or something else. Guess who made that mistake and had to go back with a bigger hasp.

 

[mobius]

I personally use a hasp. I’ll give a link just so you can see what I’m talking about. This is not the specific one I use, I just grabbed an image so you can see what kind of lock I’m talking about. I’ll admit I had to look up an R latch. I wasn’t familiar with that terminology.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt...Adjustable-Staple-Safety-Hasp-15122/202033919

Many of the online or prefabricated coops come with barrel locks and I agree, they are not secure enough for me. I much prefer something I can put some type of lock on. That’s not just for raccoons. I don’t want the wind to rattle it loose and I want to make sure I actually lock it, not carelessly leave it unlocked.

A word of warning, decide on what you are going to use to lock it before you buy it. Don’t use really small hardware where a raccoon could just rip it off, it needs to be robust enough to do the job. Also make sure the opening you are going to slide your locking mechanism through is big enough to accept that locking mechanism, whether that is a carabiner or something else. Guess who made that mistake and had to go back with a bigger hasp.

Yes yes many thanks! I was thinking those barrel locks just would be wrong and now I hear that a raccoon can open just about anything if there is a reward on the other side, unless it is LOCKED....even a carabiner is something they can get into...eeek!

 

[CrazyTalk]

I use these:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-Black-Slide-Bolt-15261/202042229

And put a carabiner on it to keep the bolt from being movable. Never had a problem - you could replace the carabiner with a lock if you're more paranoid than I am. Hasps like Ridgerunner uses will work just as well - they just require a little more fine manual manipulation, and I'm trying to train a dog around chickens right now (and hes usually with me), and I 'aint got time fo that.


Raccoons are smart, but there's only so much they can do - if you place your locks correctly (high enough up) and away from areas they can stand on - they can really only use one hand to maneuver things. The big problem is when people have small coops where the raccoon can stand or hang on things and comfortably just play with the latch until he figures it out.

 

[mobius]

I use these:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-Black-Slide-Bolt-15261/202042229

And put a carabiner on it to keep the bolt from being movable. Never had a problem - you could replace the carabiner with a lock if you're more paranoid than I am. Hasps like Ridgerunner uses will work just as well - they just require a little more fine manual manipulation, and I'm trying to train a dog around chickens right now (and hes usually with me), and I 'aint got time fo that.


Raccoons are smart, but there's only so much they can do - if you place your locks correctly (high enough up) and away from areas they can stand on - they can really only use one hand to maneuver things. The big problem is when people have small coops where the raccoon can stand or hang on things and comfortably just play with the latch until he figures it out.

Yes I really like those for ease of use plus carabiners....off to HD I go. I think the hasps will be high enough up and there isn't anything for them to sit on, but the raccoons may pull up a stool or do a raccoon pile to reach, being as smart as they are...