Just thought I'd post this little problem and solution, in case anyone finds themselves in a similar bind...
We keep a backyard flock of 7 RIR hens in a Wichita-style cabin coop. We have 3 roosts in the run, one of which is about 5 feet off the floor and goes the entire width of the run (6 feet). The trouble I had was that, at night, the hens would stay in the run and roost up on this high roost. While my coop is well constructed, we DO live in the country and would hate for a determined coyote, fox, or fisher to wreak havoc on my hens spending the night in the run, I feel that it is necessary to lock them in their coop at night. The trouble was that when I went out there at night to close the door, there they all were, asleep in the outside roost. I would have to pick up each one and place them inside the coop (which startled them awake every time). Knowing that there was no way I was going to move 7 comatose chickens every night until the end of time, I came up with this solution: I unscrewed the roost and fabricated 2 brackets for the roost to securely rest in and attached them to the coop. In the evening after dinner, I simply take the roost out of the brackets and lay it down. By nightfall, when I go back out there, the chickens are all nestled in their coop and all I have to do is drop the door from the outside. Tah-Dah!!
We keep a backyard flock of 7 RIR hens in a Wichita-style cabin coop. We have 3 roosts in the run, one of which is about 5 feet off the floor and goes the entire width of the run (6 feet). The trouble I had was that, at night, the hens would stay in the run and roost up on this high roost. While my coop is well constructed, we DO live in the country and would hate for a determined coyote, fox, or fisher to wreak havoc on my hens spending the night in the run, I feel that it is necessary to lock them in their coop at night. The trouble was that when I went out there at night to close the door, there they all were, asleep in the outside roost. I would have to pick up each one and place them inside the coop (which startled them awake every time). Knowing that there was no way I was going to move 7 comatose chickens every night until the end of time, I came up with this solution: I unscrewed the roost and fabricated 2 brackets for the roost to securely rest in and attached them to the coop. In the evening after dinner, I simply take the roost out of the brackets and lay it down. By nightfall, when I go back out there, the chickens are all nestled in their coop and all I have to do is drop the door from the outside. Tah-Dah!!
