So when do you close the pop door for the night? As soon as they go in, or later?

[chrissynemetz]

the older ones go right in about 7-7:30 and the little ones stay out until it's pretty close to 8pm (just past sunset now).

The younger ones are waiting until the older chickens have settled down and are situated before they go in, so they don't have to deal with the commotion.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Yes, though I change the settings more often than that. In the summer the chickens might stay out as late as 9:15 PM, so I'll set the close time later and later as days lengthen until it gets set to around 9:30 or so. As the days get shorter I'll start setting close times earlier until around December, when it gets set to maybe 5:00 PM

Thank you, I understand better what you meant by the 30-60 min variable time lag to when they go in and when it closes: the shifting sunset times plus giving everyone a chance to wander in on their own, and that works with not having reprogram it every day...
Wait - so this applies to sunrise too.... my brain is on overload...

I have an auto-door that I'm not using yet as the instructions say the safety feature is meant for adult birds, so I'm planning ahead...gotta thank my OCD for that lol.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

The younger ones are waiting until the older chickens have settled down and are situated before they go in, so they don't have to deal with the commotion.

That makes sense - easy to get stepped on! I see my 8-week olds with each other - sometimes when one wants to get somewhere, and someone is in the way, they first try to indicate they want to go by, then they look on each side if they can go around, then they may try to nudge, or look below for a way and squeeze by underneath, but when that fails they just step right up and go over! Causes all kinds of commotion!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Wait - so this applies to sunrise too.... my brain is on overload...

Not necessarily. I never change my opening times. Mine is always set to 7:45 AM, even through daylight savings changes, regardless of when the sun comes up. Keeps the birds a wee bit quieter in the morning by having them stay in the coop, and my flock is used to that schedule so they don't fuss about not being let out earlier than that.

Obviously if you have pecking order/crowding issues, or live in an area where high heat is a concern, that won't work, so you'd have to adjust to compensate for sunrise.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Not necessarily. I never change my opening times. Mine is always set to 7:45 AM, even through daylight savings changes, regardless of when the sun comes up. Keeps the birds a wee bit quieter in the morning by having them stay in the coop, and my flock is used to that schedule so they don't fuss about not being let out earlier than that.

Obviously if you have pecking order/crowding issues, or live in an area where high heat is a concern, that won't work, so you'd have to adjust to compensate for sunrise.

Then, for your birds the opening up time changes by an hour, one way or the other, twice a year....Yes, if they're happy in the coop I suppose it's easier to extend the roosting "nighttime" into the morning with an hour later, or shorten it by an hour earlier, regardless of the level of morning daylight outside, than it is to go against the daylight and try to get them to go back into the coop in the evening time? Makes sense. Thank you!

 

[thepick4uchicks]

My chickens go in about 10 minutes after there is any hint of getting dark. I'd say close it as soon as their settled for the night.

Me too. That is what I do.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Me too. That is what I do.

The thing is I go out and check a little after sunset (7:35 here now), and they are still out and about doing things. I check again a little after 8pm, one may be in the pop door thinking about roosting but the others aren't yet. It's a good hour after sunset they are all inside - but not quiet, they are still chatting away, telling bedtime stories! I love the sounds they make. It gets quiet maybe about 9pm. Then my presence out there seems to wake them all up again and I hear peeps and sometimes scuffling of feet as I close the pop door.

 

[jsr5]

I enjoy my Bantams bed time routine so usually around 6:30pm ish I sit on the porch of the coop rest and throw a little scratch and just drink a cold drink and enjoy my gals and roos. About 7 i turn out the lights so every one can start to settle some will already be on the roost then some lately as late as 7:45. At 7:30 I go over and throw some scratch into the run of the big girls and they all pile into the run to get it. They then get to put themselves to bed since the run iss secure I don't close the pop doors in the summer. So they can get out into the run at will in the mornings. Back to the Bantams and sit on the porch and sisten to their bed time antics. Maybe pet and love up on some of em. Then when the last one is in I close everything up. Might stay a while or usually I've been wiorking so I gladly head in to shower and enjoy me evening. Once I get my secure run done around the Bantams(Hobitses) They also will have a open pop door in the summer. To avoid most of the predator problems we usually wait till about 8:30 to let them out we found out early on that letting them out first thing was inviting trouble. waiting does'nt completely eliminate predation but it helps. If it is getting really hot early I will go out and often stand gaurd as I let them out early. Whew that was alot I have the misfortune of being disabled but that leaves me more time for my girls.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I do find my younger birds go to bed later, especially pre-laying. Once they're all laying they tend to adopt the adult routine.

I close up shop as close to them all being in bed as I notice. We have a SERIOUS raccoon problem. One even showed up BEFORE it was actually dark out and my rooster got into a fight with it. (Good boy.) So we close up shop ASAP. But I have BIG south-facing windows on mine so they can still see a little at night.

Not really taken to show off the coop, but you can see one of the windows in the background.

 

[black_cat]

When I see it getting dark, I close mine in. If they're not already in, I go back inside and wait for like 10-20 minutes, then go out again.