Tucking the chicks in at night?

[Kelsey Cathy]

I have read here many a time about 'bringing the chickens in at night'. We have not yet built our coop and the chickens are in a 6x10 totally double fenced and covered pen. We even put telephone poles along the bottom edge to discourage any tunnelling critters. So at night they gather in the old brooder box that we put in there with a couple of roosts in it to sleep.
My question is: What is the reason for closing the chickens in the coop at night? Thanks for the help. This site has been a real treasure for newbies like me

 

[tryingtohaveitall]

My run is not critter proof, that's why I lock mine in the coop at night.

 

[HollyTree]

Sounds like you have a tight pen, but beware of the snakes! I just had a 4 ft black snake eat one of my little chickens. I had everything nice and tight...then the snake showed me otherwise!

 

[The Zoo]

My neighbor had a coo or cat go in the coop and take off with one of her biggest birds - she now locks them in at night.
I lock mine in the pen but not the coop. Maybe I should

 

[RSAChickenDude]

I usually lock my chickens in a coop because we have a caracal in our area that is known for catching peoples chickens.Its also better for if the weather is bad to keep the chickens content and happy.

 

[ColoradoMike]

Quote:
You made me Google 'caracal'.

Wow, neat looking big cat, there. I'm glad I don't have to defend against those!

We have mountain lions in the hills west of us, but they rarely if ever venture into town...

 

[patandchickens]

The two biggest reasons IMO are:

1) it is a lot easier to REALLY predatorproof a coop than a run -- don't fool yourself into thinking that dogs, coyotes, etc can't or won't dig under the timbers you've lined the run with, cuz, they easily can and will. Nothing short of an 18" deep buried fence or 3-4' wide apron will really keep diggers out (and even at those dimensions, on rare occasions a few very ambitious and/or experienced predators may get in), or properly-placed electric ffencing (but that should not be your main predator barrier, as electric fencing is just not reliable enough and predators can TELL when it's off).

and

2) "out of sight, out of mind" is very true of predators. If they can see your chickens, and vividly smell and taste their nearness and the fact that there's only a wire fence between the predator and a chicken dinner -- they will try harder to get in. And thus be more likely to succeed.

People who underestimate the abilities and enthusiasm of predators tend to eventually end up posting in the "Predators and Pests" section of BYC, with thread titles along the general lines of "something ate my whole flock last night". If you would rather learn from OTHER peoples' experience than reinvent the wheel yourself, it is worth a couple hours spent browsing that sort of thread over on that part of the forum.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Uppity Peon]

I think they really prefer to sleep on a roost up high and with some overhead cover. It's in their nature and there is a reason for it.

 

[Rocky Top Chick]

From what I have read, chickens feel much safer in a coop at night. Remember they cannot see at night so if they know everything is locked up tight they probably sleep better and that produces more eggs.

 

[Ourgardenpatch]

I have 29 chickens and as soon as it starts to get dark they all gather back together to the run, During the day the wander all over our property, And just before night falls they head one by one up the ramp and settle in for the night. It is great. We just put the little door down and there all tucked in and secure.
We had a stray wander in our yard once, and I wasn't sure about incorporating her into our flock right away, so I kept her in the run, which is really secure, (or so I thought). The next morning she was gone. Something pulled the fencing out and her through it. It was very sad. So we always make sure we close there coop door and lock them up.