What time do I open the coop door?

[ForFlocksSake]

Oh good! I have seen so many pre-fab coops that state they will hold 6, and truthfully should not hold more than 2, unless they are bantam chickens, and only 3-4 of those.

Ventilation and space are a big concern with chickens. If your chickens get a long then you have enough space. If they start fighting, eating feathers, attacking each other, then you don't have enough space. Some birds can tolerate a bit of overcrowding, some birds cannot. Always solve for peace in the flock.

5 birds should have at least 20 square feet in the coop, and 50 square feet in the fun. That is a general rule of thumb to go by for full size adult hens. Roosters take more room than hens. So often what seems to be more than enough room for chicks, rapidly becomes not enough room for adult birds.

Mrs K

No roosters. Well, we have one surprise rooster but he won't be a resident too long. The coop is smaller than that but the run is quite large. We're actually considering now just leaving the coop open at all times. We aren't too concerned about predators here. its securely attached to the run.

 

[Mrs. K]

If you don't get hit by predators, leaving it open all the time would really help. If you do get hit by predators - know they will be back. Once they find you it can be a nightmare.

 

[Suzz]

chickeneering

Love it

 

[Back 30]

I work two weeks of days and two weeks of nights, rotating, 12 hr shifts. If I work days, the coop door is open at 0530. If nights, opens up about 0730, when I get home. Sometimes I don't get the coop open til noon. They'd rather be out and about, judging the pile of chickens at the run door but, I do what I can. Gotta balance that freedom and security. Obviously, a set and scheduled routine is best. If I had it my way, I wouldn't open the run door til they started piling out of the coop. It's easier for me to track their well being. A chicken tends to lag behind or act lethargic if something's wrong. Most will beat feet to freedom as soon as that door opens, minus a straggling layer or two.

 

[Hellomylittleladies]

Mine have a small little secure run under their coop, with food and water available. So at first light, they come out of their 'coop' where they roost, but stay in the run until I'm ready to let them out. 8am on workdays, around 9am (sometimes later!) on others. I've sighted foxes as late as 9am so I prefer not to let them freerange any earlier.
They like to stay out till sunset though, so it varies with the seasons. The little secure run allows me to send them in earlier on evenings I expect to be late.

 

[K0k0shka]

One of the best chicken investments I made was to get an auto door. Because there's no way I'm getting up at sunrise every single day to let chickens out, or rearranging my entire life so I can be home at sunset to close them (I work and have kids). This makes going on vacation easier, too, because the kind soul who agrees to check in on them won't have to get up early or rearrange his/her life for my chickens either (or go multiple times a day to open/close). Some auto doors have light sensors, so the time they open and close can self-adjust throughout the season as the time of sunrise and sunset shifts. Others have manual timers. Mine has a combination of both. My run is secure but not 100% secure, so I've set the door to open well past sunrise, maybe an hour after. It's not an exact science, it doesn't have to be exactly AT sunrise, or any particular amount of time before or after. My chickens have food in the coop but no water, but they won't die of thirst in the hour or so they may spend inside the coop before the door opens in the morning.