Young pullets like to sit IN door.

[CoastChick]

I have been looking into getting an auto door, planning on it. Probably the run chicken T 50 or the chicken guard.
However I have two young pullets who seem to prefer to sit right in the doorway. Every time I see them there I shoo them away and tell them that they can’t sit in the doorway, but it’s been a few days and they don’t seem to be learning. Is this a normal problem? Is my expectation that I can change this behavior to high? I’m just terrified the door is gonna come down on them and the chickens won’t move. =( Any advice appreciated.

 

[DobieLover]

I have been looking into getting an auto door, planning on it. Probably the run chicken T 50 or the chicken guard.
However I have two young pullets who seem to prefer to sit right in the doorway. Every time I see them there I shoo them away and tell them that they can’t sit in the doorway, but it’s been a few days and they don’t seem to be learning. Is this a normal problem? Is my expectation that I can change this behavior to high? I’m just terrified the door is gonna come down on them and the chickens won’t move. =( Any advice appreciated.

I assume the coop in your avatar is the same coop.

I would ditch the plan to put an automatic door on the coop and instead, remove the plastic chicken wire? and replace it with 1/2" hardware cloth that extends down the walls and out about 2' across the ground to make a predator apron all the way around the coop. Securely fasten the HC to the bottom of the coop framing then pin down the outer edge to the ground with HD landscape pins. The grass will grow right through it.

Install some metal or poly carbonate roofing over the small "run" area of the coop to keep it dry and move the food and water out there. You can stack 2 or three 2x4s across the front of the run area to get it to pitch back so it will drain and just add whatever other framing you will need to support the roof correctly.

Make sure the latches on the run door are predator proof and apply a predator proof latch(es) to the nest box if it is not secured. Then leave that door those two like to hang out in open permanently.

This is basically the way I run my setup and it works great.