Leaving the door open 24/7.

[Graham K]

Hi all, again!

I know this one has had a few threads before but I just want to run by what my hens are doing.

My coop is fairly secure (meshed, front, back, sides and under and over, and no Badgers that I know of) so I have recently been leaving the door to the "sleepy egg laying area" open 24/7. So far so good, they let themselves in and out when it's dark or light. Works for me as I do "shifts".

I was out in the garden early a couple of days ago and had a look to see if I could have any free range scrambled for breakfast and noticed that the hens were all snugged up in one corner of one of the nest boxes, it looked like they were keeping each other warm. They have also been pooping a lot in the same box so I'm guessing that they have been sleeping in there.

Q. Should I block off the nest boxes at night to make sure they sleep on the perches (they are a bit nearer the door)?

Q. I've also read that they can cope with the cold, but how cold is cold? The door is wide open 24/7 at the mo', should I look at fitting some sort of "cat flap" that they can push through so they can keep warm and stay out of the draft at night?

I thought I was getting the hang of this but I sure as hell still need a helping hand.

Graham K.

[RichmondHens]

Adult birds won't be cold at this time of year. I'm confused about your door though. Do you have a pop hole into the run? This can be left open if your run is secure. Don't quite understand about a door to the nestbox/area. If you think they are in a draught at night then perhaps they should be shut in but you might consider fitting an automatic door opener (you can get ones that run on a timer or photosensitive ones) if that would help with your work patterns.

They should not be allowed to sleep in the nestbox. This as you have found means they poo in the nestbox and therefore you get dirty eggs. OK if only you are using them but not OK if you want to sell any. Discourage this by pushing them out of the nestbox and onto the perches each night, till they get the message. Blocking off the nestboxes at night would also work as long as you unblock it first thing in the morning so they can get in to lay.

[Hilary B]

Mine were always allowed access at all times. The only real point to anything else is security/safety (including if a gale can blow in during winter). Can you turn the nest box round so that they have to 'creep in' and it is dark in there? Never had anything but near-broodies sleeping in nest boxes that were nice and dark.......

[lindyloo]

have kept mine like this for about 15 years now. once i found 2 hens absolutely sodden during the very bad storms and flooding a few years ago. they had previously decided to sit on a clutch of eggs just inside the doorway, in the corner , and were absolutely soaked. the eggs were hatching out, and i took the whole lot home, wrapped in towels. they all thrived. ditto the snows we had for the last 2 winters- no problems at all. actually, i think access to shade in the summer is more important. they seem ok in bad weather.

[Graham K]

The nest box is at the back, the roosting bit in the middle with a door to the run at the front leading to a secure run, I've made the run a lot bigger since this photo but you get the idea.

The door opens "side to side" so I'm still working on an automatic system, I've seen an "up and down" that uses a disco ball motor from Maplins and I think I may be able to do something with this. Just need to work out how to close the door automatically.

I'll try blocking off the nest box at night and see what happens.

Thanks, Graham.

[zanush]

I have that coop for my ex batts... Just the three in there, and they always sleep in the nest boxes (and poo in them,grrr) Very annoying, I just clean out the box every morning so I don't get poo covered eggs. Might try blocking it up at night as well.

Oh, and I tend to send them to the house at about 7.30/8.00.. they have a final drink and snack, and put themselves to bed.. I then close their inner door at about 9.30 (or whenever I think "Oh balls.. I haven't shut the chickens in..")

I'd leave it open, but mine are naughty girls and spend half the morning digging escape routes out of the coop, so wouldn't trust that anything else wouldn't be able to get in.

[lindyloo]

just want to add, i dont leave the door fully open; it is hooked back so the opening is just wide enough to allow them to go through it

[sheena]

My house is made up of an old rabbit hutch and I have left my door open 24/7 since the cold winds and icy temp's had passed. During the colder spells of weather I had previously closed it of a night, but due to being a sleepy head they wouldn't get let out til around 9ish on those days. So I didn't lock it, but simply left it slightly ajar so they could open it themselves on sunrise.

So it makes more sense to me now to leave it open 24/7 during the spring - autumn months. My run is completely sealed off from outside predators, only way it's getting through is a pickaxe and some wire cutters

If they aren't bothered about it, I wouldn't worry. If you are sure that they will be safe from predators I don't see a problem with the door being left open - make use of the extra sunlight.

[Suechooks]

The door opens "side to side" so I'm still working on an automatic system, I've seen an "up and down" that uses a disco ball motor from Maplins and I think I may be able to do something with this. Just need to work out how to close the door automatically.

There was a thread on this some time back. I think someone had done just what you're trying to do. Might be worth a search.

[frias]

I leave the pop hole open but the half of the run is covered so no rain or wind can get into the coop. I'm also as sure as I can be the run is secure. The girls are getting up at 5am at the moment and that's just a tad too early for me. I check them before I go to bed to make sure none of them are in the nest box. Four of them perch so they never are, the other 2 are sometimes in the nest box but always move as soon as I tell them to. I used to block the nest box off at night but when I get up at 7.30 there's often eggs in there already now so they need access early.

[Sopho]

Hi everyone... I'm new to this site!

Mine have never been shut in at night and have never slept on the perches and have always chosen to snuggle together, in fact I took the perches out as they constantly pushed them out the way and off their notches. They lay every day and survived the freezing cold winter we had with nothing more than a little extra straw and vaseline on their combs. Laid an egg every day dispite the cold!

Sopho

[frias]

Hello Sopho, welcome to chookaholics. I admit I prefer mine to sleep on the perches as it's easier for cleaning but the nights are shorter now so not much poo in the coop anyway. They obviously breed 'em hardy where you are. Could you add your location to your profile? It's nice to see if people are just down the road (they never are for me) or many miles away.

[Sopho]

Hi Frias,
Mine are tough girls, just a tiny bit of frost bite on one of their combs, despite -18 oC at it's lowest here. I do think we can tend to be too soft with our chooks. They are a lot hardier than we tend to give them credit for. Put my location on... what it doesn't tell you is that we are on the western side of the Pennines and it can get very wild up here!!