What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[jmcq555]

Hi all

 

I'm fairly new to chicken world.

We don't have a cube - it's a traditional wooden coup with run attached and the chucks free-range in a large garden when it's safe in the day. We've only had them a month but they seem very settled and happy.

 

We are going away overnight and I wondered if it were ok to leave the door to the coup (not the run! They are safe from the foxes) open for 1 night whilst it's warm and dry or do I need to find someone to shut them in and open up again in the morning.

 

Basically, I'm trying not to use up my neighbour's goodwill too quickly as I will be asking her to chicken-sit later in the year so I wondered if I could get away with one night?

 

Any advice welcome.

 

Janet

[The Dogmother]

If you had an eglu or cube, I'd go so far as to say that they'd be fine so long as you were confident about the security of the run. i.e. that it wasn't on soft soil. I leave the door on my cube open all year round unless it's well below zero at nights.

 

With other housing, I wouldn't be so confident.

 

Sorry, probably not what you wanted to hear

[Redwing]

I have a wooden coop and it doesnt even have a door! however my run has wire mesh underneath the entire thing so I am confident that nothing could dig in otherwise I don't think I would risk it

[staceychristie]

As an added extra you could try an electric fence. Easy to use, and a good deterrent, if you run it off the mains, you won't need to recharge a battery.

 

I must admit that even though I built our own run with very heavy gauge weldmesh, I was not thinking this was necessary, BUT... When we went to fetch our girls, the people who were restocking were as a result of fox attacks. For the sake of £200 I thought this was a worthwhile expense, rather than the gruesome task of picking up much loved headless birds.

 

Just BE CAREFUL!!!! The foxes are EVERY WHERE!!!!

 

Stacey

[jmcq555]

Great to get replies so soon - this was my first posting so I didn't know who'd be listening. Thanks for all the advice.

 

I should have added that the run is surrounded by heavy concrete slabs. I'm kinda happy with the security (touch wood!!) - I was mainly wondering about draughts and whether the chucks would get confused or something.

 

As an aside, there is a badger sett in next door's garden. We don't really see foxes but often see badgers. Are they territorial? i.e. would foxes generally stay away because of the proximity of badgers?

 

J

[Egluntyne]

The badgers would probably keep the foxes away....but in themselves are a potential danger to chickens.

[Chucky Mama]

Badgers killed all of one of my neighbours chickens a couple of years ago. It is apparently not that common but it was a very dry summer and they couldn't dig any enough worms etc and so were very hungry.