[Totty]

Hi all,

I have gone to great lengths lately, in making sure my birds are happy, keeping unfrozen water available to them when they live at my allotment is no easy task when i work from 5-6. My 6 assorted chickedies live in an Omlet Eglu with extended run, It faces a hedge which blocks wind from one side and i have covered the run in thick polythene which stops all rain and side winds hitting them.

Some old boys i work with say that they have never locked there chicks up at night, and have let them go in and out as they please, i just worry that it is going to get too cold for them to not close the door up every night.

Currently the door is permanently half open.

Am i being stupid in doing this or should they be fine.

Totty

[daisy1990]

hens suffer badly if in draughts and of course run the risk of fox attack f not closed in- I think you need to secure them at night

[joyfull]

I would close them up in this weather (having said that I have 14 living in the trees and bushes still).
Are they in an eglu or and eglu cube?

[GrannieAnnie]

Hi Totty, are your chickens bantams or is it an eglu cube you have?  I have 3 bantams in an eglu at the moment borrowed from Joyfull, but I don't think I'd get 6 in there!

We have a lot of chickens, but they are all shut up at night.  Leaving popholes and doors even half open could create a nasty draft, and drafts can kill chickens.  They can survie quite cold weather, but drafts are nasty.

At least yours sound nice and cosy with shelter from the worst of the weather!

lol as usual, 3 replies all at the same time!  lol

[orchardlady]

I have always shut the pop holes at night as my birds free range. I can understand the 'old boys' leaving their hens to come and go as they chose. It might be an attitudinal thing. You may see your hens as irreplaceable pets but they possibly see them as replaceable commodities. As suggested drafts are a no no. When I close the door to my main hen house you can see that the hens have chosen to be as far away from the entrance as possible to get away from the cold drafty air that's puffing in.

[dennis]

 :ohmy:for their own safety i think they should be olcked in at night you never know what predators are about at night

[Totty]

Hi all, Thanks for replies,

It is an Eglu Cube, with extended run, the house is south facing with a 12 foot hedge no more than 4m away, and as i said i have covered the run in thick polythene to deter wind. I respect your views though, if you say its essential to lock them up then i will. Ill also add though that the whole allotment site is fox/ rabbit proof therefore pedator attacks are not really the worry.

Totty

[orchardlady]

Of course I cannot be prescriptive but can only encourage you to go and shut the pop hole. Take it as an opportunity to check on your birds, to make sure food is not left laying around and available for rats to take their fill, to ensure the water is refreshed and to generally do your animal husbandry. You say the allotment is fox and rabbit proof, that is impressive! What about rats, cats, weasels etc? I know it's cold and grim at this time of year and blooming late in the evening at mid summer but it's all part of the commitment to keeping hens.

[dennis]

i agree with you orcharlady my birds are in my garden wire mesh 2 foot down and underneath that is brick & cement it has wire on the top so nothing can get in and i still lock them in at night

[Totty]

Thanks all,

Hi Dennis, i assume then that the reason you lock them up at night even though your run is bomb proof is more to do with the ventilation side of things. If it is essential that the chickens roost in a place that there is no wind or draughts etc etc, then thats fine. But surely chickens can survive outside? this is why i cant understand the reasoning behind making sure they are locked up, so long as predator threat is elliminated.

Totty

[evie2]

Chickens fly, so can roost in trees and some of our members have birds that roost in trees all year round.

However, if the chickens are in a covered run and a predator gets in they can't escape to the safety of a tree or shed roof.

I'd go by the advice of locking them in at night, believe me, you don't want to find an empty coop, injured birds or worse still a slaughter house.

[dennis]

evie2 i coulden't have put it better myself

[Jeanette]

I am afraid i have to agree with everyone and lock them in at night.