[leggygirls]

Do we have to close up pop hole every night, summer and winter.  The hen house is enclosed and therefore safe from predators we hope!)  Hens arriving next weekend so we are virgins at this!

[richyrich7]

I would just to be on the safe side, also it'll help stop vermin getting amongst your hens stealing food.

[8doubles]

In winter yes to keep the girls warm , in summer you can leave it open if the run is stoat proof.
There is a possibility that if you leave the pop hole open the chooks will be out very early shouting their heads off at anything that upsets them, then you will have to go out and check they`re ok before they wake the district.

[dizzylizzie]

you take a risk with your girls leaving the pop hole open! You may think the run is vermin proof, but if yourwrong its your girls that could loose their lives....is it a risk you want to take?...it only takes the once

[Knight Family]

i think you will find that everyone says yes close it and open it every day / night. I know I purchased a auto door opener and its save rushing down there to open in the morning but still need to go down to feed them. However it has helped us not forget to close it in the evening time.

And never underestimate the power of the fox!!

[lisa80]

our girls are on our allotment plot and we open and close every day even in the snow .some folks down there dont but i think its good to have some time down there to check them over etc.we fill their food up so have to go down anyway to let them out :)you can never be too careful with plenty of hungry foxes etc about

[Jeanette]

I close mine every night winter and summer. It is best to be safe not sorry

[beulah59]

I don't.

We're in an urban setting, no sign of foxes (although I don't trust that they're not there IYSWIM!) and the ark is in a fruit cage reinforced with wire (but not weldmesh) so I know we're vulnerable ... I get up 7.30am and am down with the hens before 8am every day pretty much, usually (at least in winter) in time to clean up the nest boxes before they lay. Neighbours say they rarely if ever hear the hens - I hope that's true in the summer months, too - so they get themselves up (the hens not the neighbours) and are much happier than being kept in until I'm up.

We started out closing the ramp/pop hole every night, but the advantages to not getting up with the sun are immense so it's a risk we decided to take. I did close up the pop hole and ramp in the really cold weather - but more for the hens' sake than protection from hungry foxes.

[dizzylizzie]

its not just foxes you need to watch out for, stoats, ferrets,badgers,rats etc....if you dont want to risk your hens lives, lock them up !

[Nails]

We close ours up every night, don't want to chance Mr Foxy coming and helping himself in the early hours. Not that it stops them coming around in the day time too. but at least they are tucked up and warm and draft free if they are closed in.

[amj]

Well i am sure it is best to close every night
but ....I don't ever ' I like to give them the freedom
to get up when they want to' they are out before light
mooning about waiting for their hot mash.....
eating an drinking what is around..... pellets an water
i know It;s not the best but these dark days I aint up with them till
8 an I HOPE that the run is secure.... it looks safe to me
all housed in a secure bubble.... 2" mesh around....
spose a rat could get in ? am i being daft?
you will tell me I'm sure.... most of you know best X

[AJB123644]

Well to be honest I would shut them in at night.  More so because we had a rat problem at one point which was quickly solved but it is amazing how small a hole this rat could get through.  Plus it also keeps the chickens from the cold and any other animals.

As mentioned earlier if you dont get the chance to always shut them up at night I would highly recommend getting an automatic door for them.  It will set you back about a £100 but it more than pays itself off.

[IMOmimey]

Every morning I drop their food down from the chain, open up and they all come out and dive to the food, the cockerels dancing to the ladies, and I can check out that everyone is ok. I can find out which cockerels if any, are treading, I can see if anyone is reluctant/slow/unable to come out of the coop. Then I prop the roof of the coop open for some fresh air.

Off I go to work, come home 6.30 so its dark by then at this time of year. I check who has gone to bed, drop the lid/roof back down, say goodnight to them all, and shut them safely in for the night. I top up their food containers and raise the chain that they hang from away from the rats, empty their water containers and take the empties to the garden tap. (OH fills them and sets them out again before he goes to work at 6am). I have a check around, looking for any disturbances, chooks left out, eggs laid in funny places etc. Then when I come in, I am happy they are all well, tucked up safe and cosy. 

We had a rat chew a perfectly circular hole through the side of the aviary (which housed my young chooklets) and then killed every chick, eating only a bit of each one. We were very upset. We do lock them up every night, it is all too easy for rats etc to get in, AND leaving the door open would create a draft. They can cope with cold weather, but being in a draft is very bad

[robinson]

Our girls are on an allotment and I started by opening and closing the pop hole every day to ensure that they knew where to go to bed but in term time I was killing myself to get over and let them out and in the end they were getting up so late I had to take a risk and leave the pop hole open.  I have two layers of wire, one with a .5 inch hole (weld mesh)to help keep out rodents.  So far so good but I know I am taking a risk but I have tries to elimanate as much risk as I can but nothing is completely safe.

[smiler43]

I always shut the coop up as soon as they have gone in even though they are in a fully enclosed run, can never be too careful and it only takes minutes.  Also because of the draught.