closing the pop hole

[clucking chicks]

Accidentally last night I forgot to close my girls pop hole. Everything was fine in the morning but can you tell me whether my ladies are safe if it is open, please. I have a coop that is raised off the ground with a small run made from fox proof wire underneath.
Thanks for your help.

 

[Marigold]

This sounds like an Eglu Cube, is it that? If you are confident that the run is fox proof, as indeed it should be, it is best for the hens to leave the pophole open as much as you can, especially in summer , as it improves the ventilation inside the coop and helps prevent respiratory problems. but of course you have to be happy about their safety and only you can decide that!

 

[Stanley]

if its only foxes youll get and you're certain they wont get in then why not, foxes to me seem pretty lazy, never seen one dig its way under, unless ofc its starving, just make sure theres nothing else around, ie rats, as they can get in/tunnel under a run in a matter of minutes if they think somethings good inside, usually the chicken food though

 

[foxy]

If you have a fox proof wire extending out like a sort of skirt,like the eglu or some other method to prevent a fox digging under your run e.g: slabs, sleepers etc...then I would shut the pop-hole. A fox is capable in one night in digging under then squeezing through an impossibly small gap.

 

[dinosaw]

I would agree with Foxy, even if your run is fox proof it's a bit like locking your door and bolting it for good measure, can never be too safe. My chickens hate the pop hole being left open and two of them will sit in the nest boxes until it closes at which point they get up and go onto the perches, they feel exposed in front of the open door I think.

 

[chrismahon]

I agree with Foxy and Dinosaw. They have a whole night to dig their way in and I recon on our runs stopping a fox for perhaps half an hour if it's really desperate.

Marigold has a good point about ventillation. Even with very large vents on the coops on a still hot night I think ours is inadiquate. I intend to fit an exterior mesh door over the pophole aperture for such occasions. A relatively easy exercise because all our popholes are internal.

 

[Marigold]

My run has half inch weld mesh under the whole floor, securely wired to the half inch weld mesh sides and top. There's also a little retaining wall with proper foundations round three aides, to terrace the run into a slope, with the mesh fixed behind it. If I thought they weren't perfectly secure in there at night with the pop hole open, I would also be worried about them during the day, especially when dusk falls before they go to roost, as so many fox attacks take place in daytime. When they are out in the garden they are reasonably secure, ie round here so far there have been no problems with foxes, it's more a question of stopping out of control dogs getting in from the field behind. We have fitted a good gate to prevent the dogs, after one incident when luckily I'd just put the girls back in the run, but I expect a fox could get in if and when it found us. Meanwhile I try to balance quality of lifeie letting them out to the grass for a couple of hours a day, and safety, ie providing a run I'm sure nothing could dig or break into. If I'd ever actually seen evidence of foxes in or near the garden I would have to reconsider their time out on the grass.
As for ventilation, I can only say that in all the years I've kept chickens, none of them have ever had any kind of bronchial infections and I put this down partly to luck and obtaining healthy stock in the first place, and also to plenty of fresh air at all times.
Now I'm tempting fate here, aren't I? I expect they will all start sneezing, and the noise will attract a fox!

 

[chrismahon]

Now that would be bad luck Marigold. Unfortunately I can't see us ever achieving that sort of run. We will therefore always be at risk to some extent, limited only by the flocks being small and divided. We won't be leaving the pop-hole open and unprotected with our type of runs. Don't want to change the runs because being mobile they can be moved onto new grass, with the coop, in a few minutes.

 

[karminski]

i trust my run 99.9% but theres always the 1% to worry about and even during the warmest nights i have wanted to leave my doors open but i dare not as that would be the time it could go very wrong my run has been up 5 yrs this august bank hoilday and the worse i have had is a poo package left by the corner of the run i dont want anything esle .
my run has now been broken down in smaller sqaures manly thanks to getting the faverolles and it could be quite easy in one way for me to place wire mesh on the floor but knowing the way i change my mind i would like it one week but regret it the next :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Stanley]

Yeah never actually left ours open, ad 2 of the coops have the attached runs you can move in a jiffy
didnt know that a fox would actually dig under to get in, im sure if he could see the hens it might, but never seen one that desperate, but they could easily get in within seconds!