Will a wooden screen door work as a gate for a chicken run?

[gale65]

If we reinforce the screen part with hardware cloth? Or is there a better solution? My husband is not big on building stuff (he bought me a coop at an auction) and the less building the better. He will build the coop itself with fence posts and wire but the gate is another story. Or would a chain link gate be better? Not sure how much those cost..

If it matters we live on a farm on 10 acres and the chickens won't be real close to the house. We do have a dog outside that presumably would chase away any critters but she's a snoozer at night and also, we had a coon in the yard a couple of weeks ago so apparently she isn't super fierce with them. She just annoys them and they finally leave. The run will be covered too (dh did not want to do this but we convinced him that with the hawk population it would be wise).

 

[lady feathers]

Should be fine with hardware cloth or welded wire fencing, either one!

 

[lady feathers]

With coons they are very crafty with locks... if you want to keep them out of your pen I would sugest something that doesn't just slide into place but a clasp or something that has to be opened and closed (similar to a dog leash or those rock climbing climbs) can't hurt to use more than one and more than one type... crafty buggers!

 

[Garden Gal]

We used a wooden screen door, reinforeced with galvanized poultry wire and the only thing I'd recommend is sealing the exposed wood. I didn't and regret not having done so!

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Sorry, but if by poultry wire you mean chicken wire, that's not reinforcement. It will keep the chickens inside, but it won't keep predators out. You may want to consider replacing it with welded wire, which is stronger and more secure.

Any kind of door into the run or coop is a vulnerable point, especially if the door doesn't fit into the frame so closely that there are no gaps. One thing you can do is hinge the door to open outward, then put boards all along the inside of the door frame extending a little bit beyond the edge so that when the door closes, the back edge of the door touches the board and covers the gap. That way, if a critter pushes at the door from the outside, it can't push it in, either.

 

[gale65]

Our chickens will also be locked up in the coop at night but I still want critters staying out of the run. We'll be going tomorrow to look at gate options so it's good to know it can be used. We did think of the board stop option for whatever gate we use and also, I'll probably use one of those safety clips where it looks like a dog clip but also you have to hold or move another thing to get the clip to open. Or I don't even mind using a key lock and have a key hanging nearby (we have a small power shed that will be right next to the coop and run). thanks everyone.

 

[Hhoky]

Just an Idea, I used a recycled security door (the metal screen type) It had some slight damage/rust along the bottom, but with a little elbow grease I was able to repair most of it, and added a rectangle of wire fencing to the bottom part. It had the 2 holes for door knob and lock, I left the non functional deadbolt attached, removed the door knob and use a U shaped bar bike lock through the door knob hole and through a hole drilled into the door way of the coop. As we have an Urban flock, our biggest predator worry is the human kind.
Like most people I've had to recycle/reuse things I can find to make my mini barn. We fixed up a little shed that was built with the house for our mini barn. ^.^ Best of luck to you!

 

[Kudzu]

yes, yes and yes.

 

[speckledhen]

I screwed two of them together and replaced the screen with hardware cloth. It's the back gate on the main pen.

 

[emsdial911]

Definitely replace the screen with hardware cloth; they will punch right through the screen. Speaking from experience.