Chickens are very inquisitive animals and if they can come near a house they will try and get inside at any opportunity using any method possible.
If our chickens are in the garden they’ll come running up to the door when it opens and they even tap on windows trying to get in to see what’s going on and to find out whether there’s any food available!
Although chickens would try anything to get inside a house, would they be cheeky enough or even strong enough to get through a cat or dog flap?
Yes, chickens can be trained to use a cat or dog flap door. If the flap is appropriately sized for the chicken, they can learn to push through it to enter or exit. However, training might be required, and it’s essential to ensure that the flap doesn’t close too quickly, which could potentially harm the chicken.
Read on to find out more about chickens using cat flaps and what alternative to a cat flap you can use for chickens.
Can you fit a cat or dog flap door to a chicken coop?
If you’re not always around to let your chickens in and out of the chicken coop then you might be looking for alternative option to do the job for you when you’re not there.
Some chicken keepers might be tempted to fit a cat or dog flap to do this job but is this the right thing to do?
The short answer is, a cat or dog flap door shouldn’t be fitted to a chicken coop because if chickens can get in and out, so can a fox or other predator. Cat flaps aren’t designed for chickens who have delicate necks and feathers which could get caught in the door.
For a chicken to get through a cat or dog flap door it would have to push it open with its head and this could lead to the chicken getting trapped in the door as their mid-section goes through.
Foxes and other predators can easily get through a cat or dog door once they figure it out and this could lead to the whole flock being picked off one by one.
The best type of door for a chicken coop is one which can not easily be opened or lifted by a hungry predator who is desperate to get to the chickens inside.
Cat flap alternative for chickens
The cat flap alternative for chickens is an automatic coop door which will close when chickens are safely inside to roost for the night and will open to let them out into the run in the morning.
The coop door should then remain open throughout the day so the chickens can go inside to lay or to shelter from bad weather.
We like the Omlet Autodoor, which can be controlled to open and close either at a specific time or by using the light sensor option.
Using an automatic chicken door can make your life much easier if you’re working late or if you’re going away for a night or two.
This article was first published on November 11, 2020 by Pentagon-Pets.
An automatic door can be fitted to any type of coop and the Omlet version can also be fitted to runs to allow chickens to free-range during the day even if you’re not there.
What to do if chickens are coming into the house through a cat flap
If your chickens have actually figured out how to get through your cat flap or door and into your house this could become a problem.
Once chickens get to know about somewhere good especially somewhere they’re not allowed to be they’ll just keep coming back for more.
Chickens are pretty messy animals who don’t care where they poop or what they knock over, so if they get into your house while you’re out you could come home to a disaster area!
If you don’t have a cat or dog which needs to use the flap then I’d definitely block up or lock the flap. If you do, then a possible solution is to use a cat flap with a sensor on that only the cat or dog can open.
Pentagon Pet is the owner of this article that was first published on November 11, 2020.
Related posts
I hope this post has helped you to find out more about chickens using cat flaps, you might also find the following post helpful too:
Omlet Universal Automatic Coop Door – the review
Should chickens be out in the rain?
How far will chickens roam or wander from the coop?
How do you know when a chicken is happy?
This article and its contents are owned by Pentagon Pets and was first published on November 11, 2020.