Please explain to me the concept of a pop hole.

[SamanthaFox]

We are converting the old shed into an extra house, despite having used our proper ark for erm, 2 days so far. I don't like it, it's really un-user friendly and they got so wet yesterday, as well

Anyway, I've been fixing up the shed all day and could do with some pointers please, if anyone has time!

The door is on the garden side - not the chicken-area side. I have taken out a couple of small sections of T&G on the chicken side, quite high up (around 3ft) and there is now a hole of about a foot square.
I know it needs a cover but I don't know what a pop hole should be like - does it have to be vertical?

How do you hold it open...and what size must it be? Is it for them to escape into - but surely a fox could get into a chicken sized hole anyway?
There's no power in the shed either so no electric opener and no light, but I might be able to run something up there for the winter time.
I'm going to try and put slabs under the floor, too, because it's just boarded - and change the roof from felt to corrugated stuff, eventually.

Does anyone have any further suggestions? The shed is old but not too bad, it's about 8x6. Which is making me feel as though we will need some more chickens

Thanks for reading and any ideas you have.

The traditional design is to have a door with some sort of hinge on the top side so it drops down to close the hole and has to be held up to stay open. At night it would be a good idea to bolt it or hook it closed to keep foxes out. You have to open up every morning. People used to say not too early, to give the hens a chance to lay in the boxes inside and not go wandering off to lay in the bushes.
So inside the shed they like nice cosy boxes to lay in and a perch off the floor to sleep on. They also like a ramp to walk up and down if the hole is 3 ft up.

therapysage has said it all

Thankyou very much for explaining...does the hinge thing make it less fox-accessable? Rather than a side opening door for example.

I'll do one with a hinge, like you suggest - that will be easier than the sliding sort!

my house with a sliding door is a pain! there is always a gap and we have to stick something in to 'wedge' it. I think the fox could get in easier. get a door with a bolt and then mr fox won't be able to.

Have you read "Little House on the Prairie". They used strips of leather for hinges. You can use rubber too (old inner tubes or whatever). If the door is hung from the top the default position is closed. But foxes are very cunning. When we were on holiday camping a fox came and took a plastic box of oatcakes out of the porch of our tent while we were sleeping and then got it open on the field.

Oh I see! That makes more sense now. But can a chicken open the door itself?
And how would one prevent a fox opening it while allowing a chicken to?

I am thinking magnetic collars

Try looking for automatic pop hole openers (would be an interesting google!). I think they're battery operated.

flytes of fancy do them.

Yes, I've seen them - about £99 I think though, which sadly is beyond budget!

Why would you want an automatic opener rather than just propping it open yourself in the morning?

I think to save getting up at 5 for the chickens to be able to go out when they wake up!

I usually dash out between 6 and 7, they seem OK with that though.

I love doing stuff for them...it is lovely just to see them

I think received wisdom is that it is better not to let them out at 5, so that they lay their eggs in the nest box. Also foxes are more likely to be out at 5 than 7.
Actually, ours are in a sort of large aviary together with the compost heaps, so we don't have to shut them in or let them out. Then at the weekend when we are about, we let them wander about and wreck investigate the garden.

ah Ok. That sounds good. I haven;t got up early today anyway!
Will let down into run when we go to school, then out into garden when we get back.

Thankyou