DIY Self-Closing Chicken Run Gate
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To prevent your flock from escaping unintentionally, your chicken run should have a self-closing gate installed on it.
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I am usually careful to close the gate to the chicken run behind me, but invariably going in and out with my hands full - treats, water or feed going in, or eggs coming out - the gate gets left ajar.
And those darned chickens don't need but a second to jump on the opportunity to escape and get in some free range time.
The gate to the run has a deadbolt on the outside ...
and an eye hook on the inside.
But somehow they don't always get latched when I'm busy going back and forth.
And so the chickens take every opportunity to squeeze out through the open gate into the horse pasture. Of course the pasture is more fun - lots of bugs, weeds, grass, not to mention dropped horse feed.
But it's also beset with dangers like hawks, foxes and neighbor's dogs on occasion.
Rounding up almost two dozen escapees is no fun, so I decided to put a stop to the jail breaks for once and for all.
I paid a visit to our local hardware store and bought what I needed: a spring and a hook. That's it. Then I went to work.
DIY Self-Closing Chicken Run Gate
What you Need |
Short spring
Eye hook
What you Do |
First I screwed the hook into the inside support post on the hinge side of the gate.
Then I wound one end of the spring securely on to the hook.
The other end of the spring I wound into the chicken wire on the gate.
And voila.....
I now have a swinging gate that closes automatically behind me ... so no more jail breaks ! Sorry girls. I should have done this a long time ago!
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