Door sizing question (let chickens out/prevent goats from getting in)

[nbelval]

We are finishing up our goat shed/chicken coop. The building is split to give each species their seperate space. We are thinking of making a chicken door into the interior human door. This will enable the chickens to exit the building via the goat side of the building. We want to have an opening small enough to prevent Nigerian dwarf goats from entering the hen house and eating chicken feed, yet large enough to allow the chickens (mostly dual purpose breeds) to exit comfortably. Does anyone happen to know the "magic" number to allow this?

Nicole

Just a note...the chickens will also have an exterior door to allow free roaming while we are home and this will be the door primarily used. There is generally someone home at all times so it would be for day trips that the interior door would be used.

 

[Fluffygal]

My coop has the standard 12" x 12" pop door and all my goats, including my Nubian, can get in through it. I have a Peahen that lives with the chickens. We just tie the chicken feeder up where the goats cannot reach it.

Would love to hear if anyone else has better pop door. Mine has to be big enough for the Peafowl along with the chickens.

My goats are 2 Pygmies, 2 NDs, and 1 Nubian. I was super surprised that Fiona, Nubian, was able to squeeze in through the pop door.

 

[Hillsvale]

my full size sheep and saanan goat can fit into a door that size when they want! you might try something about 8".. but even then not sure how small your mini's are tho

 

[ragdollcatlady]

If a chicken can fit....so can a goat!

Truffles (ND) was squeezing through a 6x8 cattle panel square until she was 7 or 8 months (I think) and she was a fat little goat! She took several minutes to finish squeezing through because she was so fat. She ended up with a bare spot along her back from scraping so hard on the wire every day.

Most of my chickens can fit through the standard cattle panel but the biggest 5 or 6 (cochins, faverolles, and Mademoiselle LemonAida, a huge maran, wyandotte mix) can't. I would try a hole around that size unless you have very large or show strain birds that might not make it. My regular standard chickens, ameraucana, maran, wyandotte can all get through easily. And yes goats have jellyfish bones....they will likely squeeze through anyway.

I have heard that if you put, say an 6x8 hole, but then a few inches inside (or outside, or both) the opening, put a "wall" that the chickens have to squeeze around, that goats don't usually have enough space to maneuver since they can't just stretch straight through the hole. Baby NDs can still get through....If you don't have little chicks going through, you could try and put an opening 4 feet up, with the barrier "wall" and a shelf/roosting bar or platform on the chicken side so the chickens have to fly up to get out into the goat side. As long as the goats don't have enough room to get up and in the hole, that might solve your problem.

 

[nbelval]

I posted the same question on a chicken forum and got an idea to make the corner type thing or a blockade of sorts. It can't be permanent though since we would trip over it and it wouldn't allow us to enter the chicken coop since the hole will be cut into the "human" door.

Good to know they will wriggle themselves through a small hole and I will do my best to outsmart the little buggers!
Thanks for all the suggestions. Keep them coming!! I may need to use them all!

 

[Egg_Newton]

I'll try to find a Pic. I used to have the same issue with my ND getting into the coop. I built something that allows chickens to get thru but not goats. BRB.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/69640/keeping-chickens-goats-together/10
This kept out a young ND wether as well.

 

[elevan]

I use a slider window as my chicken pop door. It allows me to open (and place a board to keep from opening further) to just the width that I need it for chickens to squeeze through. At turn in time I open it all the way to prevent a traffic jam. Works perfectly for me to keep the goats out.

 

[nbelval]

Oh my word! Not until I saw the last post did it dawn on me to say that our door would be a slider. Therefore we can make it any width we want, just have to get the height right! I still may have to use some sort of a baffle but I think I have a lot of info to work with now. The link provided was helpful too! Thanks a bunch everyone. If I need more help I know where to turn!

 

[perchie.girl]

Oh my word! Not until I saw the last post did it dawn on me to say that our door would be a slider. Therefore we can make it any width we want, just have to get the height right! I still may have to use some sort of a baffle but I think I have a lot of info to work with now. The link provided was helpful too! Thanks a bunch everyone. If I need more help I know where to turn!

LOL.... I have a Nigerian Dwarf goat that is like a bulldozer if he can get his head in eventually the hole will become large enough for his shoulders. Once hes through the bigger goats can use it too. I went to the BYC link and that was an excellent solution.

I have also seen a portico kind of deal where actual the chicken door is behind a Kind of chicken sized car port. so the chickens come in the side and have to make a right angle turn to get into the coop. In my case I will have to make it out of welded pipe..... Little reprobates.... last time they got in they ate 25 lbs of lay pellets.

deb

 

[Animallovers1]

My rooster a large blue laced red wynadotte can fit through a door 8 inches by six inches my goats ones a kid cannot get through it.