I had contemplated keeping the back door of the coop open at night to really let the cool air flow through the coop. There is a “screen” door with chicken wire instead of screen, but chicken wire won’t hold up to the attentions of a raccoon, and after the trail cam took a picture of a raccoon right behind the coop, leaving the door open is a definite no. In fact, I need to line the inner door with hardware cloth and put a heavy two step latch on it just in case a raccoon gets bold before I close the back door! (The solid door has three latches on it and a pad lock.) I had originally intended the inner door to only be utilized when I was out in the coop, but I found that keeping it as a breezeway after dinner makes a 10 degree difference in the inside of the coop. When the temperature in the coop goes from 95 to 85, it is worth airing out.

The trail cam also took a decent picture of an armadillo behind the coop. There is hardware cloth buried all around the coop and runs to keep the diggers out.