Chickens not seeking shelter

lewishomestead

Hatching
Apr 20, 2015
3
0
7
I have 7 chickens, mixed breeds. My newest 3, which I raised since chicks, won't seek shelter at night. They settle down on the corner of the run. The other four do as they should but these 3 just won't. I've even repeatedly put them in the coop at night so they would get the hint, but no... they are in an A frame coop with a loft with roosting bars, thought maybe they didn't like that setup, so I built a standard coop directly next it as well. Still the same result. Can anyone help.

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That can be normal for young birds. Under normal situations chicks wait until their mom puts them to bed, without a chicken mom you will have to do the job. There seems to be a period in their development where they stay out too long and can be afraid to go inside which looks too dark to them. You will either have to put them in nightly until they start doing it themselves, or sometimes a nightlight can help.
 
How old are the older 4 and how old are the younger 3?
I'm assuming that the 7 you stated is the total number of birds.

How long have they lived together?

I'd bet you have a combination of a 'subflock' situation
(older existing birds is one group and younger newer birds are another group - very common)
and not enough space for them all to roost while maintaining space between.

I have 3 separate roosts in my coop to accommodate the subflocks...of which I always have 2-3.

Pics of your coops inside would help here.
 
Not all chickens run and hide like crazy.Some chickens know whether or not the hawk is gonna make a move.I didnt want my birsa to be crazy like that.Also tgere are certain things and soundd chickens make that could make them seek ahelter.

I know if my rooster makes this odd screeching screaming\cackle that is an alarm for eevryone to be aware.If he just sqauwks then that is just saying "Something in the area.,it could even be the dog running or a tennis ball being thrown across the yard.
 
Not all chickens run and hide like crazy.Some chickens know whether or not the hawk is gonna make a move.I didnt want my birsa to be crazy like that.Also tgere are certain things and soundd chickens make that could make them seek ahelter.

I know if my rooster makes this odd screeching screaming\cackle that is an alarm for eevryone to be aware.If he just sqauwks then that is just saying "Something in the area.,it could even be the dog running or a tennis ball being thrown across the yard.
This is about going in at night...not about predators.
 
That can be normal for young birds. Under normal situations chicks wait until their mom puts them to bed, without a chicken mom you will have to do the job. There seems to be a period in their development where they stay out too long and can be afraid to go inside which looks too dark to them. You will either have to put them in nightly until they start doing it themselves, or sometimes a nightlight can help.
x2 on the night light - it worked like a charm for me. Newly-integrated birds can be slow to "get" it, but turning on a battery-operated lantern in the coop really helped.
 
Light on a timer is great - set to give them light for maybe 15-20 mins. . They are afraid to go into a dark coop. You want just long enough light for them to go in and settle down on the roost before going off.
 
when I first move chicks out of the brooder I put them into a shelter that has about a two square foot area where they "free range", the area is a wire semi-circle and when I first put them in I force them into the dark building. They will die in a thunderstorm if they are not familiar with the shelter and call that home.
 

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