My girls started sleeping in the Cedar tree!

So every evening, I have to go climb a ladder and shake them out of the tree. I put them in the coop by hand each night. Sometimes I have even left them inside for a few days so they call this home. It didn't work. Sometimes, I can't get them down because they went too high. I worry that a raccoon will get them.

Is this normal chicken behavior? Do I have to clip their wings tips? Won't that make them look funny? I want to enter a couple of them into the fair, so that might wreck their chances.

Any suggestions?

You already tried the things I would initially suggest. I don't show my birds so I don't know if they mark off for clipped fight feathers, but that does sound like the best bet. I suppose you could clip their flight feathers after showing at the fair. You might only have to clip the feathers once, and by the time the flight feathers grow back, they will be in the habit of roosting in the coop.

Time to start training them to return to the run/coop a little before the time they normally go to roost - then lock them in. A nice, high value treat that they just LOVE is a great tool for this approach - go out and call them in with this treat every day at the same time. Before you know it, they will start going in on their own and be waiting for you to show up with that treat. By confining them before the time they go to roost you start to reprogram them - they have no choice but to roost in the confines of where you want them and by the time you have done this for a week or two it is just second nature to them to go in, eat a treat and go to roost in the coop - heading for the tree won't even cross their little chicken minds. This is different than locking in for a few days at a time as that didn't build the routine of being out and returning to this place at x time every day. They also don't associate it with a negative (being locked in and unable to go to the tree) but with a positive (getting that treat).

Ol Grey Mare said:

Time to start training them to return to the run/coop a little before the time they normally go to roost - then lock them in. A nice, high value treat that they just LOVE is a great tool for this approach - go out and call them in with this treat every day at the same time. Before you know it, they will start going in on their own and be waiting for you to show up with that treat. By confining them before the time they go to roost you start to reprogram them - they have no choice but to roost in the confines of where you want them and by the time you have done this for a week or two it is just second nature to them to go in, eat a treat and go to roost in the coop - heading for the tree won't even cross their little chicken minds. This is different than locking in for a few days at a time as that didn't build the routine of being out and returning to this place at x time every day. They also don't associate it with a negative (being locked in and unable to go to the tree) but with a positive (getting that treat).

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this

I wonder if they had a bad experience in the coop? Is it big enough? Tall enough to have a comfortable roost? They are in more danger in that tree, for sure. Mary

What is the temp in the coop? Is it perhaps hot enough that the tree is a better/cooler choice for them? I keep having to tell myself that the birds are smart. Smart enough to roost where it is cooler, all things being equal. They seem to pay no attention to the things I tell them. They just seem to do what works best for them…

Just something to consider,

RJ

Citychick11 said:

So every evening, I have to go climb a ladder and shake them out of the tree. I put them in the coop by hand each night. Sometimes I have even left them inside for a few days so they call this home. It didn't work. Sometimes, I can't get them down because they went too high. I worry that a raccoon will get them.

Is this normal chicken behavior? Do I have to clip their wings tips? Won't that make them look funny? I want to enter a couple of them into the fair, so that might wreck their chances.

Any suggestions?

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Roosting in a cedar tree is hard on a chicken's feathers, especially its tail feathers so I wouldn't get my hopes up over winning a blue ribbon.

Try getting them down this way.
Make yourself a T shaped device about 8 to 12 feet long with a 10 inch cross piece. A 1 by 6 board makes a good one with 10 inch piece of mop handle nailed or screwed to the top or one end.

When the hens have gone to roost and they are quite slide the “T” shaped devise under her just in front of her feet and gently push up and slightly back on her lower breast. The hen will transfer her feet to the perch on the end of your board to keep her balance on the tree limb. I don't know about your hens but where my hens' feet go, the rest of the hen is sure to follow.

After the hen has transferred her feet to the horizontal part of your “T” shaped contraption gently lower her to where either you or a helper can gently but firmly pick her up from the 10 inch horizontal perch. Sometimes a bright flashlight shined in her face is helpful to temporary blind of disorient her. 5% of the time this hurts because the hen may bolt when she sees the light and a hen running on the ground at night is difficult to catch. In that case you'll need the light to keep up with, and blind her till you can catch her on the ground.

I used to have an old telescoping hot stick, like the ones used by the electric company to open and close jump breakers on a 28 foot power pole. I've caught many a hen or young stag out of trees with it and didn't have to climb a single ladder.

RJSorensen said:

What is the temp in the coop? Is it perhaps hot enough that the tree is a better/cooler choice for them? I keep having to tell myself that the birds are smart. Smart enough to roost where it is cooler, all things being equal. They seem to pay no attention to the things I tell them. They just seem to do what works best for them…

Just something to consider,

RJ

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I think temps are part of the reason. They are also adjusting to integrating with the older hens. It's been 4 days now and things are getting better. They might be afraid of the older hens.

TJ

Update:

I've tried a bunch of things. I clipped their wings on one side and they can still fly well enough to get from the top of the hill to the lowest branch of the tree.
I also tried training them to go to the coop at a certain time each day with treats. After 2 weeks, it's starting to work. 3 of the 5 went into the coop on their own tonight. For the last 2 weeks, though, I have had to pull them out of the tree every night and put them in the coop. Some of the issue has been that the older hens have been picking on the littles, so they were afraid to go to the coop. It's been slow going, but they are starting to get along better, so I think this makes it easier for them to want to go to the coop. Weather has been both cool (60 degrees F) and hot (83 degress F) and it doesn't seem to make a difference in their behavior.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I should try clipping their wings on the other side. Do you think that will help?

TJ

Citychick11 said:

Update:

I've tried a bunch of things. I clipped their wings on one side and they can still fly well enough to get from the top of the hill to the lowest branch of the tree.

I also tried training them to go to the coop at a certain time each day with treats. After 2 weeks, it's starting to work. 3 of the 5 went into the coop on their own tonight. For the last 2 weeks, though, I have had to pull them out of the tree every night and put them in the coop. Some of the issue has been that the older hens have been picking on the littles, so they were afraid to go to the coop. It's been slow going, but they are starting to get along better, so I think this makes it easier for them to want to go to the coop. Weather has been both cool (60 degrees F) and hot (83 degress F) and it doesn't seem to make a difference in their behavior.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I should try clipping their wings on the other side. Do you think that will help?

TJ

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Actually, I think the reason they clip flight feathers on one side is because the imbalance makes it more difficult to fly.

Maybe there is a way you could put something like an old sheet temporarily around the lower branches of the tree to prevent them from flying up. Then they may get used to roosting in the coop. Once roosting in the coop becomes habit, then you could take the sheet or netting down. It would look ugly for a while, I suppose, but it might be better than having to take them out of the tree every evening.