Chickens not making it to the roost at night...

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desertchicken92

desertchicken92

Songster
7 Years
Jul 4, 2014
127
15
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I have a shed sized chicken coop and a big run. Recently I built an over hang on one side of the coop so I can hang garden tools etc... anyways the coop window is now under that overhang. It's great in the day because the coop is shaded, plenty of light still. By late evening/night the coop is pitch black now and fast. The chickens aren't used to it and when they go in to roost they can't roost because of their vision. I found one squaking and running in the outside pen at dark, one on the coop floor, one in the nest, and only one on the roost. Will they adjust to this change eventually?
 
desertchicken92 said:
I have a shed sized chicken coop and a big run. Recently I built an over hang on one side of the coop so I can hang garden tools etc... anyways the coop window is now under that overhang. It's great in the day because the coop is shaded, plenty of light still. By late evening/night the coop is pitch black now and fast. The chickens aren't used to it and when they go in to roost they can't roost because of their vision. I found one squaking and running in the outside pen at dark, one on the coop floor, one in the nest, and only one on the roost. Will they adjust to this change eventually?
Click to expand...

Assuming they were going in and finding their roosts before your change, then sounds like they are not yet adjusted to the lower inside light changes. I think they will learn to enter earlier and avoid the issue, but for a few notes, you could try offering some help. ? a flashlight thru the window just for a few nights. Or if your coop is close enough to your house, turn on outdoor flood lights.

We added onto our cabin type coop this year. The new front run area roof reduced the ambient light thru the main coop window. Had no problem until sundown started coming earlier. My girls kept hanging our in their run and "kitchen" and had some problems adjusting to it. We were able to turn on our house outside lights a couple of evenings til they mounted the roosts. Now they are going in about 15 minutes earlier on their own.
 

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