3 of my chickens sleep outside the coop

[ColoradoChickenMama]

Hello!

This is my first adventure with chickens. We raised 7 from chicks. When they were about 14 weeks, we got 3 more that were the same age. We went through the process of separating them appropriately and working them into the original group. There has always been some pecking order and the newer chickens have tended to be towards the bottom.

My problem: my ladies are all 10 months old now and the 3 newer ones INSIST on roosting on top of the coop. I go out and put them in every night (we have an automatic door). On a couple of really cold and windy days, I went out to put them in and they were already in! So they KNOW how to go in when they get too cold! Should I leave them out at night? How cold is too cold for them to be out? I don't want them to freeze! I don't want to attract predators either.

Any advice or tips would be so helpful

 

[ColoradoChickenMama]

I apparently posted this in "hatching"...I did not mean to do that!

 

[nuthatched]

No, posted it where you needed to. Hatching is your seniority level.
How big is your coop? How much linear roost space do they have?

 

[ColoradoChickenMama]

Oh! Hahaha.

Well, the coop is about 3x5 feet, they have 3 roosting beams, a total of about 5 feet of roosting space. I have wanted to put in some higher roosts above these, but it's incredibly hard to reach in there to attach the roost, so I haven't figured out quite how to get that done. I suppose that's what I need to do!

 

[nuthatched]

Oh! Hahaha.

Well, the coop is about 3x5 feet, they have 3 roosting beams, a total of about 5 feet of roosting space. I have wanted to put in some higher roosts above these, but it's incredibly hard to reach in there to attach the roost, so I haven't figured out quite how to get that done. I suppose that's what I need to do!

Its ok, it throws a lot of people off.
Come spring, you want to seriously consider a much bigger coop, 5x3 is too small for 5 birds, let alone 10.
But for roosts, they need at least a foot of linear space each. You can try another roost for now, though it might be hard to maneuver in there. You can even mount them from the ceiling if needed. Or from the walls.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/medium-coops.19/

 

[ColoradoChickenMama]

Thank-you! We will look into a bigger coop! I was told it was plenty big enough, but should have researched further myself!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thank-you! We will look into a bigger coop! I was told it was plenty big enough, but should have researched further myself!

For 10 standard birds you're looking for something closer to 40 sq ft, with at least 10 sq ft of ventilation 24/7 and 10' of roost.

 

[RojoMarz]

and to add, if you are in Colorado (based upon your user name), you really do need more coop space...especially for those Colorado days where the chickens are confined to the coop due to snow/wind. Twice last week, my girls refused to leave the coop. I shooed them out around mid day, but it didn't take long before they were back inside the coop.

 

[ColoradoChickenMama]

I'm frustrated that I didn't look into this further myself. A friend who has many more chickens than I do sold me the coop for a great price and I was grateful. And I trusted her experience and knowledge. The more I go thru this tho and look into these things myself, the more I keep seeing she was wrong. But that's no excuse. It's my job to educate myself. Anyway, will be looking for a deal on a bigger coop space for these ladies. Thank yall for your kind and honest help!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'm frustrated that I didn't look into this further myself. A friend who has many more chickens than I do sold me the coop for a great price and I was grateful. And I trusted her experience and knowledge.

Entirely possible it worked fine for her if she had a smallish flock (or smaller than average birds) that grew up together. I currently have 9 birds in a fully integrated flock that stuff themselves onto a 5.5' roost (11' total in roost space) but because it's such a snug fit every so often 1-2 birds get booted to the other roost.