Breaking a bad roosting habit

[chickenholdthewaffles]

My 6 month olds were doing great and roosting where they were supposed to. One evening the wind blew the coop door shut before they went to roost and when I got home to check on the gals, they were roosting outside of the chicken coop on top of their nesting boxes (photos attached). I thought it was funny and put them inside their coop. Well, that one night was enough to start a habit. They have since (for 2 weeks!!) starting roosting there every evening instead of inside their coop. What’s worse is they’ve now taught my younger pullets and rooster to do the same. So every evening I have to go out there and move all 6 of them into the coop. I’ve tried putting things on top of that spot to deter them. They just jump on top of the stuff I put there. What can I do?

 

[TheOddOneOut]

My 6 month olds were doing great and roosting where they were supposed to. One evening the wind blew the coop door shut before they went to roost and when I got home to check on the gals, they were roosting outside of the chicken coop on top of their nesting boxes (photos attached). I thought it was funny and put them inside their coop. Well, that one night was enough to start a habit. They have since (for 2 weeks!!) starting roosting there every evening instead of inside their coop. What’s worse is they’ve now taught my younger pullets and rooster to do the same. So every evening I have to go out there and move all 6 of them into the coop. I’ve tried putting things on top of that spot to deter them. They just jump on top of the stuff I put there. What can I do?

You have to manually put them in the roost till they get back in the loop. Lock them in the coop a half hour or so before they normally roost. If they aren’t up by dark, put them up.

 

[Chickstarrs]

Since the nesting boxes are outside the run, I would keep them in the run for a few days until they learn to go back in the coop to roost. Or let them free range in the morning and put them in the run in the afternoon, whichever works with your schedule.

 

[aart]

Might it be too hot in the coop?
Are these your only 2 birds?

 

[chickenholdthewaffles]

Might it be too hot in the coop?
Are these your only 2 birds?

It’s definitely hot right now, but I have ventilation on all 4 sides of the coop so there’s good airflow. Definitely could be a factor. I have 2 hens and 4 younger birds (about 8 weeks old).

 

[chickenholdthewaffles]

Since the nesting boxes are outside the run, I would keep them in the run for a few days until they learn to go back in the coop to roost. Or let them free range in the morning and put them in the run in the afternoon, whichever works with your schedule.

Thank you! I stayed out there with them tonight until it looked like they were going to jump up there. I herded them into the run and they went into the coop to roost. Im going to do as you suggested and start putting them in there earlier in the evening to make sure they don’t have a chance to roost in the wrong place. I like to give them as much free range time as possible but until they start roosting correctly I’ll have to cut their time short.

 

[aart]

A sharply angled(60° from horizontal) board on top of nests would do the trick.

It’s definitely hot right now, but I have ventilation on all 4 sides of the coop so there’s good airflow. Definitely could be a factor. I have 2 hens and 4 younger birds (about 8 weeks old).

Thermometer inside coop is a good tool.
Is that rectangle above nests a covered window?
Are there any vents near top of coop?
Pics of inside coop might help here.

Are the older birds keeping the youngers birds from roosting at dusk?
How long have they been integrated?

 

[chickenholdthewaffles]

A sharply angled(60° from horizontal) board on top of nests would do the trick.


Thermometer inside coop is a good tool.
Is that rectangle above nests a covered window?
Are there any vents near top of coop?
Pics of inside coop might help here.

Are the older birds keeping the youngers birds from roosting at dusk?
How long have they been integrated?

Thank you for the help! Good idea on the angled board! Those windows are not covered. There’s one on all 4 sides of the hen house to provide ventilation/air circulation. The doors on the end of the hen house provide a 4’x4’ open air window. It is predator proofed with hardware cloth. The hens (actually still pullets) are the first ones to roost on the exterior nest boxes. The younger birds will jump up there with them or roost on the feed can next to them. I’ve been putting them up early and they’ve roosted where they are supposed to for the most part. One of the hens roosts in the entry door to the hen house, but if I move her to the roost she stays there. There is definitely some feather picking and food guarding still going on, but it isn’t bad. They went through a long “see don’t touch phase” (about 4 weeks) and have now been fully integrated for 3 weeks.