Hen's not using the chicken coop - why?

[mrrossi]

Hi all

Previously I had a small chicken coop in an enclosed area (some rain protection, netted area) and they would sleep inside the coop, but it got a little small and there was nowhere to roost - they started to sit on the roof and roost there. This was a felt roof and got incredibly dirty.

I've since bought a large coop that has somewhere to roost now (beams) - however, they won't go inside!! They can no longer roost on the roof as it's taller / slippery, so I'd hoped they go in and roost there. Tried to entice them in with food but they'll only poke their heads in... is the entrance too small? The angle too steep? I don't think either really as I've made the slope less steep (see photos) and they should be able to get through that door...

Any ideas how I can persuade them to go inside? I could just pick them up and put them in the nesting box part (roof opens) and close it so they'd walk into the main part, but I don't want to "stress" them unnecessarily?

Thanks all
Ross

 

[kengboss21]

At night pick them up put them inside and close the door, do this until they return by themselves

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Any ideas how I can persuade them to go inside? I could just pick them up and put them in the nesting box part (roof opens) and close it so they'd walk into the main part, but I don't want to "stress" them unnecessarily?

Anytime I switch houses or locations.. the birds get locked in for a few day.. to "home" them to it and let them know that's their place of safety.

But bare minimum.. I would be putting them in every night until they got the hint.. usually only takes a few times to a week.

 

[Penpal]

Are your roosts as low as they look? Chickens like to be up high, like in trees or on the roof. The roosts should be 2 to 3 feet off the ground, depending on the chickens. Also, because the roosts are right in front of the opening, they get drafts.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I have to be frank, there's no visible ventilation and I only see a tiny smidge of light where there's gaps. They can't see to navigate when it's dark, and the lack of ventilation will cause ammonia to build up inside, so I can understand why they'd rather sleep outside.

If your set up is predator proof and has a climate protected area they can sleep in, and temperatures that aren't unreasonably cold, they don't have to be inside a coop at all.

Otherwise chickens hate change and if the coop was large enough I'd advise locking them in for 2-3 days to home them to it, but it is not safe to do it that way, so you'll need to manually put them in each night.

 

[David61]

Chickens are "chicken", all new things are not going to be liked. Now what i see is your coop is on the ground. Looks like the roost bars are 6-8" off the ground? Chickens want to be up high, high as they can get. Get, jack, raise that coop up three feet off the ground. who ever designed that coop doesn't know chickens. Roost bars go above nest box level as high as you can get. I wouldn't use that if i were a chicken.

 

[Insnesnakos]

You should carry them into the coop at night. My birds were scared of their new coop at first too. The roosts look too low, they should be a bit higher

 

[mrrossi]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

My set up is predator proof, but not climate controlled - it's basically a chicken wired area within a small "courtyard" around the shed, side door and garage, with some plastic sheeting on parts of the chicken wire to keep a little rain off. UK midlands so not tooo cold just yet.

There are ventalation holes in the coop; sorry, it's not clear on the picture. Plenty of them for air and should let in some light too although thinking about it, their previous coop would have let in a lot more light not maybe they are "scared of the dark" in comparison to the last one. One of the nest boxes is below a rain cover so I could leave open for more light.

Yes I agree the roost bars are quite low and I would have liked higher but I honestly couldn't for the life of me find a coop that was large enough / fit into the space I had - I could remove the tray underneath (it's supposed to slide out for cleaning but it was hard to jam in there on assembly so isn't going to come out easily regularly) and just jack up the height and put the tray below on the ground I guess.

They have nowhere to roost now so I thought low roosts better than none at all...

I'll open a nest box and lift them in during the day so they can at least explore it and get used to it.

Thanks all!

 

[rosemarythyme]

There are ventalation holes in the coop; sorry, it's not clear on the picture. Plenty of them for air and should let in some light too although thinking about it, their previous coop would have let in a lot more light not maybe they are "scared of the dark" in comparison to the last one. One of the nest boxes is below a rain cover so I could leave open for more light.

Ventilation "holes" are rarely enough. Ventilation needs to be thought of in square feet, not inches - in metric you'd want to aim for 0.09 sq meters per bird open 24/7.

Looks like you have 3 birds? It's not ideal having ventilation low but as long as your climate is moderate it might work to just take out an entire bank of nests (you have way more nests than you need) and covering the opening with hardware cloth, then using the lid propped up to provide climate protected ventilation that'll also add a bit more light to the inside, hopefully.

Yes I agree the roost bars are quite low and I would have liked higher

You will need to do alterations. For the roosts, raising them in this manner could work: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ng-in-nest-boxes.1134399/page-2#post-17749535

 

[Mouthpear]

I've since bought a large coop that has somewhere to roost now (beams) - however, they won't go inside!!

Getting them inside, at night, is a fairly easy thing to do.

You need a light inside the coop. It looks like the coop is close to the house. This may be one reason they are staying outside. Chickens have very poor eyesight in the dark. So, they flock to where there is the most light and to the highest point they can. So, if you have lights on in the house or on the outside of the house they will want to stay outside.

Here is how to fix that. Put a bright light in the coop that turns on 30 Min before sunset and turns off 30 min to an hour after.

Two options.

• Run an extension cord to the coop, use a 3 prong Convert Outlet to Light Bulb Socket and a SONOFF smart Bulb
• This going to be the cheaper of the two, However I personally would go with the second option. Unless (you go with option three). I Do not like having an extension cord out on the ground with power to it.

Or

• Outdoor Smart Dimmer Plug. Run an extension cord to the coop, use a 3 prong Convert Outlet to Light Bulb Socket and a Dimmable LED Light bulb.
• As I mentioned above, being able to shut off the power to the cord is a plus for me.

In ether configuration you will

1. set the time to turn on, 100%
2. 30 min to an hour, before sunset via google home or alexa
3. using google home or alexa, have it decrease brightness over an hour.
4. shut off 1 hour after sunset.

An added plus, during winter you can set the light to turn on an hour before sunrise. If you want egg production to not slow down during winter.

More Outlet to Light Bulb Sockets:

• Plug in Light Socket, 3-Prong Light Bulb Socket Adapter, 360° Rotatable Light Bulb Plug Adapter with Switch, for LED Bulb, Light Bulb Camera, Smart Bulb (ETL Listed, White)
• Borju Plug in Light Socket, Outlet to Socket Adapter, 360° Rotatable Plug with On/Off Switch, ETL Listed, White
• Outlet to Socket Adapter, E26 Plug-in Light Socket, 3-Prong Outlet Socket Adapter, 360° Rotatable Plug with On/Off Switch, 660 Watt, 125 Volt (1P)
• Tiqian Plug in Light Socket,3 Prong Outlet to Light Socket 360° Rotatable Plug,Outlet to Light Socket Adapter with On/Off Switch Light Bulb Outlet Socket Adapter (2 Pcs)
• I like these best. Hanging Lantern Extension Cord Cable, E26/E27 Pendant Light Socket On Off Inline Cord Switch Control Lamp, Switch Close to Polarized Plug, 13 Feet, White, 2-Pack

Option three.

• Use a Light Bulb Camera.
• As mentioned above "I Do not like having an extension cord out on the ground with power to it." Having a camera that doubles as a lightbulb would be an ok compromise.
• Drawback is you can't dim the lights (I think).

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