One chicken won't roost inside coop

[TravelChicks22]

We have 16 chickens - 14 hens and 2 roosters. One of the roosters is very agressive and chases after the hens a lot. The other one pretty much keeps to himself. They are all about 16 weeks old. So far everything has been fine - they free range outside all day (we live on 10 acres of mostly wooded property in northern Minnesota) and then go inside around sunset and roost. But there is one hen (a Rhode Island Red) who has started to avoid going into the coop at night. Before that happened, she would sleep in one of the nesting boxes. We tried putting her on the roost and she would stay but next night would go back to the nesting box.

Recently, however, she has been roosting outdoors in a wooded area next to the coop, on a low hanging branch. We got her last night and put her inside the coop, but tonight she was back on the branch. I tried to get her but she got away and I didn't want to scare her, so I let it go. The coop has 6 nesting boxes and is a decent size for the chickens. The only time they're in it is at night, so I don't think it's the coop.

Does anyone have any idea why she is doing this, and what we can do about it? I'm worried she is getting bullied but I'm not sure what I can do about it. I figure at some point, she will get cold enough to sleep inside. But I still would like to fix things so that she wants to be inside.

Forgot to mention that there are 5 Reds, 5 Barred Plymouth Rocks, 4 Whiting True Blues (including the dominant rooster), one white hen with some black feathers (the extra free one McMurray threw in) and the non-dominant rooster, which I have no idea what he is.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[Saveria]

What size is the coop, and how much ventilation does it have? It sounds like normal behavior for his age, but you may want to rehome that rooster if he does not calm down.

 

[TravelChicks22]

The coop will hold up to 20 chickens so it's big enough. And there is decent ventilation, so I don't think that's the problem, especially since it's just one hen that is refusing to sleep inside.

 

[RobertaD1]

In square ft, how big is your coop? Do you have pictures???? Company's will overestimate how many chicken per square ft to sell coops. Also, do you have pictures of the ventilation? You should have at least 1ft of ventilation per bird, approx.
3 to 4 sq ft of coop space per bird

 

[RobertaD1]

OH.... Have you checked for mites on your roosts?

 

[aart]

The coop will hold up to 20 chickens

How big is that in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would help immensely here.

There's almost always a low bird. Having 2 males can be a problem too.

 

[TravelChicks22]

There's almost always a low bird. Having 2 males can be a problem too.

That's what I'm wondering. For everyone who is asking about size and ventilation, you will just have to take my word for it that's it is adequate. The coop is quite large and has good ventilation. I've been raising chickens for years, although not in this quanity, and have researched coop sizes and ventilation extensively.

At any rate, I've never had this problem before - however, I've also never had a rooster before. I think this is a behavioral issue, which is why I'm asking for ideas to solve it. If I can't figure it out, I'm tempted to send the rooster over to our neighbor. Or maybe isolate the rooster for a few days and see if that helps.

 

[aart]

The coop is quite large and has good ventilation. I've been raising chickens for years, although not in this quanity,

Well, that could now be a problem.
....and that you're not willing to share the actual size, can't be much help either to see that is or is not part of the problem.

 

[TravelChicks22]

If it were all the chickens or multiple numbers of chickens doing this, I could see size being a factor. But not with one lone chicken. I've seen so many posts that blame everything on the coops and the ventilation. Yes, that can be a problem but it's not the problem here. I've seen it in multiple posts here but hoped that you would look at the situation, which is an agressive rooster and a hen that is obviously getting bullied. I'm trying to figure out a solution for that. I'm not going to go out there and measure the coop and describe in detail the ventilation when I know that is not the answer.

I think I'm done here. Thanks for the non-help.

 

[RobertaD1]

Well, I am sorry that we couldn't help. Isolate your rooster tonite, if the hen goes in, he's the problem.....maybe. I would also check for mites.... True, It may not bother all the birds, maybe its just the one. No harm in checking anyway. Good luck