Should chickens go in henhouse every night?

[cadudeman]

Hello,
My 4 chicken have been in their new coop about 2 weeks. After the 3rd night they were going in the henhouse all on their own. Last night, or yesterday, they figured out how to get to the highest roost, about 6' off the ground, and stayed the night on the roost. They are completely surrounded by 1/2" hardware cloth so nothing can get to them, or so I hope. I'm just wondering if it's best that they go into the henhouse every night or does it even matter. They are about 12 weeks old.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

While many pens are "predator-proof" being a cube of 1/2 inch hardware cloth with aproned out or buried cloth around the edges, it is important to note that the predators will spend all night looking for a way in if the chicken is sitting there in the open and they see that.

Some of the predators, such as raccoons, are extremely strong and can pry up wire successfully at times.

So, my advice would be that it is safer for you to train your chickens to go to the coop. One easy way is to put a little light on in there, such as a battery-powered one, if you have no electricity out there, turned on at dusk so they are attracted to the light and go inside. Then once they are used to it, stop the light.

Otherwise, if it were me, I would invest a week or two of evenings going out there and catching them in the evening, and putting them inside. Eventually they get skittish about being "caught" by me every evening and get the idea that inside the coop is safer.

You can also remove the external roosts temporarily.

 

[cadudeman]

Thanks and I agree with you, predators are relentless. it only takes one spot for them to get in and while I'm snoozing, they're getting eaten. I don't want that to happen. I'll look around for a light and in the meanwhile catch them and put them in heir house.