Worried Chickens will freeze to death as not going in coop

[Jaine]

I have 3 chicks that are 4 months old who have never been in the coop and roost high up in a tree which is rapidly loosing its leaves - we have already had a few below 0C nights with frost on the ground - they have been fine so far - their mum and the rest of the gang (5 in total) sleep in their coop at night (in fact the mum is sitting on another pile of eggs - once they hatch i will bring them in). We have 2 roosters and i wondered if that was why the chicks have never gone in the coop.

Does anyone have any advice on what i should do about this - sometimes we get -20C and pretty sure we will have snow at some point - and there is a possibility that i wont be around when this happens - i have a camera on the coop and automatic water (with a heater) and feeding systems and someone to check on them if necessary. They also have a large polytunnel to go in during the day. They are completely free ranging in a well fenced large area.

They are 2 Barred Plymouth Rocks and one hybrid cross plymouth rock.

I cannot get them from the tree at night as it is way too high - i have bought a new coop and am trying to entice them into it with food etc but no luck so far - its only been a couple of days (the other chickens do not go into the new coop).

Anyway advice much appreciated - i am worried these chicks will freeze to death if the temperature drops a lot! Thank you

 

[WoDia]

Aside from the cold issue, 3 young chickens also don’t have much of a chance against predators at night. If at all possible, you need to place them inside the coop yourself while they’re small. Yes, they are likely afraid of the roosters…. or any other adult flock members. Place them into their coop at a time that they’re still on the ground foraging around, so you won’t have to worry about trying to entice them down from the tree. Good wishes for your 3 little ones!

 

[WingsysRoost]

Can you confine them somehow during the day (or starting a little bit before they usually go up to roost) so that they can’t get up in the tree in the first place? That is what I would do if I was dealing with something like this.

Once they have gone to sleep for the night in the confined area, you can then move them up to a roost inside the coop for the night. Since they are used to sleeping outside (or if they really just don't seem to get the idea), it might take quite a few tries, but they should catch on eventually.

My concern with them roosting outside would not only be cold and wind, but also predators. Yes, they can survive outside overnight (your chicks clearly have been, and I have a hen that spent the night outside by accident and came back in the morning), but it can really be down to pure luck in a lot of cases, and predators will also be more desperate in the cold.

Best of luck with getting them to go in the coop!

 

[Jaine]

Thank you - yes i can easily confine them and get them when they are asleep - much appreciated