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[pinecone33]

for context: it is november right now and i live in sweden. Currently it is 2 degrees celcius outside and it is 17:17 dark outside and my chickens have two options. sleep inside a coop or sleeping outside like they did all summer and they all refuse to sleep inside the dcoop even though it gets cold should i be worried? They have only used the coop to lay eggs. By the way, they have a fence around them when sleeping outside so no predators can get to them but is this normal behaviour? It is not one or two chickens, the entire flock sleep outside together. We have tried to teach them to sleep in the coop and even locked them in there overnight and let them out during the day but they never liked it. They have been sleeping outside ever since they were baby chicks (not instantly but after three weeks old they slept outside with the other chickens). Their outside space which they sleep in is warmer than outside at night due to its location and no wind or rain gets in there i wonder if this is why they are okay with it?

The space they sleep is high like a tree branch but their coop is not like that and it is small and cozy (they are now 9 chickens in total since we got rid of all roosters), they fit in the coop so there is no reason for them to not go there i dont get it.. Is it an issue if they do sleep outside? (not counting predators since they are fenced and have a roof). They are not sick or anything from the weather either they act normal they do not sneeze they lay eggs as usual i check on them 5+ times a day since i work and study from home.

Honestly they seem fine but winter is about to approach soon i dont know if it can become an issue as i want them to be in top health and live comfortably..Has anyone dealt with this if so what are your answers? Any advice in general would suffice really.

 

[NatJ]

Is it an issue if they do sleep outside? (not counting predators since they are fenced and have a roof).

If they are safe from predators, and they have a roof, they may be fine.

For winter, it is best if they do not have wind blowing on them while they sleep, so you might look at covering part of one side of the run to block wind.

The space they sleep is high like a tree branch but their coop is not like that and it is small and cozy (they are now 9 chickens in total since we got rid of all roosters), they fit in the coop so there is no reason for them to not go there i dont get it.

Chickens like to sleep up high.
They like small places to lay eggs, but the rest of the time they seem to prefer bigger spaces.
They don't seem to care much about coziness, either.