Anyone's Chickens Roost outside?

[meetthebubus]

I first started with buff Orpingtons which are good little chickens who go to roost inside their coop provided

I have now 9 month old Easter eggers who have always refused to go in the coop and roost atop coop doors, roof etc. Now I know how to get chickens used to their home, started them off little but they were always stubborn and leave the coop by the moonlight to roost outside once more.

I live in the desert so at 100 degree summer NIGHTS i thought no biggie, plus they live in a 360 cage so they are predator safe.

But now that cool is coming they get dew on them and I worry for their health compared to my buffs who reside inside at night....


Anyone else with birds who roost outside and what is your winter experience

P.s. they also have a cover over them where they roost at night but the dew still gets them.

 

[AlleysChicks]

I’ve got 4 birds right now that roost outside. I’m in Ohio and temps are currently in the 30’s at night. There were more but they went in the coop. I’m going to put plastic up in the corner today to shield them from the wind.

 

[meetthebubus]

Well that's comforting as it only 56 here early morning but when they are acclimated to 115 that's cold it's 90 for the high right now so 56 with dew feels really cold to me right now lol

So you don't notice colds in those that roost out?

 

[AlleysChicks]

Oh I understand. We went from the 80’s to 40’s-50’s practically overnight for our daytime temps. No slight decrease to get us used to the change.

No colds with my birds. But the darn things are molting so you’d think they’d be inside! I have 3 roost bars in the coop and they only use the highest one.

 

[EggWalrus]

Oh I understand. We went from the 80’s to 40’s-50’s practically overnight for our daytime temps. No slight decrease to get us used to the change.

No colds with my birds. But the darn things are molting so you’d think they’d be inside! I have 3 roost bars in the coop and they only use the highest one.

Funny, they always seem to go for the highest roosting bar!

 

[Backyard Bruce]

I have 4 RIR's and 4 Polish hens along with one polish cockerel.
The RIR always roost in the coop at the highest roost bar, they are dominant over the polish.
The Polish all used to roost in the coop on the lower bars but about a month ago they started to stay out in the run. The wife puts them in the coop at night because we have a lot of bears around, along with many other predators.
Our run is very secure topped off with four hot wires but if a bear wants in he's going in...
Anyway the RIR have been laying a while now and use the boxes inside the coop, so far only two polish have just started laying this week and they have also used the nest boxes inside the coop so all goes well there at least.

The cockerel goes wherever he damn well pleases, sleeps, out sometimes then the next night he might roost with the RIR's, he just tries to keep the peace between the polish and the RIR.

 

[Shadrach]

I first started with buff Orpingtons which are good little chickens who go to roost inside their coop provided

I have now 9 month old Easter eggers who have always refused to go in the coop and roost atop coop doors, roof etc. Now I know how to get chickens used to their home, started them off little but they were always stubborn and leave the coop by the moonlight to roost outside once more.

I live in the desert so at 100 degree summer NIGHTS i thought no biggie, plus they live in a 360 cage so they are predator safe.

But now that cool is coming they get dew on them and I worry for their health compared to my buffs who reside inside at night....


Anyone else with birds who roost outside and what is your winter experience

P.s. they also have a cover over them where they roost at night but the dew still gets them.

Most here have roosted outside at some point.
I had mixed feelings about it and spent some nights worrying at every strange sound. I did eventually train them all to come out of the trees for supper and then into their coops.
The bantams would still prefer to roost in the trees I think. They only go into the coops because they know how grumpy I am if I’m awake at night worrying about them.
I have one hen that I have to lift down most nights who wouldn’t go anywhere near a coop out of choice.
I still get the occasional cockerel who roosts in the trees until they can attract some hens; then they go and live with them.

 

[llombardo]

Mine try to stay outside and every night I physically put them in. I'm not worried about the cold as much as predators. They seem to enjoy 30 degree weather. I do have plastic around the run so wind is not an issue.

 

[meetthebubus]

I went out in the monsoon storm with lightning to get them inside sometimes, one time it was over 50 mph the wind with hail stinging me and I had 5 ontop the coop roof that didn't make it down in time and were now afraid to move bc it was so strong so I got my mini plastic rake to reach them like a hand I wrapped it behind them pulled them to me to get them inside, I had never seen a chicken with its wings so tight to her body so she wouldn't blow away thankfully I got them down. With a few hail bruises to show for it

 

[llombardo]

I went out in the monsoon storm with lightning to get them inside sometimes, one time it was over 50 mph the wind with hail stinging me and I had 5 ontop the coop roof that didn't make it down in time and were now afraid to move bc it was so strong so I got my mini plastic rake to reach them like a hand I wrapped it behind them pulled them to me to get them inside, I had never seen a chicken with its wings so tight to her body so she wouldn't blow away thankfully I got them down. With a few hail bruises to show for it

Last week I was out there working and the wind picked up like a mini tornado, then came the hail followed by snow. The branches were moving pretty good. They all started squawking and I'm yelling at them to get in the coop. For once they listened to me.