Bedtime Shenanigans

[JessicaWils09]

Hi Everyone
I've had hens for about 6 years now and I absolutely love them. My oldest is Minnie and she's about 8 years old. She was a 'secondhand hen' as I call her but all my other girls have been ex-battery. Normally the ex-batts learn to put themselves to bed relatively quickly, but the last two I've adopted have not been putting themselves to bed on their own. Their hen house is located in a large 6x9x6 foot run and there's a pop hole on the run that they can enter and leave whenever they like during the day. When it comes to bedtime, Minnie puts herself to bed, but Maude and Tamika will not and try to nest down in the bushes in my yard. If I pick them up and put them in their run they will then make their way up the ramp and into their house, but otherwise they don't seem to connect that they need to go to the run to get to bed. I've tried putting treats in there and their food is in the run too, but no dice. Any ideas? Thank you.

 

[mixedUPturk]

Hi Everyone
I've had hens for about 6 years now and I absolutely love them. My oldest is Minnie and she's about 8 years old. She was a 'secondhand hen' as I call her but all my other girls have been ex-battery. Normally the ex-batts learn to put themselves to bed relatively quickly, but the last two I've adopted have not been putting themselves to bed on their own. Their hen house is located in a large 6x9x6 foot run and there's a pop hole on the run that they can enter and leave whenever they like during the day. When it comes to bedtime, Minnie puts herself to bed, but Maude and Tamika will not and try to nest down in the bushes in my yard. If I pick them up and put them in their run they will then make their way up the ramp and into their house, but otherwise they don't seem to connect that they need to go to the run to get to bed. I've tried putting treats in there and their food is in the run too, but no dice. Any ideas? Thank you.

You need to keep them locked in their coop a few days for them to associate it with safety and food

 

[azygous]

How many chickens all together? In linear feet, how much roosting space is there in the coop? Have you remained on hand at roosting time to observe how the chickens interact with these two newer hens? If the rest of the chickens make it unpleasant at roosting time for the newest two, that can easily discourage them.

If everything is calm, more or less, at roosting time, and these two hens simply do not understand they are supposed to roost in the coop, you may need to confine all the chickens to coop and run for a few days, urging the two newest into the coop at nightfall so they get used to associating the coop with their night time ritual. If coop space is adequate, you can try doing what @mixedUPturk suggests and confine them to the coop itself for a few days.

 

[JessicaWils09]

You need to keep them locked in their coop a few days for them to associate it with safety and food

Thank you. They're in there just now...I'm going to try something out.

 

[JessicaWils09]

How many chickens all together? In linear feet, how much roosting space is there in the coop? Have you remained on hand at roosting time to observe how the chickens interact with these two newer hens? If the rest of the chickens make it unpleasant at roosting time for the newest two, that can easily discourage them.

If everything is calm, more or less, at roosting time, and these two hens simply do not understand they are supposed to roost in the coop, you may need to confine all the chickens to coop and run for a few days, urging the two newest into the coop at nightfall so they get used to associating the coop with their night time ritual. If coop space is adequate, you can try doing what @mixedUPturk suggests and confine them to the coop itself for a few days.

Thank you. I should have said that I have three hens all together. Minnie and the two new girls (well they came on the 23rd of March). However, Minnie is nicknamed 'Minnitaur' because she is a monster with other hens. She is definitely top hen and is very rude to the new girls and any other girls we've had before. Even her best friend who sadly had to be put to sleep recently was not immune from Minnie's bullying.

The hen house the three hens have is quite big with 3 nest boxes and a long roosting bar and the new girls have no trouble putting themselves to bed in then hen house when I've picked them up from wherever they are in the yard and put them in the run. The trouble is getting them to go into the run in the first place. I am going to try to keep them in the run all day for a few days and keep Minnie out in the yard with her own food and water and shelter and see if this helps. I'll let you know how I get on but if you can think of anything else please let me know. Fingers crossed! I

 

[mixedUPturk]

Thank you. They're in there just now...I'm going to try something out.

Also
Sorry about your recent loss

 

[mixedUPturk]

Azygous really knows her stuff, id listen to her and glad she seconded my opinion. That educator badge is the highest honor we have in this community and ud do well to listen to the people with it.

 

[aart]

The hen house the three hens have is quite big with 3 nest boxes and a long roosting bar

How 'big' and 'long' in feet by feet, or inches by inches, or cm by cm?
Dimensions and pics are always helpful.

I am going to try to keep them in the run all day for a few days and keep Minnie out in the yard with her own food and water and shelter and see if this helps.

Good idea....might help even after a month or so.