"Chicken" chickens

[papaclark]

after a couple of weeks in the coop, my chicks suddenly wouldn't return last night. It has been chilly at night so i had a heat lamp on to help coax them inside. Now however, the overnight lows are only in the 40's so last night i left it off. Now i've been up all night checking on them because they won't go back in. I put the light back on thinking they were used to it, but that didn't help. So now it's 4in the morning and i just checked, all still nesting together under the ramp to the coop. it's currently 52 degrees, so they're not cold but i thought it was norm for them to go back inside. Do chickens often choose to remain outside, or are they afraid to go back in for some reason?

 

[marktoo]

Have you changed anything? Chickens don't seem to like change much. I have a chicken tractor that I don't move very much. When I do, the chickens are hesitant to go into the coop for a couple of nights even though they had been going in & out of the enclosure for food & water for most of the day. Should they get out of the run, they head back to the spot where the tractor was last located.

Is there something in the coop? I noticed my chickens all milling around one evening when they should have been in the coop, I checked it out & found the fire ants swarming. I took care of the fire ants (boiling water) & the chickens went to bed. That's all I can think of since your chickens had been previously using the coop.

 

[papaclark]

Yep, you are right. Unbeknownst to me, my grand-daughter left a Jar of mealworm treats right inside the doorway. Seems the were frightened by it. Took it out, all is well. As soon as I moved it they ran inside and back out a couple of times.

 

[marktoo]

Crazy chickens!