Chicken won’t go in hen house at night

[Deenok]

My flock on average are 70 days old. There are 12 of them and at night they huddle out side the hen house and I have to pick each one up every night to put to bed about 9pm. They aren’t afraid of the house. It’s completely predator proof and they go in and out all day long. They are getting heavy and I don’t know how to get them to go in by themselves.

 

[Bear1978]

What’s the temp inside the coop? Is it cooler out in the run then in the coop?

is there ample ventilation of the coop? Like windows that are larger than the vents you speak of? Could you post a pic of your coop?

just thinking, if the run has more air flow and is cooler than the run at the end of the day after the sun has been beating down on it and the ventilation is not enough to let the heat air out and the fresh air in, they may prefer to be out in the cooler run area.

 

[Gtstricky]

I spent 4 days chasing them at dusk and then I put a temporary light in mine, just ran an extension cord. Had it on a timer for 15 min before sunset to 15 after. They learned in 1 day. They were afraid to go in the dark and wanted to stay out in the light longer. Give it a try.

 

[Bear1978]

If you decide to do that. Mount the window but outs as shutters with the hinges on the top so it will open up like this pic of how I did mine to allow airflow and to keep the rain out.This is a better pic of what I mean than the pic of mine.

 

[Bear1978]

So apart from the pop door in the pic, where are the vents at on the coop, how big are they and how many are there?

 

[WallyG74]

They’re just being hard headed chickens. I’m fighting the same problem with 3 week old chicks. They run up and down the ladder all day and play in the brooder and all around the mini run. At night they huddle up on the ground. My wife and I waited until dark and scooped them up one by one back into the brooder. So annoying...

 

[Double Yolked]

Last time I saw this behavior I had a hidden chicken mite infestation. I'd say that you need to check for pests first, then see what other physical factors might be frightening them. Hens don't normally sleep on the ground, so when they choose to there has to be something really frightening or uncomfortable for them in the coop.

 

[NatJ]

So are you putting them in before dark, or after dark? If you get them in before it gets dark, then they should get used to settling down to sleep inside.

I can think of two ways to get them in:

Put something tasty inside, then shut them in when they go in to eat.

"Something tasty" might just be their usual food with some water added--chickens seem to really like it that way.

Or herd them in. Just walk toward them, so they walk away from you--and keep steering them toward the doorway. Then shut them in.

If they're so tame they'll stand still and get stepped on, herding won't work. But as long as they're willing to move a little away, it does work. No need to run and chase, you just want them to wander calmly the correct direction.

 

[kerico]

People have already come to this conclusion, but I'll reiterate.
It looks like there is no natural light getting into the roosting box.
It probably gets too dark in there for the chickens to navigate the roosts before they are ready to go to bed, add a window, or electric light.

 

[PrimroseMom1]

My flock on average are 70 days old. There are 12 of them and at night they huddle out side the hen house and I have to pick each one up every night to put to bed about 9pm. They aren’t afraid of the house. It’s completely predator proof and they go in and out all day long. They are getting heavy and I don’t know how to get them to go in by themselves.

I don’t know how hot it is in West Virginia right now, but here in Louisiana my chickens would die in that coop. I built my coop so that every side but the back can be opened up one by one as the days get hotter. I have panels to close up the sides in the winter. Right now all sides are open AND there’s a fan. Maybe, as others have mentioned, it’s too hot in there.