Chicken won’t go in hen house at night

[City Farmer Jim]

If memory serves me its 1 square foot of ventilation per bird....more is DEFINITELY better.

 

[WallyG74]

Put a light on a timer, that comes on for about an hour each night. ( Right now. Mine comes on around 9pm) you will be amazed that they go in by themselves!

So I don’t have a fancy timer, but I plugged my brooder light up 2 nights in a row right before dark. The 2nd night (tonight) they were all in the brooder waiting for me to close the hole and make them secure for the night. Thanks for the suggestion, it worked perfectly! As soon as they are closed up, I unplug the light. Yay!

 

[nappydreadz69]

Hello.
It could be the temperature of the hen house. But what I found out because I’m new to keeping chickens. My 7 hens (no rooster at the time) did this all of a sudden and I being new to keeping chickens as I said before. There was a black snake living inside of the hen house. The black snake was eating my eggs on a daily basis.

He was eating really good until I figured it out. I figured it out, because at the time they were young hens laying 7 eggs a day. then I went to collect the eggs. Started to notice I was getting maybe 4/5 eggs a day. That’s when I found the snake inside of the nesting box.

The chickens would lay on the snake which was under the straw bedding. Chickens would lay the eggs. I guess keeping the snake warm in the process, not harming the chickens. Lay the eggs. Then the snake would eat the eggs.
CRAZY RIGHT!!

 

[OreoH]

Does the house smell different from the run or does it have pests? Maybe the are reluctant to go in because the house is too small or uncomfortable.

 

[RainbowHen]

Lock them in for a week. A light inside helps a lot.

 

[noconachickenmama]

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.

They need a light in the coop. Preferably not too bright, right by the pop door. Young birds wait too long to go to bed, then it is darker inside the coop than outside. And chickens can't see in the dark. Put a light in and watch them put themselves to bed.

 

[GambaDawn]

This is our first attempt at a coop, So just sharing here. However our girls and roo, went in the third night all by themselves ( I also put mine in, one at a time, the first two nights) and they have gone in to bed every night on their own since. i did have my husband cut out a window which I leave open all day until I close them in at night, maybe a larger vent, like a window would help? We also added a door to close them in completely at night.

 

[WindingRoad]

They don’t run walk away at all they stay perfectly still when I pick them up. So herding definatly doesn’t work. But I put them up every night as soon as I see very very little light outside like 9 or 915. I keep hoping they will get scared and go in by them selves. I handle them every day and I can pet and pick them up but during the day my rooster starts clicking if I pick him up and at night he’s perfectly quiet. It’s almost like they think I’m supposed to pick them up every night to put them to bed

Chickens herd better than cows. I have a small branch and I just thump the ground and screech Get in the COOOOOP. I think they get in just so I will shut up. You have to coral them into a group and run back and forth like a herding dog. Chicken have very low vision after dark. If you wait until it's totally dark they won't be able to find the roosts. Once I get my birds in the coop and close the door if they are not up on the roost then I shine my flashlight on the roost and tell them to get up. Might take a few days even a week. But they will get it. Remember to go out at dusk and herd them in. A loud thump on the ground and screeching Get in the COOOOOOOOOP worked for me. Good l luck and extra ventilation will help.

 

[SusiesPeeps]

I know others have commented similarly, but when our 8-week chicks would not go into the coop at night, we read about getting a nightlight and found a package of LED lights that use a battery. We stuck one on the ceiling of the coop. The lights come with a remote timer that you can set to shut off at the time of your choosing. We would go out at around 7:00 p.m. (in early June) and turn the light on in the coop and set the timer for 2 hours. It worked like a charm. Literally, the first night they all went to bed by themselves. We checked on them and they were all settling in for the night. The light went off reliably as well. We used the light for about 6 weeks and then realized last week they didn't need it any longer because they were comfortable in their new "home." The brand of light we bought at Home Depot is called "Defiant."

 

[NatJ]

My coop is 2/5th closed & 3/5th open fencing.... When they do roost, 1 goes inside the closed side & 2 roost in the open side... I feel they should all be in the closed side at night... both sides are just as safe

If it is just as safe, there is no reason to insist they be inside solid walls. Solid walls are a human invention, not a chicken one. Chickens seem to like the idea of roosting in trees--no walls in sight! Of course we make them roost in coops to be safe, but the part with more wire mesh and less solid walls will be cooler in summer, and they might just like it better even in winter. Those feathers really do keep them warm!