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.

 

[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.

 

[Deenok]

It’s 8 by 8 and it’s connected to the run so should smell the same. I built it we. Not a crack one other than the hardware cloth vents. The little 4 by 4 I had them in befor I built there nice coop they went in fine. I don’t get it. There run is 12 by 16 and hen house 8 by 8 and 6 ft tall. I think it’s big enough. Grrrr I don’t get it

 

[OreoH]

Maybe your run is so nice the chickens don't want to leave lol. Also, is the door a comfortable size?

 

[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...

 

[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.

 

[Deenok]

It’s 8 by 8 and it’s connected to the run so should smell the same. I built it we. Not a crack one other than the hardware cloth vents. The little 4 by 4 I had them in befor I built there nice coop they went in fine. I don’t get it. There run is 12 by 16 and hen house 8 by 8 and 6 ft tall. I think it’s big enough. Grrrr I don’t get it

Maybe your run is so nice the chickens don't want to leave lol. Also, is the door a comfortable size?

Would like to think so the one with my roo on the chair is how it’s set up now because I removed the board on the bottom to put the door on.

 

[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?

 

[Deenok]

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.

Ye the vent is on the front and back so air can go straight through and the top of the roof has a 2 in gal the whole length. The left side vent is 1 ft wide and six ft tall on both sides with hardware cloth

 

[Bear1978]

Hmm.. I wonder if you made another vent/window closer towards the middle or right side of the pop door area and another one on the opposite wall but right across from the other one? Just a thought. But I’m not chicken whisperer.