Chickens attacked, will no longer go in coop at night

[MaSlanger]

A week ago one of our 4 chickens was attacked and mauled by an unknown predator in the coop. I accidentally fell asleep and forgot to close the coop for the night. Now my 3 ladies will not go into the coop at night and I'm finding them roosting higher and higher in the neighbors trees. Prior to this attack they were roosting just fine in the coop.

What suggestions do you have to help them come back to the coop?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Do you have a coop with run or just the coop?
You may need to lock them in for a couple of weeks to help them re-learn where they need to be.

 

[MaSlanger]

Do you have a coop with run or just the coop?
You may need to lock them in for a couple of weeks to help them re-learn where they need to be.

I have a short run, not big enough to keep them in the coop for a prolonged period of time.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Is the run big enough to let you lock them in the coop/run combo at least, to prevent them from ending up in the trees?

 

[MaSlanger]

I will have to be more diligent to get outside before dusk every night to prevent this. Otherwise they are in the fenced-in back yard roaming.

 

[LaFleche]

I will have to be more diligent to get outside before dusk every night to prevent this. Otherwise they are in the fenced-in back yard roaming.

Trim back the feathers of one wing and keep them lockesd up in their coop for two days.

You could also re-arrange the coop interior a bit to make it appear different from what it was at the time the predator attacked.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have a short run, not big enough to keep them in the coop for a prolonged period of time.

That must be a tiny coop and run if you can't keep three chickens locked in there.

With that limitation, my suggestion is to train them to come to you when you call if you haven't yet. Put a treat like scratch of some kind in a special container so it rattles. Always use the same bucket. When you give them the treat shake the bucket and call to them, something like "Here chicky, chick". It should not take them long to come running when they see the bucket, hear it shaking, or hear you call. Then before dark call them into the run/coop and lock them in there. This is not as easy as just locking them in there for a week or two but when you are this limited on room you often have to work harder.

Good luck!