Chickens Don't go in the coop at night!!!

[7 Tuttle Hens]

I am new to BackYard Chickens. I am not sure if this is an issue or not so I am seeking advise. I am a new chicken owner. My girls are 13 weeks. We have a coop which is in a fully enclosed run. The run has perches of varying heights which they enjoy perching on. My concern is that at night, they do not go into the coop to perch and sleep. All 9 of them perch on the highest perch in the run and sleep there. Should I be concerned about this? If it is raining or storming will they go into the coop? Will they go into the coop during the winter months? Will they attract predators by staying out all night? Advise from seasoned chicken owners will be much appreciated.

 

[limited25]

Don't know how seasoned I am but here is my answer. Remove the roosts from the run until they get into the habit of sleeping in their coop. You will probably have to catch each one and put them into the coop the first night and close the door. Next morning let them out but have no roosts in the run. When they are successfully going into their coop at night you can put the roosts back up in the run. Chickens are creatures of habit. Worked for us.

Also,

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, and welcome to BYC. Great to have you aboard. Not sure of the weather in your neck of the woods but if it's hot they might prefer sleeping outside in the run. I concur with limited25 and the advice of removing the run perches for awhile. I would think they'd prefer to perch inside in the coop rather than outside on the ground. You could also just herd them into the coop in the evening to force them to be cooped. After a few nights they might recognize that as home. Good luck to you.

 

[ChickChalk]

Chickens will want to roost at the highest spot so make sure their roosting spot in the run isn't actually higher than the one inside. Make sure the coop has appropriate airflow and isn't too stuffy and remove the roosts until they learn to roost inside. Also do you have enough roosting space for all of them? If not you may need to build more. If it gets cold where you are they will need to understand how to roost inside the coop and it is the safest spot against predators. Raccoons are mean and smart, able to get into runs fairly easily. If the coop is big enough, locking the girls in there for a few days may help as well. When we introduce new chickens the new ones stay in the coop a week, then get to be in the coop and run for another two weeks, and then finally are let to free range.

 

[7 Tuttle Hens]

Thank you all for the information. Good advise. The roost they have been sleep perching on IS the highest one in their enclosed run so I will take that one down and make sure they get into the coop at night. There is plenty of perching room for the girls inside their coop.

I will be happy to get them inside because this morning when I looked outside there was a HAWK sitting on the top of our fort/shed building which is above their coop! They are all enclosed but makes me nervous now about free ranging them....... I'm going to get a fake owl to put on top of the fort/shed!

 

[7 Tuttle Hens]

 

[aart]

Thank you all for the information. Good advise. The roost they have been sleep perching on IS the highest one in their enclosed run so I will take that one down and make sure they get into the coop at night. There is plenty of perching room for the girls inside their coop.

I will be happy to get them inside because this morning when I looked outside there was a HAWK sitting on the top of our fort/shed building which is above their coop! They are all enclosed but makes me nervous now about free ranging them....... I'm going to get a fake owl to put on top of the fort/shed!

Save your money.

 

[CieloAngel]

Thank you for posting this. I too am a new owner and was wondering why I can't get the chickens into the coop. It is very hot and humid here and I have been thinking about putting a vent up high to allow the hot air to exit, but even if it is storming, they stay out in the run getting wet. My son built the roost in our run and they love it, so I am going to have to take it out for a while after I put the vent in to improve airflow.