Chickens Don't Like Their Coop?

[TomboyChickens]

Hi, we're new here and need some expertise!

We have no problem getting our chickens into our coop in the evening, but they don't seem to want to sleep in the coop. Instead, all six of them pile up in the open doorway between their coop and their run. They've done this ever since we moved them from the tractor into the coop about 6 weeks ago. We're worried that there is something in the coop they don't like that's causing them to not want to sleep far inside. The coop is plenty big for all of them. We had roasters in there before and they liked it just fine. After the roasters went away we cleaned it thoroughly and moved the layers in. Mites? Something else? Any ideas? Many thanks.

 

[kcfuerst]

Close the door at night after shooing them indoors and keep it shut at night for 2-3 weeks. They'll get the idea after you've broken their habit.

 

[kcfuerst]

Oh, BTW, I forgot to say WELCOME!!!!! This is a great place to learn lots of things from other chicken lovers!

 

[TomboyChickens]

Thank you! I feel very welcome already. : )

 

[kcfuerst]

Where are you from and how many chickens do you have? Will you have roasters again one day?

 

[TomboyChickens]

We're from southwest Colorado and we have 6 chickens--3 buffs and 3 aracanas. I'm not sure if we'd do roasters again. We had Cornish Roasters (because that's the ONLY type of chick that was available here for sale this spring--there was a run on chicks!), but I think we both sort of had a problem with the fact that they were so obviously bred just for eating, without regard to quality of life. They grew really fast and got breast blisters. They ended up making gorgeous, perfect meat chickens, but I think next time we'd do a utility breed.

 

[chookchick]

Do you have plenty of ventilation in there? You might try putting in a window for them, could be as simple as a piece of plexiglass screwed to the side. They seem to be nervous about dark places, so being able to see outside should help them feel more secure. Most of mine did that when I had a smaller coop (4 by 4), but not with the bigger walk-in coop.

 

[TomboyChickens]

They have three windows in there. But I agree it could be something with light, because even when we close the door between the run and the coop, they mash up against it, so I'm wondering if they're trying to get closer to outside light? Also, up until they moved into this coop from the tractor, they ALWAYS had a light on at night. Would it be advisable to keep a light on in the coop at night? We started turning the light off so they would know when to bed down.

Also, we put some diatamaceous earth in with their bedding--I wonder if that'd be bothering them?

 

[JKCASWELL]

I am having the same problem with my 3 young Orpington's. They just pile up on the ground outside of the coop. Every night, I have to go out there and put them inside up on the perch...this has been religiously for a month! These girls stay up until dark, while the others are already fast asleep. If I try doing it earlier, they just hop down and play. I would have thought that after a month of waking up inside, they would have figured it out though, lol. My biggest worry, is it's almost time again for the Raccoons to come back again.....and that will be bad news for them. I lost my entire flock to them this spring and don't want that to happen again

 

[PioneerPrincess]

JKC wrote:
I am having the same problem with my 3 young Orpington's. They just pile up on the ground outside of the coop. Every night, I have to go out there and put them inside up on the perch...this has been religiously for a month! These girls stay up until dark, while the others are already fast asleep. If I try doing it earlier, they just hop down and play. I would have thought that after a month of waking up inside, they would have figured it out though, lol. My biggest worry, is it's almost time again for the Raccoons to come back again.....and that will be bad news for them. I lost my entire flock to them this spring and don't want that to happen again

Hello. Your orpingtons might be afraid of the older, dominate ones. The dominate ones might be pecking on them, or making them stay outside. We recently got three new chickens that are the same age as our others. Two of them are doing just fine, while the other (who is the smallest) is terrified of being in the coop with the older hens, who constantly pick on her. In the morning when we let her out, she is almost always the first one out. Also in the afternoon, we will find her all by herself in the coop sleeping. At night she goes into the coop to be with the rooster (our dominate rooster) and hen she came with. We hope this helps you find out your problem.​