Chickens no longer go into coop on their own at night..

[Jbrant2]

I have 3 full grown hen's and have nothing has changed recently. All summer long they would go from the enclosed run up and into the coop at night and all I had to do was go out and shut to the door/let them out in the morning.... recently, last 7 days or so when I go out to shut the coop door, all 3 are huddled up outside the coop in the corner of the run in the dark and I have to physically put them in... any ideas on why they might be changing behaviors ?? I tried cleaning out the coop and adding fresh woodchips and straw also with no luck. Any ideas are appreciated..

 

[Shezadandy]

It could be something is getting into the coop that scares them.
Another possibility is there could be mites that come out at night.

Tonight I would check the roosts (about 2hrs after you've turned the lights off and it's dark), then go in with a flashlight and carefully check under the roosts and check around the hens' vents and under wings to see if there are any creepy crawlies.

Check in corners and cracks and see if any rodents have made themselves a way in. Check inside and out- remember, all a rat has to do is fit its head through an opening, the rest of those nasty things will slither the rest of the way in.

 

[Ponte]

I was having something similar a while back. One night I got home late so went to locked up the coop at midnight and was surprised at finding giant looking rats and multiple mice inside the coop.
Next day I put rat poison out and found 9 rats and mice dead over the next 5 days. once the rodent issue was resolved, the pullets returned to their normal behavior of wanting to be inside the coop at night.

 

[azygous]

Like a small child that suddenly refuses to sleep in their bed, you need to look at what may have frightened the child to provoke the behavior.

So it is with chickens suddenly choosing to huddle in the run rather than go into their coop to sleep. Something is putting them off.

This happened a few years ago in my flock after a pullet died suddenly during the night. The other three refused to go into the coop the next night until I took them in and comforted them, as you would a small child, showing them there was no longer a scary monster waiting to kill them, too.

It could be mice or rats visiting at night. It could be a snake. It could be coop mites which only show themselves at night and crawl on chickens and suck their blood during the night, resulting in plenty of discomfort and even anemia. Or it could have been a predator scaring them once during the night, and now they don't want to go back to the frightening scene.

You need to investigate the above possibilities at night with a flash light and start ruling things out. If you rule out everything but a one time predator visit, then you can address that the way I handled the death of the pullet scaring my survivors. You may only just need to comfort and reassure them for a couple of nights and they'll return to normal.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Have you checked them over for lice/mites?
Any evidence that mice/rodent or some type of critter is getting into the coop?
Are your birds molting?

 

[Folly's place]

All true above, so let us know if anything turns up when you've investigated.
Also, how is the ventilation? If it's closed up tight, that's not okay.
Mary

 

[micstrachan]

Let us know what you figure out. I agree they are either scared or uncomfortable with something in the coop or both.

 

[Jbrant2]

Update.. I went out the last couple of nights and investigated the best I could like most of you mentioned for citters... I couldn't find any signs of mice/rates/snakes or any other creepy crawlers. I also paid really close attention to the birds while they were on the roost with the light to see if I could see any bugs or mites/lice. Nothing.... they look very clean. Last couple night I continued to go out and have to put them into the coop myself after dark and then tonight when I went out, all 3 were inside on their own and on the roost bar. Nothing different done on my part. We will see how the next so many nights go...figured crossed

 

[aart]

I also paid really close attention to the birds while they were on the roost with the light to see if I could see any bugs or mites/lice.

Did you part the feathers right down the skin around vent?