Chickens not roosting in coop

[shy519]

Hello all! I've had the persistent problem of my chickens never roosting in the coop at night. We've got really tall rails alongside our deck and they'd rather roost there. It's there anything I can do to make our coop more appealing so they'll roost the? Any advice is appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Do they get locked in their coop at night? How old are they?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

You can try luring them in near dusk with meal worms or scratch and close the door behind them. Just until they're trained. Meal worms are high in fat and scratch is low in nutrients. Both usually make chickens go wild for them. So I wouldn't do a whole bunch and on an ever lasting basis. But for training, sure why not. Keep it to less than 10% of their total daily ration.

You could also try raising the roost in your coop a little higher.

I've always trained my birds from young. It usually takes corralling them for a few days (no treats) to where I want them to be and they seem to get the message and rather go up on their own than messing around with me.

Anybody who didn't follow the treats into the coop... I would get them once they are roosted and take them to the roost where I want them. Chicken are creatures of habit. Once you get trained to a new habit, it *SHOULD* stick.

If you've never "homed" them to the coop, locking them in for a few days to a week could help.

A coop seems much safer than being in the open. And an effort that will probably be well worth the time you spend training them to it.

Good luck!

 

[The Phantom]

x10

 

[Ridgerunner]

What does your coop look like? How big is it, in feet? What do your roosts in there look like? Not just how much roost space but how are they configured? A couple of photos could really help.

How many chickens do you have and how old are they? All the same age?

Chickens tend to like to sleep up high and they like to sleep in the same place every night. In general I'll probably suggest you move them from that rail and lock them in the coop every might until they get in the habit of sleeping in the coop. If it is dark it's usually really easy to just pick them up off the rail to move them. If you have light out there it is more of a problem. Knowing your answers to my questions may make it easier to give specific recommendations but that's probably going to be my general answer.

 

[shy519]

Do they get locked in their coop at night? How old are they?

Most of them are about 3years, the rest are 2. I put them away every night

 

[shy519]

What does your coop look like? How big is it, in feet? What do your roosts in there look like? Not just how much roost space but how are they configured? A couple of photos could really help.

How many chickens do you have and how old are they? All the same age?

Chickens tend to like to sleep up high and they like to sleep in the same place every night. In general I'll probably suggest you move them from that rail and lock them in the coop every might until they get in the habit of sleeping in the coop. If it is dark it's usually really easy to just pick them up off the rail to move them. If you have light out there it is more of a problem. Knowing your answers to my questions may make it easier to give specific recommendations but that's probably going to be my general answer.

I'm having a hard time getting the pictures to load on here right, but the coop is 8x4 with two nesting boxes and a makeshift roost that's appropriately 7 feet long with a 8-12" clearance. There's a foot of space in the back where they can be directly on the ground if they prefer.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Most of them are about 3years, the rest are 2. I put them away every night

How long have you had them? I would entice them with treats (as mentioned above) to go into their coop before it’s dark and lock them in. I try to get my girls settled in before dusk. That way they are locked away at dark.

I take some dried meal worms and a little cracked corn put it in a plastic container so that when I shake it it rattles. I then say, “chick, chick” (original, right? Ha). Anyway, I treated them before I had them go into areas where I wanted them so that they learned that when I do this, they get a treat. Of course, they have learned to recognize the plastic container and now jump up to it to try to get a treat. I don’t treat them when they are being bratty.

 

[shy519]

How long have you had them? I would entice them with treats (as mentioned above) to go into their coop before it’s dark and lock them in. I try to get my girls settled in before dusk. That way they are locked away at dark.

I take some dried meal worms and a little cracked corn put it in a plastic container so that when I shake it it rattles. I then say, “chick, chick” (original, right? Ha). Anyway, I treated them before I had them go into areas where I wanted them so that they learned that when I do this, they get a treat. Of course, they have learned to recognize the plastic container and now jump up to it to try to get a treat. I don’t treat them when they are being bratty.

Is had each one since they were chicks. I raise my own meal worms so they're nice and fresh and I've tried that method before without success.

 

[old chief]

If you are able to reach them just grab them and place them in the coop at night they should get the hint after a couple of nights I had a few that liked to roost in a pecan tree I used that method with success.