Chickens not roosting in the coop

[BoyTheRooster]

So about half of our flock chooses to roost in a plum tree that's in their run instead of the coop or forge (the forge is an old blacksmith forge that we converted into a coop when we first moved house, 4 hens still use it).
I'm not really worried about this, nz has a pretty nice climate so they're okay outside. I was just wondering if there was a reason they like the tree more than the coop

 

[sylviethecochin]

Chickens instinctively head for the highest roost they can get. A high roost is safer from predators. Mine like to perch at least five feet up.

Just a possibility, but you might have a coop size issue. Do they have jump-and-land room to get on and off of the perches and at least ten inches (25 cm) of space each on the perch?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Chickens will always return to a coop that is safe, comfortable and that they are bonded to by living in it solely for weeks. If they are seeking out a tree to roost in, than there's something wrong with your coop or as already said, something wrong with the size of it.

 

[BoyTheRooster]

This is the coop we have, plenty of room. The hens that don't roost in to still lay their eggs there
https://www.chookmanor.co.nz/villa-chicken-coop

 

[aart]

This is the coop we have, plenty of room. The hens that don't roost in to still lay their eggs there
https://www.chookmanor.co.nz/villa-chicken-coop

This coop is about 4x8' (2420mm x 1220mm).
How many birds?
Did you get all the birds at the same time?

Would love to see pics of the forge coop.

 

[BoyTheRooster]

This coop is about 4x8' (2420mm x 1220mm).
How many birds?
Did you get all the birds at the same time?

Would love to see pics of the forge coop

We currently have 14 hens in the main run and 1 rooster, and 14 total chicks in there with their mothers.
Outside the main run there are 2 hens (mother and daughter) in 'chicken jail' until we block all their escape routes, 1 hen with a single chick and our very old rooster

Aside from the rooster in the main run and about 4 or so hens, all our current birds are offspring of older hens that have now passed on
The last lot of chicks before our current ones were about 3 or 4 years ago to the hen in 'chicken jail' because she got out of the run and had them. By the time they were big and we got them in the run they had never roosted in a coop before, so they chose the tree
Predators aren't really a risk in New Zealand, and the weather is mild in winter so we didn't worry about it much. And they all lay in the nest boxes

All post some photos of the forge later, I'm typing this on my phone at work

 

[aart]

That's a lot of birds to go in that 4x8....not surprised they are roosting elsewhere.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Yeah that's tight. You need a much bigger coop for that many birds.

 

[enrgizerbunny]

I have a similar problem. My hens sometimes roost on the gate instead of the coop. Sometimes all 3, sometimes 2, rarely none. I lock them up every night and they will get on the roost in the coop once I put them in. I have predators so they need to be in the coop. This stated with the addition of a new chicken, the other 2 birds have always lived contently in the coop.

Anyone know how to make a surface uncomfortable for them to roost on without hurting their feet? I think that would solve it without clipping wings.

 

[BoyTheRooster]

Would love to see pics of the forge coop.

So it's not really a coop. When we moved house 12 years ago, we had to shift a lot of pets, cat, dogs, about 15 sheep and a few cows, and of course the chickens. Unfortunately we couldn't take the coop we had being using at our old place, but we hadn't had time to get a proper coop at the new place.
What we did have was this old blacksmith forge fill of miscellaneous farm junk, so we cleared out about half the junk, added some roosts and a new neighbor kindly gave us a nest box
The building it's self is kinda decrepit, but the old stables are even worse (the house is about 150 years old, the guy who build it had horses). But it was dry and it was shelter

The front of the forge, blocked out with chicken wire. Some of the junk is still in there, but the chickens don't go on this side much.

The back were the door is, and the run attached to it on the left

The hens roost on the two different levels on the right, usually just the lower one, and along the bar the the top running all the way across. Nest boxes on what was the actual forge part on the left