Chickens not sleeping in coop

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'm sorry if you took me as being rude. I'm far from that hun. So I will try not to be so harsh next time. Two coops are converted 8x10 sheds. I have to check dems on homemade one. Shrugs it's cozy but i guess they just don't like it

Don't call me "hun" either please, we don't know each other well enough.

 

[KinnaChickie]

Don't call me "hun" either please, we don't know each other well enough.

OMG you really aren't awefully pleasant are you? I'm from the south it's how 90 percent of us talk. So if you don't understand that or offended by it well I don't know what to tell ya cause us southern slow folks have no sense to call people hun I guess
But anyhow you can disregard this post and move along if your so easily offended by a simple word. Please and thank you!

 

[Crow-ded house]

We have two seperate runs and coops and it could be 120 degrees with high humidity and those birds sleep in their coops. We have two bachelor runs and the one with two brothers they will not go in at night but cuddle together on a roost in the run and the single bachelor does not go in his at night but sleeps against the dividing wire next to a female next door. Next door has hens and a roo and they play in the coop off and on during the day but refuse to sleep there opting to crowd each other on the outside roosts even though there are more roosts at the same level. One of those females snuggles against the dividing wire next to the single roo mentioned earlier in this post. Next month she will be moved in with him. Our runs are covered and now with winter we just put up wind blocks and figure that if they want to sleep outside then let them. We tried training them and they still sleep outside. But during the day they lay in their coop, laying eggs etc. I figure they have nice homes so they do have options.

 

[Pegasusi]

I had a similar problem. Nesting boxes were still used during the day but they suddenly refused to return to the coop to roost at night. Although I didn't see any tell-tale signs of parasites in the coop I decided to do a thorough cleaning and wash-down with Permethrin www.amazon.com/Control-Solutions-Permethrin-Multi-Purpose-Insecticide/dp/B00061MSS0/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1543693027&sr=8-14&keywords=parasite+control . I diluted according to directions for poultry houses and used a compression garden sprayer to soak every nook and cranny.

Chicken mites (Dermanyssus gallinae), also known roost mites or red mites, are found on domestic fowl around the world. These mites can also thrive on people. Symptoms of an infestation are similar to those of northern fowl mites. Unlike northern fowl mites, however, chicken mites do not live on the birds. During the day, chicken mites live in dark areas in the poultry house such as cracks and crevices in roosts, walls, ceilings, and floors. Chicken mites are nocturnal, coming out at night to feed on the birds. They are blood suckers that turn red after ingesting blood. Since chicken mites feed on the birds only at night, it may be difficult to detect a mild infestation. These gray, brown, and red mites can be detected by examining secluded areas of the poultry house. In addition to the appearance of the mites themselves, their presence may be indicated by black and white deposits of mite fecal material and cast-off skins. https://articles.extension.org/pages/66149/external-parasites-of-poultry​

After the 1st treatment, it took 2 nights of coaxing the girls back into the coop and they settled back into their normal routine. As recommended, I treated the coop 2 more times to ensure I killed all the hatching parasite eggs and larvae through the various life cycles to eradicate the investation and have not had any further problems.

I am not suggesting that parasites are the cause of the issues you are experiencing only a possible reason, but in my case; after exploring several remedies, the above treatment is the only thing that brought my girls back to the safely of their coop's roost.

 

[Crow-ded house]

Since our runs are all enclosed, I am not worried about them sleeping outside. It is more aggravating as hubby built these nice coops for them and after really bad rains I felt all around and they are dry so they can do what they want.

 

[50-45-1]

Question for the poster.
Is there a window in your roost area?
A couple weeks ago there was a poster who had chickens that would not go up on the roost and come to find out it was so dark in the roost area they could not see to fly up on the perches. It was not a situation where he could add a window.
A timed night light solved the problem.

 

[ChickenJV12]

Question for the poster.
Is there a window in your roost area?
A couple weeks ago there was a poster who had chickens that would not go up on the roost and come to find out it was so dark in the roost area they could not see to fly up on the perches. It was not a situation where he could add a window.
A timed night light solved the problem.

Yes, there is a window near it

 

[aart]

Yes, there is a window near it

Are they all going in now?

 

[RodNTN]

My coop is very roomy (actually too roomy, I spoil my girls ). One of my EE's (@meetthebubus, I know what you're dealing with, my EE's have always been the odd ones) went through a phase a couple of months ago when she just wouldn't sleep in the coop.
I know there are chickens who are scared of their coops, and for that reason they choose to sleep elsewhere, but "May) (the odd EE) wasn't scared of her coop, I know this because she would spend hours in the coop during the day. Laying in the nests, picking through the the feeder, and grooming herself while sitting on the roosts.
But at night she would make a beeline towards the woods. I'd have to look for her for an hour! None of the other girls would ever pick on her, and as mentioned earlier, there is more than enough room. And the irony of it was that she would spend a few minutes in the coop before trying to search out another spot to sleep. She would eat and drink, and then she was gone, so I ruled fright out.
I didn't know what to do, so I just kept an open mind and assumed she didn't like the roosts. An old ladder had been behind the coop for a few years, so I moved it to the coop against the wall. That night instead of 'heading for the hills' she flew to the top of the ladder, and that has been her roosting spot ever since. The other chickens love the ladder, too!

 

[meetthebubus]

My coop is very roomy (actually too roomy, I spoil my girls ). One of my EE's (@meetthebubus, I know what you're dealing with, my EE's have always been the odd ones) went through a phase a couple of months ago when she just wouldn't sleep in the coop.
I know there are chickens who are scared of their coops, and for that reason they choose to sleep elsewhere, but "May) (the odd EE) wasn't scared of her coop, I know this because she would spend hours in the coop during the day. Laying in the nests, picking through the the feeder, and grooming herself while sitting on the roosts.
But at night she would make a beeline towards the woods. I'd have to look for her for an hour! None of the other girls would ever pick on her, and as mentioned earlier, there is more than enough room. And the irony of it was that she would spend a few minutes in the coop before trying to search out another spot to sleep. She would eat and drink, and then she was gone, so I ruled fright out.
I didn't know what to do, so I just kept an open mind and assumed she didn't like the roosts. An old ladder had been behind the coop for a few years, so I moved it to the coop against the wall. That night instead of 'heading for the hills' she flew to the top of the ladder, and that has been her roosting spot ever since. The other chickens love the ladder, too!

Yes ee's seem to have their own idea about everything lol I love them, so different from my buff orps who I love too of course but they certainly are something!