Chickens refuse to go into coop after predator got inside. Can't find eggs!

[EllieandOlive]

Two weeks ago we found two young opossums laying in the nesting boxes of our coop. Ever since, my chickens won't go in there at night to roost, or to lay. They roost on the fence outside our barn and I haven't found a single egg in 2 weeks! Only 3 are laying currently, so it should still be a fair amount of missing eggs. We have a large property and the chickens free range. I don't know how to get them in their coop, otherwise I would lock them in for a day or two. They occasionally go in their coop to eat their pellets, but not consistently/all together. cross posted in another forum.

 

[EllieandOlive]

bump, any ideas to get them back in their coop regularly? A higher roost? It is currently about 3 ft off the ground and they used to like it. Now they prefer our 4 ft fence at night.

 

[black_cat]

How large is your coop and how many do you have? If you have adequate space, just shut them in the coop and run for about a week. Each night, pick them up and place them in the coop. Shut the door and let them out in the morning.

 

[EllieandOlive]

They run away from us, so it would be hard to catch them, but we could try! the coop is about 12ftx15ft and we have 9 total. 5 nesting boxes and a 9ft long roost.[/QUOTE]

 

[EllieandOlive]

Actually we have 10, but one of them thinks she is a duck and other than roosting at night is always with our 30 ducks.

 

[NatJ]

I don't know how to get them in their coop, otherwise I would lock them in for a day or two.

Now they prefer our 4 ft fence at night.

Go out at night and grab them off the fence, then put them in the coop and shut them in.

 

[azygous]

Unfortunately, you've waited way too long to try to remedy this situation and your chickens are now sporting a brand new habit. It's going to take at least this much time to undo the harm.

First, you need to teach them to come to you. It won't take nearly as long to do this as to undo the trauma caused by the possums. You can accomplish this in three steps in just one day. Start this early in the day as it will take a number of hours.

Gather their favorite treat, perhaps BOSS or scratch or meal worms. Trot out to where the chickens are busy poking around. Right now you just want to teach them a signal to get them to come eventually, but not right at this time.

I use a clicker I bought at PetSmart for a buck. As I toss a few meal worms or a bit of scratch, I click the clicker. You can use a word or a phrase or even rattle the jar with scratch. It has to be an audio cue so the sound carries quite far. Keep tossing the treats and making the audible cue. It needs to be the same cue every time.

Step two. An hour later, stand near the coop and make the noise again. Be ready to back it up with a few treats so the chickens know there's a dividend in running to you when they hear this noise.

Step three. An hour later, you're ready to get them into the coop. You need to stand inside and make the audible cue. If the chickens are too far away, begin this step close enough to them to hear, then back up into the coop. Be ready to slam the door shut when you get them all in. It might help to have someone on the outside ready to shut the door so you don't need to risk having the chickens follow you back out.

Getting them into the coop should be undertaken several hours before dark so the chickens have time to inspect the coop for possums and find there aren't any. Then they will calm down and get reacquainted with their home. You can help by sitting in there and reassuring them calmly.

You will have food and water in the coop and will keep them confined for three days minimum. You will observe them to see if they've become accepting of the coop and have relaxed. Calm them down if any seem upset. Three days may seem long, but they need the time to establish the new habit.

You may need to use your audible cue to get them into the coop at night for a few nights until that habit is reestablished.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Just want to add one thing to the above excellent clicker training instructions. When u get them into the coup by using the clicker, be sure to give them their treat INside the coop too. In fact, u can "jackpot" their decision to enter the coop, by giving them even more treats inside their coop than you did outside. The "clicker" sound is not the reward, but the cue that they are going to get a reward. A jackpot reward will also be helpful if u dont have anyone to close the door behind them. If they are occupied finding the scratch, mealworms, or whatever special treat u gave them, they wont be immediately trying to follow u back out.

 

[mcdze]

just take away their food supply and your the only source .. im sure that several of your birds will get that right away and you can lead them right in at dusk .. the ones that dont will see the other ones living it up with fine cuisine every evening and most will likely get on the program .. if you got one that just refuses get a replacement and let them be bait lol ... i wouldnt get stressed out about a chicken with an atitude problem ..

 

[black_cat]

just take away their food supply and your the only source

I would like to respectfully disagree with this. Chickens eat when they're hungry, so you would have to be able to tell when each bird is hungry and when to supply food. You'd have to be constantly babysitting them. My chickens know that I'm the food source because they see me bring the food out in the morning. When I walk toward the coop they get excited, even if the food is already out. I did not have to take away their food supply to achieve this.