Chickens roosting outside henhouse at night

[aart]

Runs look great.....can't really see the coops, except a big red wall and a tiny box?
Pics of coop, inside and out, would get better answers.

 

[NonnasBabies]

If I had outside roosts mine were roosting there! No doubt about it!!

 

[Lskaer]

It seems sheltered and secure enough that I have to ask why you insist on them going into the coop?

Good question. Eventually I want to put an automatic door on the henhouse. I just thought it would be convenient and if we are out of town, I feel like I'd feel better. But the coop does have a skirt to protect from digging predators. I just assumed they were safer inside at night.

 

[Lskaer]

View attachment 1360011 View attachment 1360012 View attachment 1360013 View attachment 1360014

 

[Lskaer]

 

[Lskaer]

Don't laugh but I repainted the inside of the coop thinking maybe it was too light in there.

 

[Lskaer]

It is entirely possible the outside part is more to their liking than the inside is. Voting with their feet so to speak. Don't know what the inside look like, but if the inside roost area is dark, stuffy and not well ventilated, it is understandable.

BTW, kudos to whoever built that coop setup. Very nice!!!

Thank you! My boyfriend and I built it from plans that I purchased off of mypetchicken.com. It's the first thing I've ever built and our first project together! Super happy with it!

 

[Lskaer]

I took the outside roosts out for now. I'm going to put them back up, but lower. They are back inside at night now! Thank you to everyone on here so much.

 

[Crow-ded house]

The chooks in one run refuse to sleep inside. They lay eggs and eat their oyster shell inside but will not sleep there. It is covered so just let them be. In late October we will remove the outside roosts and lock them inside so they will be ready for winter sleeping.

 

[MichaelsPlace]

This discussion is exactly what I was looking for. One [newbe] question though, should the food and water be kept outside in the run, or should it be placed in the coop?