Chickens roosting outside not in coop during freezing temps

[kgb6days]

I have two red stars that only go in the coop to lay, stay in the covered run the rest of the time. Even when it was in the single digits last winter they both still slept outside. The roost is about 3 ft off the ground

 

[equinewiz]

One reason chickens stop using the roost is mites. They would rather roost outside than get little bites all night.

Just a thought, but have you checked for mites or lice in the coop?

I doubt it. What causes mites and lice? The hens are rarely in the coop so it's spotless. I've never even had to clean out a pile of poo from there....that's how little time they spend in it. No other creatures go in there. The bedding in pine shavings.

 

[Teila]

I doubt it. What causes mites and lice? The hens are rarely in the coop so it's spotless. I've never even had to clean out a pile of poo from there....that's how little time they spend in it. No other creatures go in there. The bedding in pine shavings.

Hey equinewiz Lice and mites are sadly pretty much everywhere in the environment and can be bought in by wild birds and I think even rodents.

It was just a suggestion as something else to rule out as a cause for their not roosting inside.

Something else that comes to mind is that they are not going in to the coop because it is dark? Sometimes, depending on when they decide to roost, the coop has become too dark for them to see clearly and they end up staying outside. A night light has been used effectively by others in the past to fix that issue.

 

[equinewiz]

Then you got some stubborn weird birds!

Lol they totally are. I have tons of stories of how weird they are. I suspect that they had minimal human contact the first 10 weeks of their lives. I got them from a guy 45 minutes away that had a bunch of them in a stall in a barn. I get the feeling he only went in there to feed them and to get them when they were sold. He said he buys a bunch every year, keeps a few and then sells the rest. NYS has a law that chicks have to be sold in minimums of six and I really only wanted 3-4 so I had no option but to buy started pullets. And I really wanted ameraucanas so thats how i ended up with these.

To this day, the chickens refuse to let me touch them unless their are in their roosting comas. They will pace the edge of the run when they see me because I'm constantly throwing scrap food as treats in there (banana peels, apple cores, old tomatoes etc). So they associate me with yummy treats but refuse to let me touch them

The first day I put them in the run, I had fencing with wider holes under the coop and the one I now call Pandora freaked out so bad with my presence that she got her head stuck in a hole and refused to back her head out so I had to cut the wire to make the whole bigger.

 

[equinewiz]

I have two red stars that only go in the coop to lay, stay in the covered run the rest of the time. Even when it was in the single digits last winter they both still slept outside. The roost is about 3 ft off the ground

Good to know this is the case with someone else. I do plan on covering the top of the run in the winter to minimize snow and freezing rain in there.

 

[equinewiz]

Hey equinewiz Lice and mites are sadly pretty much everywhere in the environment and can be bought in by wild birds and I think even rodents.

It was just a suggestion as something else to rule out as a cause for their not roosting inside.

Something else that comes to mind is that they are not going in to the coop because it is dark? Sometimes, depending on when they decide to roost, the coop has become too dark for them to see clearly and they end up staying outside. A night light has been used effectively by others in the past to fix that issue.

Good suggestion. The coop does get some light from the house through that side window. I've been planning to install an identical window right in front of the roost too so they wouldn't be staring at a wall but I haven't gotten around to it.

 

[21hens-incharge]

One reason chickens stop using the roost is mites. They would rather roost outside than get little bites all night.

Just a thought, but have you checked for mites or lice in the coop?

This is actually very important to do. Mites are tiny VERY tiny.
I keep clean coops. My birds DID get mites. Passing wild birds, rodents and such can and will bring nasties in.

Worth checking since they could still be there a year from now even if temps get super cold.

 

[PirateGirl]

Your birds are probably bigger now than when you got them, but it sounds like they have enough space. Make sure the roost bar is 12-18 inches from the coop walls and ceiling. I second the night light idea. My pullets were "scared" to go in the dark coop at night, I'd turn a light on in the coop, leave them alone 5-10 min, go back to check and they'd all be inside, I'd shut the door and turn off the light. This was far better than me on my hands and knees chasing them each night to put them to bed. I no longer have to do this. They put themselves to roost without a night light. I maybe used the light for a month. You could even use a battery powered flash light or something. It's just temporary. Also a second roost at the same height might help, some of my girls like each other better than others, this allows them to spread out if they are annoyed with each other. I usually find mine split into two groups, not always the same birds in each group.

 

[Fairview01]

2/3 of my flock goes to roost in the coop the remaining ones vie for what they consider to be the 'primo' position on the useless ramp to the coop opening. They will jockey for position well after the others have gone to roost pushing each other off the stupid ramp with loud protests. One of these days when I want to screw with them I'm gonna shorten the ramp and watch the show. As long as I'm in my warm bed I don't lose any sleep if they chose to sleep outside in the winter cold.

 

[equinewiz]

Your birds are probably bigger now than when you got them, but it sounds like they have enough space. Make sure the roost bar is 12-18 inches from the coop walls and ceiling. I second the night light idea. My pullets were "scared" to go in the dark coop at night, I'd turn a light on in the coop, leave them alone 5-10 min, go back to check and they'd all be inside, I'd shut the door and turn off the light. This was far better than me on my hands and knees chasing them each night to put them to bed. I no longer have to do this. They put themselves to roost without a night light. I maybe used the light for a month. You could even use a battery powered flash light or something. It's just temporary. Also a second roost at the same height might help, some of my girls like each other better than others, this allows them to spread out if they are annoyed with each other. I usually find mine split into two groups, not always the same birds in each group.

I just purchased a solar powered light with a remote from amazon, it will be here Thursday. I will try this idea out. And the coops is 10 feet from my bedroom window so hopefully with the remote I won't have to go outside in the cold weather to turn it on and off