Chickens Went AWOL!!

[chickens really]

I have 9 hens. The chickens free range during the day and then historically have returned to the coop religiously every evening before sunset. A few weeks ago a few chickens did not return to the coop. A week later none of them were returning to the coop. They are choosing to roost in the back of my barn instead (and laying eggs randomly all over the barn). I have manually returned them to the coop, but have grown weary of doing this each night. I'm about ready to give up on them. The coop has every creature comfort they could want (shelter, roosts, nest boxes, food, water, supplementary heat when very cold, etc.) so I don't understand why they are not using the coop? Does anyone know how to get them to start going back in the coop at night and laying eggs in the nest boxes within? Please help! Ryan in Eagle, ID.

You do need to retrain them to the Coop and Run.......It will take a good week or 10 days for them to get thinking of it as home....The problem is you free range all day and they have conditioned themselves to roam and not go home to lay eggs or roost....

Start over and treat like a new flock....Silly Chickens.....



Cheers!

 

[aart]

This will 're-home' them roosting and laying in the coop:

Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers. Leaving them locked in the coop for 3-4 days (or longer) can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests. Fake eggs/golf balls in the nests can help 'show' them were to lay. They can be confined to coop 24/7 for a few days to a week, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon. You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it. ..at least for a good while, then repeat as necessary.

 

[RdubIdaho]

I'll give it try. Thanks for the tip!

Ryan

 

[RdubIdaho]

I'll give it a try. Thanks for the tip!

Ryan

 

[ChickNanny13]

Once you have them suitably retrained, and they are returning to their coop, you could try a handful of scratch about 30 minutes before sundown, in the coop, so they associate returning to the coop with yummy stuff. I note you are in Idaho, and it is winter, so it is good for them anyway. You could even start this practice while they are "cooped up" so they associate the coop and bedtime with yummy stuff.

I do this with mine in the run so they are all contained and I can lock them up just before bedtime.

This is a VERY good idea! I did that with my past girls, they'd end up in the coop about an hour before "lock up time", squawking when I was "late". They are funny with their antics