Chickens won’t go in coop at night!

[Babicz94]

Hello everybody! I’m new here on BYC. I have 13-14 week old black australorp pullets (I’m like 90% sure they’re pullets!). In the beginning of May they were finally big enough to be put in the coop. There were no issues then. A few whines but 2 days later they were fine and liked to sleep together in one of the hen boxes. Now this past week or so they’ve been sitting on a shelf we have going up to the coop at night and not wanting to go in. My first assumption was they were hot. We had a couple hot days here in the Midwest. But then we had couple chilly days where the nights dropped into the 30s and they still sat outside on the shelf! I was getting worried so I picked them up and physically put them in the coop. That night they stayed in but next night they did the same thing! Every night since this has been happening, I’ve had to put them in myself to get them to stay. I thought maybe they wanted to perch so I put a rod in there and nothing. They have a little night light so I know it’s not that. I also thought maybe a raccoon came by or something to check them out but I’m not sure if that would make any sense. Because why would they sit on the shelf where they are out in the open? I’m stuck here on what I should be doing because I’m running out of options! Need help!!

 

[rosemarythyme]

They shouldn't be sleeping in nest boxes. You'll need to train them to roost, which they should want to do instinctively but some birds need a little help figuring it out.

How big was the roost bar you put in and where was it placed?

Also can you get further back photos of your coop, as well as interior photos? Mainly looking for ventilation, as well as overall coop space and layout.

 

[cavemanrich]

Couple questions.
Are there other chickens inside.?
Are there windows to provide daylight entering into interior of coop?

Is this the opening they have to go inside??

Just like above poster stated, more pix of coop would be helpful. That door opening looks somewhat small for chickens to enter with desire.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

There are a number of reasons why chickens might not want to go into the coop. Photos of the coop, both inside and out, will help us help you.

You can put your general location into your profile so that we can see approximately where you are. Climate matters and knowing also helps us give better advice.

 

[Vacman]

Have you tried turning off the night light?

 

[aart]

Several good questions above.
Would be good to see pics of the whole coop, inside and out....during the day.

Welcome to BYC! @Babicz94
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[Babicz94]

Here are mod photos of inside coop. They have a roost bar made from a 2x4 that well fits all of them. Growing up they’ve always had a roost bar. Some nights they choose to sleep on it and other nights they want to cuddle together. These girls are pretty much inseparable so whenever one goes on they all will. I work from home now so they free range pretty much all day until the sun goes down. There are 2 ventilation openings on either side of coop probably 10x12in. This coop was handed down to us by a friend who had chickens for 5 years. She said her full grown chickens had no problem going in and our from the door. Here in SW suburbs of IL we will have a heat wave this weekend reaching into the low 90s. Sorry I hope I answered everyone’s questions!

 

[Babicz94]

Have you tried turning off the night light?

Yes I have and they freak out and run out the coop.

 

[3KillerBs]

It's probably stuffy in there after a warm day.

The Usual Guidelines are to have 1 square foot of ventilation per adult, standard-size hen and it looks like you have less than 2 square feet if I'm estimating the size of the vents correctly.

The good news is that the vents are in the right place -- up at the top of the coop. Also, they're nicely sheltered by those roof overhangs.

Can you open up more of the gable triangles or add a ridge vent?

Also, is the shelf they're sitting on higher than the roost inside? It's natural for chickens to want to sleep in the highest possible place.

 

[DuckinMadHouse]

Hi! Random thought other then ventilation and roosting bars, have you checked for snakes? My girlies were being very strange for about 2 weeks, I checked the coop, changed bedding, couldn't figure out what was going on. Opened the coop one afternoon to find TWO six foot long black snakes buried in the egg box bedding!. They got into the run from an overhanging tree limb and decided to stay. The snakes are no more, the limb has been cut, and the girls are happy and sleeping in the coop again. My guess is that when the snakes took up residence my girls moved out.