Chickens won't go in coop

[genesisfarms]

Some of my new chickens (born in March) won't go into the coop at night. They will come into the large run and roost on a branch or the metal roof of the feed cover but not go into the run. We have a solar light that I turn on at dusk to encourage them to go inside. Some of them figured it out and followed the old flock inside the coop but the rest are still outside. I didn't think of it as a problem in the summer but now that our night temps are in the 20s I'm seeing the problem I created. I tried to pick them up and put them in the coop but they just come back out. How do I fix this? Do I need to fix this or will they correct themselves once they are cold?

 

[Creteloc]

I'm curious if you locked them in their coop for 3-4 days when they first moved in? I had to do that and now they all go in there when it gets dark.

 

[Wolfgang B.]

As long as your chicken run has a roof and blocks wind decently you shouldn't have to worry too much about some of your chickens staying outside. They'll find their way into the coop automatically when it gets too cold.

Our run doesn't have a roof and some of our girls are also still sleeping outside. I locked them inside the coop last night because it drizzled. And our silly chickens would sleep outside in the rain all night.

 

[chickens really]

Do you not have a Door on the Coop to the Run?...Herd them all in before dark..Provide enough Roosts..Possibly the lowest in the Pecking order so are being forced out....

 

[genesisfarms]

We have a door to the run that I close at night once they have put themselves up. We have bird netting across the top and chicken wire on the sides. No weather protection.

When they were babies they were locked in the coop for several days but eventually found their way out to the run at night. Stubborn creatures!

 

[chickens really]

Chickens are creatures of habit and are easily conditioned to go back in each night...Start retraining them....

 

[JedJackson]

Remove the branch & feed bin in the run then put them in the coop at night and then close the coop up so they can't get out. Then let them out in the morning. A few days of that should do the trick.

 

[Wolfgang B.]

No weather protection.

In that case I'd lock them in a few nights in a row.
Ventilation inside is important. Temperature is not the problem, high humidity is.