Chickens won't go to bed

[aart]

I have a similar problem. I got two pullets around the first of December and they spent a great deal of time in the coop as opposed to the run. About a week ago, they started staying in the run and they simply will not go into the coop at dusk. One will go into the coop and lay her egg. The other will just lay the egg in the run. I can't free range, because we just have too may predators. The coop is large enough for four hens, but we just wanted two hens so there is no problem with space. It is well ventilated and has a window. We went through a couple of cold spells in the past few days, but they seem entirely content to sleep in the run. I have covered the run each night with a heavy drop cloth just to cut down on the wind. I have not tried any lights. I will try the meal worm idea some one mentioned, but I am open to suggestions from some of you more experienced. This is our first time and we are loving it, but we are worried that as the weather gets warmer, we will see more predators and we would like to see them safely in the coop at night.

@Cwg6126 Just put them in the coop at dusk and lock the door, you might have to do that for a week or so until they get the idea.
There's no reason to mess around with lights or tarps....be the Chicken Boss!

 

[lazy gardener]

The only other suggestion I have for anyone who has chickens who refuse to sleep in their coop at night, especially if they have recently moved out of the coop: Check to see if there is an infestation of red mites or roost mites in the coop. These mites come out at night to feed on chickens.

 

[serprise]

I appreciate all of your replies. I'm going to go get the supplies to allow me to lock them in the coop and also the supplies needed to install a window. I don't want to lock them in without that. To answer the question about the perch, it's a 2x4 that's wide side up. It's length is a little over 2'. The perch itself is around 12" high but that's because the coop's size keeps that limited. Much higher and their heads would be up at the vent/draft level. I put it at that height because I wanted them to be kept out of the wind but at the same time I wanted to make sure it was higher than the ledge they use to get into the nesting boxes (those weren't installed yet in the pic posted) so they didn't end up trying to perch/sleep there.

So I'm thinking about the window I install, somebody mentioned not letting light in while I try to train them. Is there a design of window that you can think of that will be able to add ventilation come summertime (like hardware cloth), plexiglass for colder days, and the ability to close off from light? My little brain is thinking I can only get 2 of the 3, hopefully there's pics of coops from people who are better engineers that I can copy. If not I'll just install the window like I'll do the door but with the hardware cloth to keep things from getting in/out when it's open

 

[aart]

I appreciate all of your replies. I'm going to go get the supplies to allow me to lock them in the coop and also the supplies needed to install a window. I don't want to lock them in without that. To answer the question about the perch, it's a 2x4 that's wide side up. It's length is a little over 2'. The perch itself is around 12" high but that's because the coop's size keeps that limited. Much higher and their heads would be up at the vent/draft level. I put it at that height because I wanted them to be kept out of the wind but at the same time I wanted to make sure it was higher than the ledge they use to get into the nesting boxes (those weren't installed yet in the pic posted) so they didn't end up trying to perch/sleep there.

So I'm thinking about the window I install, somebody mentioned not letting light in while I try to train them. Is there a design of window that you can think of that will be able to add ventilation come summertime (like hardware cloth), plexiglass for colder days, and the ability to close off from light? My little brain is thinking I can only get 2 of the 3, hopefully there's pics of coops from people who are better engineers that I can copy. If not I'll just install the window like I'll do the door but with the hardware cloth to keep things from getting in/out when it's open

I don't think light is a problem....if you lock them in the coop at dusk...they will get in the habit of roosting before dark.
If there is a street light, maybe put the window on the opposite side of the coop from the street light.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

It isn't even a matter of mine wanting to sleep outside, it's like they don't sleep. I'm not kidding, they'll still be walking around/making noise at 3AM.... Last night for example, my chickens woke me up at 2:30 squawking up a storm... It wasn't a scared squawk, just the everyday noises they make and they were in their run. They were just walking around in their run begging to get out when I went out there. They're up late every night. When I've come home after midnight the days I wasn't able to get them in their run at sunset they're always still walking around...

A hen will only make a "scared squawk" when she is in the grip of a predator. Are you sure that the other sounds yours make are not the result of a predator checking out your flock, especially a weak and somewhat unsophisticated predator that is unable or unwilling to take on a grown hen. As for the "yellow" street light you reported having across the street, is the street light in an easterly direction and can your hens mistake the street light for the rising Sun?

I bet if you demolished the floor or even the front wall of the coop (leaving only the top, back, and both sides) that your hens will view your coop in a whole different "light" and make your coop their coop. Salvage the front wall and bottom portion of your coop to build a rain proof shelter to keep the hens food clean and dry.

If you are already worrying about summer ventilation then I think that your coop is already to tight to suit your chickens.

 

[serprise]

A hen will only make a "scared squawk" when she is in the grip of a predator. Are you sure that the other sounds yours make are not the result of a predator checking out your flock, especially a weak and somewhat unsophisticated predator that is unable or unwilling to take on a grown hen. As for the "yellow" street light you reported having across the street, is the street light in an easterly direction and can your hens mistake the street light for the rising Sun?

I bet if you demolished the floor or even the front wall of the coop (leaving only the top, back, and both sides) that your hens will view your coop in a whole different "light" and make your coop their coop. Salvage the front wall and bottom portion of your coop to build a rain proof shelter to keep the hens food clean and dry.

If you are already worrying about summer ventilation then I think that your coop is already to tight to suit your chickens.

I'm not worried about summer ventilation, just figured if I put a window in I may as well let it vent too. The noise they make isn't like a scared scawk, it always seems to be one bird (Priscilla if ya wanna know her name!) that doesn't like to be alone. If she looks around and realizes she's not in sight of the other girls she starts yelling. It's a common sound chickens make but in my case 90+% of the time it's that one pansy bird, it may not have been her that night but it was that sound not anything I think was a predator. She's pretty funny looking/I lover her though. Her comb is really long/goofy looking, it's folded over and looks like Elvis' hair which is actually how she got her name. Why I shared that I dunno. About the predators, my dog has unfortunately got into it with a couple different possums (last one was right next to the coop

, luckily he was never bit/scratched, I wish he wouldn't do that!) and I have seen raccoons in the trees. I thought one was a neighbor cat once on a branch about 5' above me (it was dark

) and I was calling it until I realized what it was. There's foxes around the area but they've never been seen in our neighborhood. It becomes pretty rural about a half mile away and they seem to stay there so they're not a concern like the possums/raccoons.

I do want to give a success story though, one of my girls is broody right now so she doesn't count but last night the other 3 slept inside too. I only went to get the materials for a door, I didn't install it yet. I won't do that until probably this weekend. I actually put them in their run a little before sunset when I went to the store to get the materials since I knew it'd be dark by the time I got back. When I got back I looked under the coop and they weren't there, they were actually inside.

The only other suggestion I have for anyone who has chickens who refuse to sleep in their coop at night, especially if they have recently moved out of the coop: Check to see if there is an infestation of red mites or roost mites in the coop. These mites come out at night to feed on chickens.

I'm a first time chicken owner, I've never even heard of red mites but my guess is I don't have those. My neighbor (it's a duplex, we share a backyard and all the costs for the chickens etc.) works at a place that ships a lot of stuff and they make their own pallets so he brings home lots of wood chips, they get replaced at least once a month so for the most part it's kept clean. You can definitely tell it's a chicken coop but as far as chicken coops being sanitary ours seems pretty good to me. Being small since we're limited on space we just do more frequent cleanings.

 

[lazy gardener]

mites have nothing to do with how clean your coop is. They can show up even if you have not brought any new chickens onto your property. all it takes is for a wild bird to pass through and drop a mite. The mites will find their way into your coop, hide out in the nooks and crannies, and come out to feed on your girls at night. They can be as small as the period at the end of the sentence, and their larval stages are barely visible to the naked eye. You might want to do some research on the topic so you know what to look for.

 

[lazy gardener]

The standard roost length is (minimally) 10" per bird.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

The mites that are a problem for chickens are the scaly leg mite, the Northern fowl mite, the depluming mite, and the common chicken mite. The latter mite is also known as the red mite. The reason that the chicken mite is known as the red mite is because when most chicken owners see a chicken mite is when they disturb them, and the mite's red color is the chicken blood inside the red mite, turning its body a bright crimson. If you look for the common chicken mite on your birds during the daytime hours you will not find a single mite because the chicken or red mite hides during the daylight hours. Favorite red mite hangouts are between the lap joints of the boards of the coop, any other crack, nook or cranny or in the splits in a roost pole. Red mites are also found in the corners and joints of a nest, and in wood shavings aka. litter. After dark when the red mite comes out to feed their numbers are such that they remind me of an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

The living habit of the red mite is the reason that I prefer to treat for them with used motor oil mixed with Pyrethrum. The oil holds and carries the mite-icide into the nooks and crannies and holds it there long enough to kill the mites present. The oil also prevents any future red mites from living in a crack that the oil penetrates, denying that space to future generations of red mites without another, and another, and yet another (up to 12 per year) pesticide applications.

 

[serprise]

The standard roost length is (minimally) 10" per bird.

I went out to actually measure it, the shortest part is actually 34". My welsummers are actually pretty small compared to my friends' chickens. She has 9 of various breeds and her smallest is bigger than all of mine so I think the roost is an ok size. It can easily fit all 4 with room to spare.


You're all scaring me with this mite talk