Chickens won't return to coop no matter what

[Lotusbird]

My 24 week old hens will not go back to their coop unless I go out and make them.
Today we had a horrible storm with hail and flooding rains, they sat on top of the coop until I went out and made them go in the coop. I know this is a common problem, but I am worried they will catch pneumonia or something if it happens when I am not home The coop is clean with plenty of room, there is only 3 hens. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

What time are you trying to put them to bed at night, is it completely dark? Can you post a pic of the coop and give us the dimensions of feet long x feet wide?

 

[McChooky]

You'll have to train them to go inside at night by picking them up one by one and placing them on the roost. If your chickens are like mine they'd rather go inside on their own than be picked up everyday lol It shouldn't take very long( unless somethings wrong with your coop) Be glad they aren't roosting in a tree.

 

[aart]

My 24 week old hens will not go back to their coop unless I go out and make them.
Today we had a horrible storm with hail and flooding rains, they sat on top of the coop until I went out and made them go in the coop. I know this is a common problem, but I am worried they will catch pneumonia or something if it happens when I am not home The coop is clean with plenty of room, there is only 3 hens. Any advice is appreciated.

Have you had them since they were chicks?
Yes, dimensions, and pics of coop(inside and out), would help here.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Well first your chickens can’t catch pneumonia from being out in a storm. That is a myth. Pneumonia is caused by viral and bacterial infections not rain. Was the storm during daylight? If so my chickens often stay out during daytime storms and they have access to a 32x60’ barn and two 16x60’ lean-to’s. Chickens usually won’t go back into the coop if it’s daylight. Also chickens aren’t as fragile as we make them out to be.

Edit: I also wanted to add that most livestock and birds enjoy storms. We have storms all of the time here and if you go outside all of the wild birds are out playing in it. On my farm everyone from my horses to my ducks and chickens are also all out playing in it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My 24 week old hens will not go back to their coop unless I go out and make them.

I assume you are talking about during the day, that they put themselves to bed at night as they should.

I don't worry about it once they are fully feathered out. Chickens have been managing thigs like that for thousands of years without any help from humans, even before they were domesticated. Since we keep them confined in coops and runs instead of allowing them to roam free wherever they want to go, we need to give them options of safe places to go. You do that by having the coop available if they want it.

 

[PoppasGrill]

Some of our hens love to be out in the storms during the day, it cools them off and they get the first pick of the mole crickets and worms the storm brings out.
That being said, if they’re not going in at night then there might be an issue they have with the coop. Ladies are fickle in this respect. Some of ours completely abandoned their coops to roost in the barn.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Still no response to question of dimension of coop. Chickens like to have about 4 sq ft per bird of floor space. Multiply length x width to get the square footage of your coop (not the run, just the enclosed space they should sleep in). Subtract space taken up by nests, feeders and waterers. Divide that by 4 and that's how many birds can fit comfortably in your coop. If it's too small, they won't sleep in it.