Cooped Up Chickens??

[ThimbleMicroFarm]

Hi all!
Our girls (all 13 wks Thursday) lately refuse to come out of their coop for the majority of the day. They come out only to eat and drink throughout the day. When it’s about an hour and a half to sunset they all come out and stay out until dark. They have a ton of perching areas in the run.

We’re in the Rockies and just recently had their first snow storm. Now it’s backs up into the 70s all day and they still only come out for treats, food, and water. Prior to that snow they were out from sunrise to sunset.

Is this normal behavior? Is there something we can do to keep them out in their run longer than to just eat and drink? Or is this totally okay for them to spend so much time in their coop? Any comments/suggestions/advice is appreciated!

 

[sourland]

What they are doing is perfectly okay. I wonder if perhaps there is a predator in the area early in the day - perhaps a hawk.

 

[ThimbleMicroFarm]

What they are doing is perfectly okay. I wonder if perhaps there is a predator in the area early in the day - perhaps a hawk.

I thought maybe it were a predator. We really only have issue with a family of squirrels who like to come up closer to their coop (knock on wood no other predators so far). Our dog is usually good about shooing them away. But that absolutely could be it! Thank you!