Do I need a second coop? (turkey hen won't go in at night)

[Molpet]

A quarter sheet of plywood against the coop wall is a favorite place for mine.

 

[fat brown hen]

Speaking of training-- would it work to lock the hens in the coop for a few days to force them to use the nest boxes?

 

[R2elk]

Speaking of training-- would it work to lock the hens in the coop for a few days to force them to use the nest boxes?

If they have to lay during the period they are locked in, it will force them to lay in the coop but not necessarily in your nest boxes. They are not chickens and don't typically use nest boxes.

 

[fat brown hen]

If they have to lay during the period they are locked in, it will force them to lay in the coop but not necessarily in your nest boxes. They are not chickens and don't typically use nest boxes.

In the coop is good enough for me! would they continue to lay in the same spot after i let them out?

 

[R2elk]

In the coop is good enough for me! would they continue to lay in the same spot after i let them out?

Maybe but if they have other preferences, probably not.

Mine either leave their run on their own or holler for me to let them out and then make hidden nests that I have to search for.

 

[fat brown hen]

Maybe but if they have other preferences, probably not.

Mine either leave their run on their own or holler for me to let them out and then make hidden nests that I have to search for.

Desperate times call for desperate measures...

 

[MrsNorthie]

I have one tom and three hens in this 10x12 coop. Recently, the hens refuse to go in at night and instead roost on the fence next to the coop. Usually it's just one hen outside, but sometimes two or three. The tom is a very good boy and always sleeps in the coop.

Is it possibly too crowded for all four? We don't have snow or ice but I worry about predators and nesting season.

Mine hate sleeping inside, they prefer their outdoor roosts. They will go in, cooperatively when I go down and make them get off their roosts, like when I know there is going to be a storm or when we had a few days of freezing temps. I know they can handle the colder temps but I felt better with them in a more sheltered setting.

 

[MrsNorthie]

They might. I use ceramic goose eggs.


it may or may not. Turkeys that get kept in a coop at night from when they are poults are more likely to roost inside.

If you want to make sure they roost inside, herd them into the coop in the evening and shut them in for the night.

Ours were cooped as poults, but now have a minds of their own so I don't sleep much and let them roost where they want..

 

[R2elk]

Ours were cooped as poults, but now have a minds of their own so I don't sleep much and let them roost where they want..

Mine are kept cooped until they are big enough to not be instant predator food. After that they get to roost outside on roosts built from 4" diameter corral poles that are sheltered from the prevailing wind.

Their roosts are in their run and does have flight netting above the roosts. The flight netting does not cover the whole run .

I saw a Great Horned owl get under the flight netting one time. It really freaked out. I have not seen another get under there since.

 

[Mountain Roost]

I have been thinking about this while I put my turkeys away in their coop that is really outside of their ideals. One has to have a mentality that you are trapping them in their coop. Our daily rhythm is a wet mash feeding for everyone (chickens, ducks, geese, guineas, and turkeys) inside their perspective coops. When they are done eating I open the coop doors and they get to range together all day.

At bed time I give another feeding to all coop dishes. No treats all day to ruin this "I am hungry" rush; and I only feed inside the coop not to confuse where the food comes from. Then I add food to the Turkey and guinea coop and stand back just enough to get out of the way. Wait, watch, count turkeys and the close door. I would love to give them entire barn to live in but a safe coop at night is what I have to offer.