Feeling guilty locking my girls in the coop

West Bend

Songster
Jul 7, 2019
164
514
211
West Bend WI
Hi I know this has been questioned time and time again but I need some input/reassurance. My girls have been starting to sleep in the Run and I need them to sleep in the coop at night. I work 2nd shift so I'm not home to put them in after the auto door closes. My daughter checks on them now but she's moving. I have locked them in the coop (6×9- divided 4x6 is roost bar w/ poop board & nest boxes below board & straw on floor. 5x6 if fully screened w/ sand on floor, roost bar & has the food & h20) for less than 24-hours now and I feel guilty about it. They have food & water, but I don't have an egg door to collect eggs. I don't even want to go in the backyard- for fear of them seeing me(how ridiculous is that). I need to go out to cut the grass & I'm chicken....lol I feel so mean locking them in & im hoping they get the hint soon because I want to let them out. I'm going
out of town for 5 days next week and my daughter will check on them the first few days. I know they'll be fine for a few days. I believe they have enough room. They haven't been locked in the coop for well over a year-and-a-half. I just feel so guilty and don't know how to get past that. Will I get used to them squawking at me as I walk past ignoring them so to speak?
 
I sometimes have the same feelings ! I just avoid eye contact ! ;)

I've had a she fox terrorizing my free range flock lately, and after 2 losses, I've had them cooped for the last week or so, and being the drama queens they are, they act like they're being tortured, and every time they see me, they pace the fence, rubbing their beaks along the hardware cloth, making a rattling sound, like prisoners rattling the bars of the cell !

I feel horrible, and tried to explain it to them, but they don't seem to care, and want out anyway !

Be strong, and just ignore them ..... :)
 
Please post pics of coop(inside and out) and run.
How many birds?
Screenshot_20210519-105953_(1).png
20210330_130524_(1)~2.jpg

Reading my post I see i did not clarify a few things. I have 3 Girls. I am only trying to break them of the habit of sleeping in the run (hopefully only 2 or 3 nights). They will not be locked in while I am gone. I have an auto door (which I delayed the close time in case that was the issue) Also, i currently disabled the door for these few days I just want them to roost in the coop at night to be safe.
My daughter moves them into the coop at night now & I have a chicken tender when I go away for the weekend (when she's available). When my daughter is not here she will come over & move them or close them in before dark, I just don't want to have to have her.
The arrows are where they are roosting on the days they don't go in. Currently it's only occasionally right now.
 
Just staple something up on those 2x4s so they can't roost there until they are retrained to roost in the coop. A trash bag or feed sack would work. Just something to block the gap off so they can't get up there on it.

Got a feeling they will just roost on some of the other stuff in there.
 
The arrows are where they are roosting on the days they don't go in
Can you remove those?
Looks like they may be part of the roof support, so maybe not.
You could block them off by tacking some mesh(chicken wire) across them.
I wouldn't feel guilty locking them in the coop portion, looks plenty big for 3 birds.
 

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