First night with chickens

[Sisters Farms]

last night was our first night with our 4 hens and 1 rooster. The hens slept inside the coop and the rooster slept outside in the pin area is that normal?

 

[earlybird10842]

last night was our first night with our 4 hens and 1 rooster. The hens slept inside the coop and the rooster slept outside in the pin area is that normal?

Hey, welcome to BYC!
Hm. Most chickens will put themselves to roost each night in the coop, which is usually safer and definitely warmer. It sounds like your rooster doesn't know the difference between the coop and pen yet. Has he gone in the coop at all? If not, you may want to keep him in there for a few hours so he knows where home is. Where do you have the food? If it's in the pen, put some in the coop, too.
How old are these chickens?

 

[Sisters Farms]

My rooster who is 5 months old and is now inside the coop. He didn't go in until this morning. My hens are 7 months to a year. I have the food and water inside the coop. He's a young rooster. Then I have 3 hens that are 4 weeks old. But they are inside their box

 

[earlybird10842]

My rooster who is 5 months old and is now inside the coop. He didn't go in until this morning. My hens are 7 months to a year. I have the food and water inside the coop. He's a young rooster. Then I have 3 hens that are 4 weeks old. But they are inside their box

Ok, it just sounds like he doesn't know the lay of the land yet. It depends on your coop and predator situation, but most of the time it is safest and best to have all chickens secured inside the coop during nighttime hours, so if he or any of the hens decide to sleep outside tonight, get a flashlight and put them in--either catch them and place them in, or herd/guide them inside. After a few nights, they'll know where and when to sleep, and be in the coop before you go out to shut them up at night.

 

[Sisters Farms]

Thank you for that info because I did not know that they needed to be closed up for the night. My coop is a shed I converted to a coop with a door. Is it ok to shut the door all night? They've all pretty much been inside the coop all day. We tried shuing them outside to the pin but they have a fit. We read that is ok cause there just getting comfortable with their new living arrangements

 

[earlybird10842]

Thank you for that info because I did not know that they needed to be closed up for the night. My coop is a shed I converted to a coop with a door. Is it ok to shut the door all night? They've all pretty much been inside the coop all day. We tried shuing them outside to the pin but they have a fit. We read that is ok cause there just getting comfortable with their new living arrangements

It depends on your pen design and any predators, but I would recommend keeping them inside all night with the door shut. Unless your coop is very, very small--and it doesn't sound like it is--they should be fine. Most chicken owners let their chickens out in the morning and shut them up again at night. You don't need to, but if your pen doesn't have a secure roof and floor, I would.
Yeah, sounds like they are just getting used to things. Give them time.

 

[cafarmgirl]

If your young rooster was not raised with these hens he may well be getting bullied when it's time to go to roost.

And yes, it's much safer for your birds to close them in a coop at night. BUT your coop needs to have proper ventilation such as vents along the eves or windows, all should be covered with hardware cloth to prevent predators getting in.