Get Inside you Guys! Or maybe not .....?

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thanks. Interesting. The layers (9 I think) do willingly go in during the day, but only in ones or twos (of the 6 nesting boxes we usually find all the eggs only in the first, and occasionally the floor).
I'll look at your ideas.
My original question was or meant to ask whether it's actually an issue for the chickens always to roost outside in England's relatively moderate climate?

I'm not really familiar with your climate, but I believe it's wet? Chickens need to be dry to be warm, so at cooler temperatures it may be an issue.

The funny thing about chickens is they like their nest dark and small, but they want to roost in a more open environment.

Only you can tell if they are okay with the way things are going. If they look healthy and you see no obvious signs of distress than it could be fine.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Chickens are not fools. Give them an option to roost somewhere out of the wind and/or rain and they are perfectly capable of making up their own minds about where to snooze. Whether it is on the top of their old coop or in a rain and wind proof structure should ideally be the chickens personal choice. I have had American Game that roosted for years in Eastern Red Cedar trees with no issues except that their feathers took a licking. Isn't that what so called "Free Range" chickens do? Roost where they darn well please?

 

[lazy gardener]

Isn't that what so called "Free Range" chickens do? Roost where they darn well please?

Depends on your definition of free range. Chickens in my neighborhood who are not locked up at night are called dead chickens.

 

[Sneebsey]

If you think about it, chickens are not that different from wild birds, and those do not go inside at night. The climate here isn't too bad, though the rain and snow can cause them to become more chilled than they would in a drier climate.

As I said, my biggest concern would be predation. Even with your good set-up, if a predator can see your birds, it is more likely to try and tunnel in for a quick snack. Stoats are very small and can fit through the same gaps that a rat can, but will kill an entire flock in one night if allowed to.