Getting in the Coop at Night

[Kinzer]

As long as you have appropriate places outside to put the food and water, there's no specific requirement to have it in the coop.

I do keep my dry feeder inside to minimize risk of attracting rodents, and to protect the feeder from the elements. My waterer and wet feed stays out in the run though.

Yeah, I tried my feeder outside once and the sprinklers got it, so I haven’t done that again. But if I can find a way to keep it dry I might do it.

 

[3KillerBs]

Yeah, I tried my feeder outside once and the sprinklers got it, so I haven’t done that again. But if I can find a way to keep it dry I might do it.

I made a feeder/waterer shelter for mine.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/an-outdoor-shelter-for-the-feeder-and-waterer.76487/

Because of integration, I have another feeder in a dog crate with some scrap metal roofing laid on top to shelter it.

 

[Chick-Mahal]

I have 10 chickens: 2 white leghorns, 2 golden sexlinks, 4 Jersey giants, and 2 wyandottes. They are all between the ages of 8 and 10 weeks old. I put them out in the coop and run about 3 weeks ago. Every night since we moved them out at almost exactly 9 one of the Jersey Giants starts peeping really loud and hops into the coop, and for about the next 2 or 3 minutes the rest of the chickens follow until they are all in there. It’s the same chicken every night that initiates it which is kind of interesting. The thing I’m curious about is this, when they head into the coop they all go to the back corner and huddle together, almost fighting to get intro the corner. Once I close up the coop they eventually calm down. Any thoughts on this behavior?View attachment 2750259

My 13 babies while in the house in my brooder were in a not so well lighted room so I put lights on in there with timers. Each night when the lights went out they all began to chirp really loudly until they were organized for bed. I had a camera on them to watch. As they got older it got louder. Hoping this will happen when I let them out of the coop this weekend. Fingers crossed, they have been in the coop for a almost a week now.

 

[Bliss57]

Normal behavior.

The flock leader is making herself known, telling the others that the day is over.

Cuddling in a corner is normal behavior for chicks. They'll learn to roost as they get older.

Looking at your roost, have you thought of varying the circumference of the perch? It is best for their feet if they have different sizes available. It might help to temporarily put a lower perch in to get them used to doing it. I did that with my last batch of chicks and I think it helped them to feel more comfortable

 

[Kinzer]

Looking at your roost, have you thought of varying the circumference of the perch? It is best for their feet if they have different sizes available. It might help to temporarily put a lower perch in to get them used to doing it. I did that with my last batch of chicks and I think it helped them to feel more comfortable

They all perch really well actually. They had a little perch when in the brooder which I raised as they got older and they have pretty much always used it. I think they were just huddling up in the corner at first in the evening and then they would move to roost once I closed up the coop. They all go straight to the roost now, still a little noisy though while getting situated.

Speaking of trying to calm down at night before sleep, and to make things even harder, one evening right before bed the neighbor’s cat decided to hop down in the run with them and that really freaked them all out. I chased the cat out, but the chickens couldn’t calm down. They started flying up on the top of the coop which they rarely do, and some even flew up to the top of the trampoline net from there. I was kind of amazed at how high they could fly at such a young age, but I guess they did what they felt like they had to do. I finally got them calmed down and in there coop, but it was a crazy half hour or so.

 

[Cryss]

Please read @aart post again. Just because they are free ranged that doesn’t make it ok to crowd them inside. They will fight for space. Someone will get hurt. Or worse. I’ve been there making that mistake. aart taught me so much. 4sqft/bird is only indoor space and doesn’t include the nest area. More room is even better. Roost space is minimally 1 foot per standard bird, more for Jersey Giants! The roost needs to be at least a foot away from the wall unless you don’t mind cleaning poop off the wall every day. It also needs to be higher than the nests or they will sleep (and poop…all night long) in the nests.
Believe it or not there are occasions when you will need to lock your chickens inside the coop. Perhaps a fox starts visiting the area. Until he is dispatched you need to keep them inside to be safe. How much snow do you get? I’ve had to keep mine in until I could reach them after 3 feet of snow fell. And then had to remove the snow from the run. It helped me that they could stay inside a couple days. What about a catastrophe? That’s anything negative that happens that you never would have foreseen. A tree fell over my run. Until the tree service could come and remove it they had to live indoors. My point is space indoors is not an option.
On a different point, the cat jumped into the run? I didn’t realize you had a run since you said they were free ranged. Maybe I misread it. But if the cat can jump in so can any other critter in the world. You’re keeping chickens corralled in one place but not keeping hungry or hunting critters out. This includes hawks, owls, and anything that can climb.
I’m not trying to be harsh but I remember aart being hard on me for my lack of chicken knowledge. Not mean, just firm in letting me know where my Naïve arrangements were inadequate. It was what I needed. I was able to readjust and then it was so much easier to enjoy my chickens. Best of everything for you and your feathers friends. I’m quite jealous of your Jersey Giant!

 

[Cryss]

As for feed and water, if it’s in the coop it attracts critters and increases humidity. Coops should always be dry as a bone. Keep feed and water in the run. I covered a portion of the roof my run to keep the feeding area dry and give some shade on hot sunny days. I also bring food out of the run into my home after they all go to bed. Otherwise mice and rats and etc have a smorgasbord.

 

[Kinzer]

Please read @aart post again. Just because they are free ranged that doesn’t make it ok to crowd them inside. They will fight for space. Someone will get hurt. Or worse. I’ve been there making that mistake. aart taught me so much. 4sqft/bird is only indoor space and doesn’t include the nest area. More room is even better. Roost space is minimally 1 foot per standard bird, more for Jersey Giants! The roost needs to be at least a foot away from the wall unless you don’t mind cleaning poop off the wall every day. It also needs to be higher than the nests or they will sleep (and poop…all night long) in the nests.
Believe it or not there are occasions when you will need to lock your chickens inside the coop. Perhaps a fox starts visiting the area. Until he is dispatched you need to keep them inside to be safe. How much snow do you get? I’ve had to keep mine in until I could reach them after 3 feet of snow fell. And then had to remove the snow from the run. It helped me that they could stay inside a couple days. What about a catastrophe? That’s anything negative that happens that you never would have foreseen. A tree fell over my run. Until the tree service could come and remove it they had to live indoors. My point is space indoors is not an option.
On a different point, the cat jumped into the run? I didn’t realize you had a run since you said they were free ranged. Maybe I misread it. But if the cat can jump in so can any other critter in the world. You’re keeping chickens corralled in one place but not keeping hungry or hunting critters out. This includes hawks, owls, and anything that can climb.
I’m not trying to be harsh but I remember aart being hard on me for my lack of chicken knowledge. Not mean, just firm in letting me know where my Naïve arrangements were inadequate. It was what I needed. I was able to readjust and then it was so much easier to enjoy my chickens. Best of everything for you and your feathers friends. I’m quite jealous of your Jersey Giant!

We plan to expand the coop before winter, for now they are all completely content and get along very well, no fighting or pecking. They each just pretty much mind their own business.

I’m not worried about predators at night since we lock the coop up every night and it is very secure. I will probably cover the coop with some lightweight netting at some point to keep out hawks and things, but also to keep the chickens in, they are starting to fly a bit more.

As they get larger I will move their food and water outside somewhere, but it’s nice to have in the coop for now to keep it dry and clean.

The normal “large” snowstorm in the winter is only maybe about 6” here, so I will always be able to access them. The coop should never remain closed on any given day.

Yeah, I’m excited about the Jersey Giants, they are really friendly birds. Every time I sit in the run with them our grey one hops up on my back and picks at my hair. One time it actually pecked my eyeball I think out of curiosity.