Help! Chickens suddenly stopped sleeping in coop!

[Chickens-are-cool]

I have 6 eight-month old hens, they have always slept on their roosts up in their raised coop that is blocked from the elements. We live in Wisconsin so it easily get below 20 degrees every night and sometimes there are very high winds that make it feel a lot colder than it really is. Today I heard loud squawking and went out to check on them, I found that 3 of them had been sleeping in their run! They were on a roost but their run is open to the wind on one side and I am very concerned. I have never had any issues getting them to sleep in their coop (besides when they were little but I realized they just didn’t know how to use the ramp) so they have been sleeping in their coop with no issues since early in the summer. I have no idea what caused half of them to stop sleeping in their coop and no idea what to do about it either. I am concerned about frostbite, luckily the weather has been mild recently so they should be fine for the next 2-3 days but after that it will be cold again. Any ideas on what to do?

 

[deidreg]

Hmmm. Can you put them in and shut the door? Give the coop a thorough inspection in the morning to see if there are mites or other critters. Also, does the coop smell like ammonia? That could drive them out, too. I'm sure others will have ideas, but that's where I'd start. Good luck!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Hmmm. Can you put them in and shut the door? Give the coop a thorough inspection in the morning to see if there are mites or other critters. Also, does the coop smell like ammonia? That could drive them out, too. I'm sure others will have ideas, but that's where I'd start. Good luck!

x2. I'd manually put them in if needed, and do a thorough search for mites (dusk is a good time to look, take a paper towel and run it under the roost, and if there's red smears, those are roost mites) and any evidence of other pests/predators intruding. Since they suddenly made a ruckus and then ran out, I'm guessing it could be a mouse, a rat... or possibly something outside the coop that's larger.

 

[Coops Dad]

What are the dimensions of your coop? Could they be a bit too snug?

 

[aart]

What are the dimensions of your coop? Could they be a bit too snug?

That was my first thought too.
Pics of coop, inside and out, would help here.
Also is perch in run higher than the roost in the coop?

 

[CluckerFamily]

Do you have plenty of ventilation on the coop?

 

[Chickens-are-cool]

Do you have plenty of ventilation on the coop?

Yes, I have doors that I open daily (weather permitting) to air out the coop.

 

[Chickens-are-cool]

That was my first thought too.
Pics of coop, inside and out, would help here.
Also is perch in run higher than the roost in the coop?

The perch in the coop is much higher than the perch in the run and they have always loved it so I was very confused when all the sudden they weren’t sleeping on it. I am going to check tonight again to make sure they are sleeping in the right place, if not I will move them like last night. I am also going out to check for mites around dusk today, although I doubt that’s the problem because the chickens seem perfectly fine, no symptoms of mites like listlessness or missing feathers. They are overall very happy chickens!

 

[Chickens-are-cool]

Do you have plenty of ventilation on the coop?

Yep! I open the doors daily to make sure that there is some air movement in there!

 

[Chickens-are-cool]

What are the dimensions of your coop? Could they be a bit too snug?

I don’t think so, the dimensions are the right size based on square footage per hen.