Help getting my girls in their coop at night

[JessieSD]

I have 4 girls 13 and 14 weeks old. They spend all day in their run as they would get killed by our lab if they roamed in the yard all day. They do come out each night for 30 minutes or so to eat grass and scratch around and what not. My problem is that none if them will go up the ramp at night into their coop. They prefer to roost in the run on a high tree branch we have fastened lengthwise.

Is this a problem?? What happens when they begin laying? Will they just lay wherever since none are comfortable going up the ramp?

I am posting a picture of our setup. Please share thoughts on if the coop part is too small for four grown girls. Sometimes I think so since the roost space is so limited inside but when they roost on the branch they are all cuddled up close together anyways.

Any thoughts and suggestions are so very much appreciated.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don’t know where you live or how bad your winters are, but I’ve seen chickens sleep in trees on tree branches in below zero Fahrenheit weather. They were in a thicket in a protected valley, not out in the open with a howling wind blowing on them, but they can take pretty cold temperatures as long as they have some shelter.

I can’t see the far end of that tree branch, but raccoons can sometimes pull parts of chickens through wire if they are up against the end of the roost. Your hardware cloth looks like it may be too tight to allow that, but you might want to put something solid against the fence at that end just to make sure a raccoon can’t reach through.

Those are the only risks I can think of for them sleeping outside. If you have those under control, I just don’t see a problem.

At that age those chickens don’t even need the ramp to get up there. They could just fly/jump up. If you had Silkies or some other chicken that can’t fly or see real well a ramp might be necessary, but I don’t see that kind of chicken in your photos. It’s not the ramp that is causing them to not want to go up there. They just don’t want to.

Will they use the nests in there when it is time for them to lay? Heck, I don’t know. They are living animals, they don’t come with guarantees. About a week before they start to lay they will probably start looking for a good nesting spot. There is a good chance they will find your nests in there. I strongly believe a fake egg in the nest does help convince them that the nest is a good place to lay so I recommend you have the nests open and available with a fake egg in them. I use golf balls but some people use ceramic or stone eggs, plastic Easter eggs, or even ping pong balls. I like something heavier because it is harder for them to scratch them out when they are arranging the nests.

That coop section is pretty small but as long as the pop door is open that doesn’t really matter. The size of the coop by itself isn’t all that important, it’s how much total space is available when they need it that is important. It sounds like you leave that pop door open all the time.

If you want them to start sleeping inside, you can move them to the roosts in the coop after they have settled in for the night. It may take a while but they should catch on. If that area is well-lit so they can still see at night, you may need to shut the door so they have to stay inside the coop instead of just moving back outside. I’ve had some catch on only doing that once. I’ve had some take over two weeks before they figure it out.

Good luck!