Help needed. New chickens not going into new coop at night. Airlifting 36 chickens is exhausting!

[Buffy Brahma Mama]

You need to get rid of all but two roosters. Your hens will be bred to death and your going to have constant rooster fighting for dominance. Really not healthy numbers. Of course they are your birds so do what you want but you will regret it later.
If this is your first birds in this coop you leave them penned up for a few days.
I also leave a light on in the coop until after dark. It helps draw them in.
Did I mention your rooster number is WAY out of whack (sorry I feel bad for your poor hens and more so as they age)

Yes, we will definitely watch out for that and give the males time away if over-mating happens. A huge space helps, but it can still happen with certain hens. We have 3 roos in our other flock and about 5-7 of the 40 hens from that flock get over-mated.

 

[Borders3]

If you know they are being over mated why have you not removed 1 of the roosters?

 

[Buffy Brahma Mama]

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If you know they are being over mated why have you not removed 1 of the roosters?

We give the hens that were being over-mated breaks from the roos

 

[Buffy Brahma Mama]

They like to feel safe & secure from predators, as well as comfortable, so I'm not sure what kind of weather you've got right now. They don't care for rain & they don't like a coop that's sweltering hot.

I have too many roosters as well but I gave a friend 1 for his hens recently, and I have separate sections of coop & predator proof pens, so each Roo has 5 or more hens (even that is too small a ratio, Roos should have 8 to10 hens or more, or the few he does have will get jumped by him so much they'll get beat up & lose feathers...then they'll need to wear hen saddles or Mr. Roo will need time outs to give hens a break).
My extra Roos are in the bachelor pad & get along with eachother as there are no hens to fight over & they were raised together. A few, even though they were raised together, still got feisty so I had to separate them. Roos have it wired in their DNA to be the flock leader & protector, so they can become aggressive, even with other Roos they grew up with. Your scenario, with so many Roos, is not conducive to a long term, harmonious environment.

As far as them not going into the coop at night, you need to figure out why...is it too stifling hot? Mine love their coop but as hot as it is lately, mine are perching in their outdoor gazebos, which are safe, the whole setup is predator proof here, so mine can stay out in their pens for cooler air.

If you can show us some photos, we can give you some helpful advice.

They like to feel safe & secure from predators, as well as comfortable, so I'm not sure what kind of weather you've got right now. They don't care for rain & they don't like a coop that's sweltering hot.

I have too many roosters as well but I gave a friend 1 for his hens recently, and I have separate sections of coop & predator proof pens, so each Roo has 5 or more hens (even that is too small a ratio, Roos should have 8 to10 hens or more, or the few he does have will get jumped by him so much they'll get beat up & lose feathers...then they'll need to wear hen saddles or Mr. Roo will need time outs to give hens a break).
My extra Roos are in the bachelor pad & get along with eachother as there are no hens to fight over & they were raised together. A few, even though they were raised together, still got feisty so I had to separate them. Roos have it wired in their DNA to be the flock leader & protector, so they can become aggressive, even with other Roos they grew up with. Your scenario, with so many Roos, is not conducive to a long term, harmonious environment.

As far as them not going into the coop at night, you need to figure out why...is it too stifling hot? Mine love their coop but as hot as it is lately, mine are perching in their outdoor gazebos, which are safe, the whole setup is predator proof here, so mine can stay out in their pens for cooler air.

If you can show us some photos, we can give you some helpful advice.

Here is one photo

 

[LaFleche]

View attachment 2757231

We give the hens that were being over-mated breaks from the roos

It would be healthier for the hens to not allow too many roos overmating in the first place by just having one or two roosters with the hens.

How big is your coop in measurements?

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Here is one photo
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Adorable coop! I don't know about your weather, but we've got high humidity so it feels like it's 105 degrees & I've got tons of windows open yet they still prefer to stay out on the gazebo perches, it's just too darned hot.

 

[Buffy Brahma Mama]

Adorable coop! I don't know about your weather, but we've got high humidity so it feels like it's 105 degrees & I've got tons of windows open yet they still prefer to stay out on the gazebo perches, it's just too darned hot.

Thank you! I think this may be the reason. It has been raining a lot here and was very hot when we first put them out, and very humid. It has cooled off now, but it still gets warm in there without a fan. When I go in there I can see some that are on the highest roosts are open mouth breathing, despite all the windows, gable vents and soffits. I think they were too hot and didn't like it. I have a USB fan, but I think the window fan would work a lot better to pull air through the coop. I wish I could open the big windows at night, but we have so many night predators, I fear I would lost them all in no time. Here are more pics. The last one is of the spaces below the coop. Looks cozy too, lol.

 

[demonic]

Thank you! I think this may be the reason. It has been raining a lot here and was very hot when we first put them out, and very humid. It has cooled off now, but it still gets warm in there without a fan. When I go in there I can see some that are on the highest roosts are open mouth breathing, despite all the windows, gable vents and soffits. I think they were too hot and didn't like it. I have a USB fan, but I think the window fan would work a lot better to pull air through the coop. I wish I could open the big windows at night, but we have so many night predators, I fear I would lost them all in no time. Here are more pics. The last one is of the spaces below the coop. Looks cozy too, lol.
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Beautiful coop

 

[Buffy Brahma Mama]

Beautiful coop

Thank you! Seemed to take forever to build and certainly not perfect : )

 

[Buffy Brahma Mama]

Adorable coop! I don't know about your weather, but we've got high humidity so it feels like it's 105 degrees & I've got tons of windows open yet they still prefer to stay out on the gazebo perches, it's just too darned hot.

It would be healthier for the hens to not allow too many roos overmating in the first place by just having one or two roosters with the hens.

How big is your coop in measurements?

This one is approx. 9 x 11 I believe, with lots of outdoor space (no run attached, instead a movable fence that can be expanded based upon the area it's placed in).