Help to get my chickens to go into the coop

[SissyJ]

Agree that a light inside would help. Even one of those dollar store stick-on ones. Is it completely dark outside when you go out and move them in?

It is, but they won't go in at night on their own.

 

[FunClucks]

Those pics help us to help you immensely!

Do you have a roost bar inside the coop?

ETA I think you may need more cross breeze, or ventilation above their head, depending on how hot or humid or still your air usually is. I wonder how hot it gets with that metal roof.

How/where are they sleeping at night right now (since they aren't using the coop)?

Just so you know, almost any predator can get through chicken wire. It's only useful for keeping chickens in, not predators out. Racoons can reach through the 1"x2" openings in your run sides and grab chickens while they sleep, so the metal around the bottom of the run is an excellent idea. The chicken wire might help deter hawks, but that's about it I think. Racoons can climb up and go through the top of the run, through the chicken wire, so if you have racoons around, you might look into best ways to protect against them that would work with your management style. Dogs, hot wire, there's other options too, but those are pretty common.

Getting your chickens into your secure coop at night is a really good idea, IMO. Also, I see some hardware cloth on your coop that is secured with staples, without wood trim over the staples, up above the coop door next to where you have the roof ventilation at the edges. Might want to put some wood trim over the hardware cloth and staples up there, to make it more secure from predators who can climb. Racoons can pull the staples out and remove hardware cloth. Screwing wood trim in place over the hardware cloth, or using large fender washers and screws to secure hardware cloth instead of staples is recommended.

 

[SissyJ]

Those pics help us to help you immensely!

Do you have a roost bar inside the coop?

ETA I think you may need more cross breeze, or ventilation above their head, depending on how hot or humid or still your air usually is. I wonder how hot it gets with that metal roof.

How/where are they sleeping at night right now (since they aren't using the coop)?

Just so you know, almost any predator can get through chicken wire. It's only useful for keeping chickens in, not predators out. Racoons can reach through the 1"x2" openings in your run sides and grab chickens while they sleep, so the metal around the bottom of the run is an excellent idea. The chicken wire might help deter hawks, but that's about it I think. Racoons can climb up and go through the top of the run, through the chicken wire, so if you have racoons around, you might look into best ways to protect against them that would work with your management style. Dogs, hot wire, there's other options too, but those are pretty common.

Getting your chickens into your secure coop at night is a really good idea, IMO. Also, I see some hardware cloth on your coop that is secured with staples, without wood trim over the staples, up above the coop door next to where you have the roof ventilation at the edges. Might want to put some wood trim over the hardware cloth and staples up there, to make it more secure from predators who can climb. Racoons can pull the staples out and remove hardware cloth. Screwing wood trim in place over the hardware cloth, or using large fender washers and screws to secure hardware cloth instead of staples is recommended.

Thank you! I really appreciate the input!