hen does not come back to coop

ange

Songster
10 Years
Jun 15, 2009
305
2
129
CORNING NY
one of my new barred rock hens, when I LET THEM out in day to free range, at night all come back but one of them. In the morning, I find her outside the coop looking in. She goes in when I open the door and is fine,. I have even checked around when I LOCK the coopm up for the night, and do not see her. She must be sleeping somewhere else, is thius common, has anyone had this before. She is fine, you think she would want to be with her sister and her other hen friends
 
If she has not had her wing clipped she may be roosting at night in a tree.
I would do my best to get her into the hen house at night for fear of nocturnal predators,
Sandie
 
ai agree, how would I get her in to hen house at night. And why does she not want to follow the others?
 
Chickens are not known for their intelligence that being said... I got my 4 girls to go in the coop on their own 4 way's, and it only took them 3 night's to figure it out.

1) first I installed a light fixture. Before dusk I go out and turn the light on. The girls feel safer and more secure in a lighted area. When it get's dark they naturally gravitate to the bright coop.

2) Timing is helpful. Chickens natural instinct is to go inside when it get's dark. To find a safe place to sleep. So when I would go out to put the girls to bed I time it according to the day. When it's almost fully dark I go out, by that time the first couple of night's the girls were very sleepy and easy to handle. So easy that I got into the pen grabbed 2 girls at a time and popped them into the coop and all 4 just complied. No squaking or flapping or running.

3) Diligence. Of course because of 1 and 2 it did not take much of this but every day we got up and let the girls out and got up and put the girls to bed. Same time same pattern. By day 3 3 of the 4 girls had put themselves to bed. By day 4 all 4 are doing it.

4) Treats. I am going to start putting the girls to bed with treats at night. Should give them even more reason to go to bed lol!


I haven't turned off the light at night yet, don't want to scare them with sudden total darkness. So for now I have a light up coop glowing in my back yard but I kinda like it that way and so do the girls it seems. GL hope your chicken's behave and comply!
 

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