Hen doesn't want to go in the coop at night

[ml143333]

Houdini, is one of our barred rock hens. She is also the one that had wry neck back in early August. We were able to nurse her back to health with the help of some great people here!

Flash forward to last week...we noticed that she was holding her neck funny again so we isolated her for a few days and nursed her. Her neck was good and she was back with the flock in a matter of two days. I guess once they have wry neck they are more susceptible?

Once we put her back with the flock, she seemed okay. No one bothered her but she did stick close to our rooster, Bob. One night, she accidentally got left out of the coop at night. We have a fully enclosed run (sides, top and bottom) that is predator proof. The hardware cloth is 2 foot deep in the ground around the perimeter and all hardware cloth that is stapled into the coop or run is secured again with 2 x 4s over it. So she was safe, but I sure felt bad when she met me at the run door Saturday morning. I picked her up and loved on her as she is always wanting to be picked up.

So...now, when all the other hens and Bob go in the coop at night, she sits in the coop door so you can't close it. We literally have to pick her up and put her in the coop. She will no longer sit on the roosts with the other birds. She either roosts on the floor or in a low nesting box.

She is eating and pooping just fine. He neck seems to be okay.

Any ideas?

 

[Scott16475]

I was logging on to tell almost the same story. None of our girls have any neck problems, but over the past week or so, we have a hen who has decided to roost right where the ramp meets the entry way to the coop. The first night she started doing this, I went out well after dark to shut the coop door and realized I closed it on her (thanks to a short whine noise) and ever since then, she has decided to roost in that same spot each night. The second night, I made the mistake of reaching down to push her into the coop when she pulled her neck back and then quickly lunged her neck forward to nip me. Although it didn't hurt, I have since started grabbing this short broom and gently pushing her into the coop and then I let down the door. I think this one girl has decided to stand watch and has opted to do so from the top of the ramp.


I'm pretty confident that she's roosting inside the coop at night (although I can't be certain) because they can hear me walking towards the coop in the mornings and I tend to hear them jumping down from the roost.

It's an annoying game she and I play each night.