Hen not going in at night

[jxp]

I have 2 hens born spring 2023 and 2 pullets from this past spring. I live in a suburb and a few years ago when we installed a privacy fence we also dug a trench and laid a 1'/30cm wide by 1'/30cm deep concrete curb the entire perimeter. We set the bottom of the fence ~1cm (<1/2") above this to keep pests out and dogs and chickens in.

There is no door on the coop which opens into a run which in turn is only closed during gardening season unless I'm outside to supervise. The rest of the year they free range the entire yard. This has worked very well until a couple of weeks ago when we were woken in the middle of the night with all 4 chickens and 2 ducks very upset and letting us know about it.

We grabbed flashlights and went out to find everyone in the run. They were all talking over each other telling us about the frightening trauma they had just suffered. After a half hour inspection of every nook and cranny by 2 humans with lights and 4 dogs not needing them we came up empty. The dogs did sense something had been there and trailed it a bit but ultimately couldn't get a lock on it so the dogs were put inside and the chickens were coaxed back to the coop to finish the night.

The next day and the day after that, the dogs kept hitting on a certain spot at the back of the concrete pad that held the heat pump. Sure enough there was a 2"/5cm hole when I moved a rake that was leaning there. Connor stuck his nose in and told me not only had we found the right place but the tenant was most likely home. The three boys began digging and I went and got the hose. The boys sat back and we waited. After some time, a vole swam out and took off. He made it no more than 10'/3m. Good boy, Elijah, extra Scooby snacks for you! I kept the water going for another 10 minutes to see if anyone else was down there but it seems he was a bachelor. I turned off the spigot and added a couple splashes of castor oil to the water receding down the vole hole then placed some hardware cloth over the muddy area temporarily in order to keep Quackers and McDiver from enjoying the mud and ingesting the castor oil.

Since that whole episode, one of the hens - a sex-linked red named Sherry - will settle down for the night outside under the nest boxes. If it's below ~40F/4C I'll go out and put her inside the coop. Sometimes she'll stay in, sleeping either in one of the nesting boxes or on the floor near the roosts. Other times she'll come down the ramp and settle in a remote corner of the run. I'm pretty laid back and let the birds be happy where they want to be for the most part but with this single digits coming up followed by the possibility of white stuff, I'd really feel better if she'd go to the coop on her own. Twice I've pulled up the ramp against the opening like a door because winter winds were blowing but I don't want to have to do that every night. The ladies are early risers and are not happy when I'm not.

One thought I have is that since she is a supposedly short-lived breed, she may be having trouble getting up to the roost at night and that's why she's sleeping on the floor. TBH, she may have been sleeping on the floor for a while. I go out around an hour before sunset and give them their bedtime snack and say goodnight. They put themselves to bed whenever they're ready.

The coop is more confined than the great wide open. My guess is if the vole had gotten into the coop that night and she was on the floor, she probably had a much closer encounter than the others. Perhaps her instincts are telling her it's safer out than in.

I've got a few logs from a maple tree that are about as long and big around as a person's forearm. I'm thinking perhaps she might feel better about being inside if I arrange one of them in there as a floor level roost for her.

Sorry so long but I know some of y'all like the details. Any other ideas on why her sleeping habits have changed or what I might try doing for her going forward?

 

[BoundlessLove]

Hi there, jxp.
Do you know if Sherry just started this after the vole discovery?

 

[BDutch]

I can tell you how I get my chickens inside. I give my chickens some scratch in the run around sunset/if i want to lock them up. Sometimes I give a few dried mealworms too. They all come without any problems, and I lock them all up in the coops/run area. When its getting dark they all go a their favorite coop to sleep.

From time to time one or 2 of my chickens try to sleep in a nearby hedge or in the pear tree next to the coop. With this regime it’s easily solved.

Maybe it can work for you too bc:

There is no door on the coop which opens into a run which in turn is only closed during gardening season unless I'm outside to supervise.

If your chickens are locked up in the run/coop combination, they find a sleeping spot from there. And not somewhere outside in your garden.
Adding an extra low roost might help if she prefers to sleep alone or doesn’t want to sleep with the flock.

I have 1 hen who prefers to sleep alone in s small prefab. The other chickens divide themselves over a selfbud extension and an updated childrens playhouse with 2 roosts. Bc my run is not as safe as the coops, I made auto pop doors on them. So in the morning after sunrise they can always go into the run (about 3x5 meters for 8 bantams) and I don’t have to get out early at all.