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.

 

[jxp]

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

Yes. The coop sits just outside the back door which is all glass and the nesting boxes are on the near side by design. I can see her easily when she's there.

 

[BoundlessLove]

I have also used mealworms to train young chickens to go into the coop and not stay in the run.
Something I’ve been doing for years: We have put hay in the coop (not run area) making it more appealing during the cold winter weather.
Even with extra roosting bars and plenty of space, I Still have a couple of hens that do not like to roost, and they sleep in the hay.
No feed and No water in the coop, but only in their run.

 

[jxp]

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:

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.

They get their evening snack of lettuce, kale, or other green in the run. Everyone comes running in from all corners of the yard even before I can say "chick chick". Lately I have been closing the gate while they're eating. Partly to encourage Sherry and partly to remind them it's not the end of the world to not have access to the great wide open at all times. (Thus, hopefully, they're not needlessly disturbing the neighbors with complaints.) When I go out after dark to check, she's bedded down huddled in a corner of the run. If it's nice, I'll leave her, if near cold, I'll put her inside the coop. Sometimes she stays without me needing to block the door. Sometimes not so much.

 

[jxp]

I have also used mealworms to train young chickens to go into the coop and not stay in the run.
Something I’ve been doing for years: We have put hay in the coop (not run area) making it more appealing during the cold winter weather.
Even with extra roosting bars and plenty of space, I Still have a couple of hens that do not like to roost, and they sleep in the hay.
No feed and No water in the coop, but only in their run.

The only time that food was ever in the coop was last winter when temps were in the low single digits for two days in a row. I know this might cause some northerners to roll their eyes but where I live, that's pretty cold for the girls.

 

[BoundlessLove]

The only time that food was ever in the coop was last winter when temps were in the low single digits for two days in a row. I know this might cause some northerners to roll their eyes but where I live, that's pretty cold for the girls.

No eye rolling here. I live in middle Tennessee.

 

[jxp]

A couple of pictures.

Here's the nest boxes and where she has been bedding down underneath. Note the proximity of the patio door.

And here's the ramp and door inside the run. The tall PVC tube on the left holds feed. This is one of the two corners where she sleeps when the run gate is closed. If varmints were a regular problem, I'd imagine this would be their target and she'd avoid the area at night, so. . .

 

[BDutch]

Partly to encourage Sherry and partly to remind them it's not the end of the world to not have access to the great wide open at all times. (Thus, hopefully, they're not needlessly disturbing the neighbors with complaints.)

!

When I go out after dark to check, she's bedded down huddled in a corner of the run.

If you have no cozy bedding in the run at all , she might prefer the coop with a luxury bedded corner and a low roost? .