Hen won't go into coop at night

[vinita1980]

Hi! I am writing because for the 6th or 7th night out of the last 2 weeks, I've gone to check on my hens and found Gertrude sitting on top of my little coop, rather than in it. I have an automatic door that I created that closes half an hour after dark. She's already settled on top of the coop before the door closes so she definitely has had time to go inside. (The other 3 hens are all inside.) Any suggestions of how I can break her of this new habit? Thanks!

PS: They have 2 roost bars and the coop I have is the Clubhouse coop.

 

[countrygirl345]

The one surefire way to fix this problem is to lock your chickens in the coop 24/7 or let them out in the middle of the day only. If you make sure they are all in a few hours before dark and lock it up, and do this for a few days to a week, then you should break the bad habit.

 

[aart]

That coop is barely big enough for 4 birds.....roosts are kind of close to wall and each other......that is probably why she is roosting outside.

 

[lazy gardener]

That coop is less than 5 square feet inside. The standard recommendation is for 4 square feet per bird in the coop, and 10 square feet per bird in the run. The perches are so close together and so close to the wall that I doubt that any of the hens could even roost on the back perch. Have you looked at how they are roosting at night? Seen if that back perch is being used? The perches look to be quite small in diameter. May be uncomfortable for a hen's feet. The gal who's roosting outside the coop... Is she at the bottom of the pecking order? An other issue may be that the perches are so close to the floor. Chickens like to perch high. It's part of their instinctive drive to avoid predation at night. So, she may feel more secure on top of the coop. But unless there is a secure run enclosing the whole coop, she's at risk to every night time creature out there. What is your climate? It's so helpful when folks put some general information about their location in their profile. It helps when trying to problem solve. Hopefully, you can get this problem solved for her.

 

[vinita1980]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. Seems like I need to build a new coop or extend the coop. A good project for the spring.

I don't think she's the bottom of the pecking order--but I think she's a bit blind, so it may be she can't see the roosting bars well. The others haven't seemed to mind. I have a large run (10'x16', see picture) but I understand why coop size might be too small.



In terms of location, I'm in Silver Spring, MD. Temps have been in the 40s on nights when I've gone out and found her on the roof.

Thanks again!

 

[lazy gardener]

At least your coop roof has a cover OVER it, and appears to be somewhat predator proof.