hens leaving big coop and roosting in little coop?

[bucky52]

I started out with three hens.DH built a 4x4x6 coop.A year later I so enjoyed my hens.I wanted more.He built a larger coop within 15 feet of the small one.they all share the same run.so now I have 10 hens.five would roost in the little house and five would roost in the big house.A few months ago .one of the hens started roosting in the small coop.than a few weeks later another hen joined the flock in the small coop.this past week another hen left the big coop and started roosting in the little coop.I have two hens roosting in the bigger coop which is 10x6x8.and eight hens roosting in the little coop.I am puzzled as what is going on.

 

[TwoCrows]

Last year we built a new larger coop than the original coop they chickens had been in. The chickens were cramped in, getting frost bitten combs, and hated going to roost at night in the old coop. When we built the new coop, all of a sudden the chickens wanted back in the old coop! Chickens are creatures of habit. These habits in the wild would keep them alive. You have to break them of these old habits and if you want them to use the larger coop, you will have to block them out from using the smaller coop or remove it. They will probably continue to use the older one if you let them.

 

[bucky52]

The three that left the big coop were raised in it.The large coop is nice and roomy.My thinking is that they feel safer all crowded in the smaller coop.tonight I am going to take two of the younger ones and put them on the roost in the larger coop.