Hens sleeping outside and making a racket

[Urbanchooker]

My 4 hens recently started all sleeping outside at night and i wouldnt really mind except we are in a very urban area with fairly close neighbours and the dominant (crazy) hen starts squawking the egg song at like 1am every night. I dont know why!

Other information: we live in new Zealand (so it is summer right now-maybe they want more air?) and there arent really predators here like in other countries. There is a mcdonalds kind of in front of our house, maybe they change the lighting then or something. There are 4 hens, one, Lucille, is moulting (started in January), she started the outdoor sleeping trend.

Why is this outdoor sleeping/squawking happening and what do i do to stop it!? It is too loud! Do i have to start putting them in their henhouse with the door closed at night for awhile? I really like just letting them wander in and out at their leisure especially as we have a baby and a 3 year old who steal most of our attention....help

 

[aart]

the dominant (crazy) hen starts squawking the egg song at like 1am every nigh

Probably an alarm call rather than the 'egg song' they sound similar....could be a predator lurking.

we live in new Zealand (so it is summer right now-maybe they want more air?

That could very well be the case, crowded coops and lack of good ventilation are the main reasons birds choose to roost outside the coop.

Post the dimensions and some pics of your coop(inside and out) and you'll get some suggestions on what the problem might be and how you can fix it.

I really like just letting them wander in and out at their leisure

They may not live long that way...not sure what predators you might have.

Oh, and....Welcome to BYC! @Urbanchooker
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[Peppercorngal]

It's summer and your chickens want to be out in the open air now, mine do that too. I would bet that your hen is sounding an alarm call. Could be from lights and sounds or a real predator is near. Do you have snakes? Rats? Anything that would be lurking at night and scaring your girls? They won't go inside if it's too crowded, too hot (not enough air flow), or too dark. Put a night light in the coop and maybe they will begin to use it again? Maybe they want a fan? Good Luck