How can I stop this???

[coop-er]

Help.. My chickens are roosting in the trees and refusing to go into the coop at night. At first it was just one, then two, and tonight 5 of my hens are up so high in the trees that I cannot get them down. I have to leave them out at night and I am very worried they will be killed, what can I do to fix this??

 

[annelions]

How long have they been using the coop? Do you live in an area where snakes can get in and scare them, making them not want to go in any more?

 

[lightchick]

You could try and get them inside the coop earlier like before they start to fly up in the trees.
Also you could clip their wings.

 

[donrae]

Do you have a run to confine them to? If so, now's the time to use it. If not, it may be time to consider building one...

Chickens are incredible creatures of instinct and habit. Their instincts tell them to roost as high as possible, and once they start they have to be re-trained. You'll need to get them into the coop a good few hours before they usually roost and lock them in. Getting them in may be the tricky part, that's where the run comes in handy! Once you've got them sleeping in the roost for a few weeks, you might try letting them lose again, but no guarantee they won't go back to the trees. I had a trio roost in a tree a good 2+ years with no problems, in all weather. Only way I got them in the coop eventually was building a run and locking all the birds up for good.

 

[coop-er]

Do you have a run to confine them to? If so, now's the time to use it. If not, it may be time to consider building one...

Chickens are incredible creatures of instinct and habit. Their instincts tell them to roost as high as possible, and once they start they have to be re-trained. You'll need to get them into the coop a good few hours before they usually roost and lock them in. Getting them in may be the tricky part, that's where the run comes in handy! Once you've got them sleeping in the roost for a few weeks, you might try letting them lose again, but no guarantee they won't go back to the trees. I had a trio roost in a tree a good 2+ years with no problems, in all weather. Only way I got them in the coop eventually was building a run and locking all the birds up for good. 

We are actually building a new coop and run right now. My current coop is too small for all my birds so maybe that is why they are doing this. If I grab one (if I can reach) and put it in the coop the others will jump down and follow-funny to watch, but I am having to do this every night! I can't round them up early..they won't go near the coop before sundown.