I Can’t Get Their Rear Ends Out of the Run At Night!

[SilkieMitch]

Help! I cannot get my Silkies to go into their coop at night! They free range during the day, and they go into their enclosed run with no problem in the evening, but they want to stay in the run, not go in their coop! I have tried adding a light in the coop to lure them up, I have added an extra window to increase ventilation and maybe catch a breeze or two (I’m in Texas, so I thought maybe it was too hot up there for them with the weather being well over 100 during the day), and I just started feeding in there in an attempt to get them to want to go up. Nope, so far I guess they’re happy with all the bugs and such they find in the yard during the day! And yes, I did lock them in the coop for a few days when I first put them in 10 weeks ago (they are now 21 weeks), but they prefer the run.

Last night I decided to start manually putting them in the coop in the evening, but that’s a real pain the butt to do since it involves me on my hands and knees pulling them out of the under-the-coop run (I am never building a run that isn’t “people height” again, btw—lesson learned) and manually sticking them in the coop, one by one. Do you think this will help, or is there something else I should do?

The only real reason I care whether they’re in the run or the coop at night (both are very secure from predators) is because they are nearing laying age, and I want them to use the nest boxes instead of laying all over the yard, like I fear they’re gonna do! They really like snuggling up against my tool shed during the day, and I am afraid they’re gonna make little nests there that I will have a hard time finding.

For reference, here is my coop:

Sorry, I know the pic is terrible—iPad photography is not a talent of mine. The actual coop is 3.5 feet by 3 feet (not including nest box area, which is another foot) and the run is 5 foot by 4.5 foot. It has a long window on the side facing the shed and then the small window for cross breeze. I have 5 bantam Silkies in it, and they free range during the day

 

[AllenK RGV]

Time and patience is all I can say. Mine still huddle and only the newest additions have to be shoved or tossed in on a daily basis. It took about 1 year to get them to that point, but by 6 months they were getting close to the door but still outside. Our coop is just a walk in one and a permanent water point for them as well.

 

[aart]

It's hot, 'airless', and small.
In TX you'd want more of an open air coop/run.

 

[Chickenhappy8708]

How is the roosting situation.

 

[SilkieMitch]

It's hot, 'airless', and small.
In TX you'd want more of an open air coop/run.

Can you explain what you mean by this? How would I build it? The coop has large windows on the longer sides you can’t see from the picture, so it gets a breeze. Would you suggest removing a side of the coop and making it hardware cloth?

 

[SilkieMitch]

How is the roosting situation.

They have two low roosts inside the coop, but they don’t get on the roosts. They’re Silkies, so from my understanding that’s not unusual since they can’t fly. Occasionally they will get on the low roosts if I place the birds in the coop, but it’s rare. They sleep along walls (of the run or the coop) or in a big pile.

 

[Chickenhappy8708]

Try putting a board on the floor, an old branch works fine, nothing wet.

 

[SilkieMitch]

Try putting a board on the floor, an old branch works fine, nothing wet.

Should I put one in the run, too? Or just in the coop since that’s where I want them to sleep? Honestly, they’re almost never in the run since I let them out in the morning and they free range all day. They just sleep in in the run. Maybe I should just add a roost and nesting box to the run?

 

[AllenK RGV]

Should I put one in the run, too? Or just in the coop since that’s where I want them to sleep? Honestly, they’re almost never in the run since I let them out in the morning and they free range all day. They just sleep in in the run. Maybe I should just add a roost and nesting box to the run?

The only way I get mine to roost is by having multiple silkie roosters inside their coop. Then the lower ranking roosters hop up on my wooden veggie crates. Big man on campus stays on the ground with the hens. I do agree with @aart regarding enhancing ventilation and yep you got it more hardware cloth would be a good choice. Additionally, if you are expecting silkies to hop up into a coop...... probably not going to happen in our lifetimes. I have only been keeping the silkies for a year and change and those chicken make me scratch my head all of the time.

 

[Chickenhappy8708]

Should I put one in the run, too? Or just in the coop since that’s where I want them to sleep? Honestly, they’re almost never in the run since I let them out in the morning and they free range all day. They just sleep in in the run. Maybe I should just add a roost and nesting box to the run?

I noticed that you have hardware cloth on the run walls, do you have it or other wire birdied around the edges? If so you can leave them out there safely at night.