I may have caused a problem....

[#lovemychickens]

This is my first time owning chickens and I believe I have made a few mistakes.. over the last month our temperatures have been dropping and we had several days of below freezing temperatures. We put a heat lamp in our coop for a couple of days and then I read that chickens don’t need heat lamps that they are able to stay warm with their down and feathers providing they are shielded from the elements. So we removed the heat lamp from the coop. Now they don’t go in the coop at dusk and they no longer roost on their bars. For the past 4 days we have had to round them up from the run. It’s like they don’t know what to do. I believe I have confused them. How do I fix this? Will they go back into the coop and roost again at dusk or will we have to continue to put them in there? I feel horrible that I messed up their routine.

 

[apryl29]

You'll probably get other responses, but if you think it's that they're not going in bc it's dark in the coop you could get an LED light and have it turn on for a bit in the evening. They have timers so you can set it to turn on/ off whenever you want. Since LED light bulbs don't get hot like heat lamps you don't have the fire risk. I have a timer that turns my coop light on at 6 am, then off at 8 am, then turns back on at 4 pm and back off at 8 pm. Some people say the light helps keep them laying in the winter, but so far mine have slowed greatly over the past week.

 

[Zoomie]

I guess it depends on your situation: how big your coop is, how many birds in there, is the food and water in there. If you have a good sized coop with not a ton of birds, and the food and water is in there, I'd be inclined to just lock them in for a few days to remind them about where they roost and sleep. If your coop is crowded or small, the food and water are NOT in there, in that case all you can really do is chase them in there.

I put my chickens in the coop at night because sometimes I need to leave before they "go to bed" and I want them locked up good and tight for protection. They quickly learned that I wanted them to go in the coop. The first week we were at cross purposes (they kept trying to run up to me believing I had food) but now they understand what they should do, and when I start to walk after them at night they run over and hop in the coop. They are not bird brains, and are able to learn and understand relatively quickly.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

When are you rounding them up? Maybe it’s earlier than they would normally go to roost?
When I first got my chickens they had been totally free ranged, but I needed to coop them. The first night, I went out, they were all on the roost. I went out once it was just past dusk, so I was pretty sure they would be roosted by then. I removed them one by one and put them into the coop. The second night, I did the same thing at the same time. By the 3rd night, they were all in the coop. Now, I just go out after dusk and close the door.
However, once I went out before they were all roosting (it was just dusk) and if I had tried to put them in the coop, I’m pretty sure I would have had to round them up from the run. But, they were starting to hop up onto the roost from there they jump into the coop. So, I went back inside - came out after dusk and they were all in the coop.

 

[#lovemychickens]

Our coop is 4x12 and the run is 16x20. We have 8 chickens. The food and water is now in the coop since our MN winter is around the corner. It’s usually dark by 6 and we have had to get them in there usually around 6:30 or so. They used to go in on their own when it was dusk but now it’s pitch dark out and the are all outside. I think the heat lamp confused them. When it was in there, it kept the whole coop lit up at night.

 

[orrpeople]

Our coop is 4x12 and the run is 16x20. We have 8 chickens. The food and water is now in the coop since our MN winter is around the corner. It’s usually dark by 6 and we have had to get them in there usually around 6:30 or so. They used to go in on their own when it was dusk but now it’s pitch dark out and the are all outside. I think the heat lamp confused them. When it was in there, it kept the whole coop lit up at night.

Chickens are not fans for anything new So, any time there's a change-up (and I mean, sometimes a tiny change-up), be prepared for putting them all, individually, to bed and re-teaching the "it's now time to go to your coop" routine. It will get better, but it takes about a week.

 

[BYC910]

Just change the heat lamp for a regular red light bulb twenty five watt should be fine . .They have just become accustomed to the light being on all the time . So turning it off did confused them . The red light staying on all night will not affect their sleep . If you use a timer make sure you put it in a dry location .

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Maybe just lock them in the coop as suggested. I was told I would have to lock my birds in for a week; but, I tried it the way I explained up above first. If that didn’t work, then I would have tried locking them in for the week as suggested. I have a smaller coop/run set up so maybe that’s why it worked for my birds (they are probably older than yours as well). I think whatever you do, keep a routine. They seem to like routine. My chickens have learned their routine here already - 3 weeks of it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree they don't like change, but at the same time they will adapt. Don't beat yourself up, they will soon get over it.

Do you have a window so they can see to go to bed? Do hey have enough light outside, maybe form street lamps or a security lamp, that it stays light outside? It may be possible that by the time they are ready to go to bed it's too dark to see inside. A dim light on a timer may be the answer. Or more window.

I sometimes have to train birds to go into the coop at night. Since yours were roosting on the roosts before I'll assume they are a bit older than young chicks. I also assume it is all the chickens, not just a few. If it's just a few of them the whole situation changes. When I train them to go into the coop at night, I occasionally only have to do that once. Sometimes it takes three weeks for all of them to catch on. You've only been putting them in four days. Keep it up, they should catch on.

 

[lazy gardener]

Do you have windows in your coop? They may be staying out too late, and by the time they WOULD go in, it's dark in the coop, so they are avoiding it. If you don't have a lot of natural lighting in your coop, I'd suggest addressing that first. You might try using a little solar landscaping light as a night light. I have one in my coop window. I really don't need it now, b/c they are not getting supplemental lighting. But a little night light in the coop might scare the boogey man away for them.