Is this normal behavior?

[SarahBowling6608]

View attachment 1527323 I have 15 plymouth rock hens and 1 lakenvelder rooster. They are all about 5 months old.

I have a raised coop with a fenced in run for them. I included a picture if that helps at all. The corner I circled is where all 16 of them like to sleep in a giant heap. Last night it stormed pretty severely (the kind of rain where you can see the sheets of rain moving across) and they still just sat there getting soaked.

They will not go in the coop at night. They go in during the day. They even hop around on the roost in there. But when it’s time to sleep they all go to the far corner (not even under the coop).

Last night I finally went out and got soaked and picked them each up and locked them in the coop. They have food and water in there so I left them in there all day since it was cooler today.

Anyway, all that to ask if I should be concerned. Will they ever learn to roost? Will they learn to go in the coop? Should I keep them in the coop for a few days so they learn that that’s home?

 

[Chad Oftedal]

Hello!

It appears your picture didn't quite attach - just FYI.

How big is your coop? How long have they known that is their coop? In other words, were they locked in to the coop for a period of time to establish that as "home" and then let out to the run? Is there anything that ever happened to them while in the coop that would make them wary of it? Also, is it easy for them to get in and out of? Generally, if they realize that is their place to sleep - even if on the floor and not using the roost right away - they'll want to use it at night. If it is too hot, or too small, or some other thing going on that causes them fear, they may avoid it.

In my case, mine would use the coop, but chose to sleep on the floor in a pile, much like you describe. I never forced them on to the roost, just let them figure it out on their own. Eventually, they just did, and now they all use the roost. Goofy birds.

Anyway, if you can expand on any thoughts that might even remotely give them pause to use the coop, that might help folks brainstorm with some ideas.

Oh, and some folks report success with using a night light in the coop - as it gets close to dusk, the light inside can help draw them in as they feel safe. Then, you can turn the light off after they are all inside. Just something that I have seen others suggest and have success with.

 

[21hens-incharge]

It is a common issue.
Since they were human raised they need to be taught where to sleep.
It really doesn't take long. To teach mine I would go out just after dusk and put them in.

Yours have been doing this quite a while from the sounds of things.
Closing them inside the coop for several days should help a lot.

Chad makes good points.

If the coop is to small to house all the birds some will still choose to stay outside. That leads to more joining them until they are all outside.

 

[muddy75]

we moved ours outside at around 4 weeks old with a smaller run in front of the door. after the first week of wrangling them in at night, they started going in on their own and we removed the small run. the turkeys on the other hand are a bit more stubborn. i still have to make them go in their house at dark as they prefer to sleep under the chicken coop!

 

[dalasgalas]

Mine sleep under the cactus plants next to my back door. The cactus is really thick and they just pile up on top of each other. In the winter I grab them up and stuff them in the sleep box in the run. It's insulated and dry. After about two weeks of stuffing them in there they put themselves to bed. They resume sleeping in the cactus when it gets hot again.

If you just keep putting them in there chances are they will just start doing it.

 

[SarahBowling6608]

Sorry about the picture not attaching. This is the coop. Still needs paint. -_- There are windows on both sides so the breeze can get through. It should be plenty big enough for them and as far as I know nothing happened in there that would have upset them.

They’ve always slept outside since I put them out there, I guess they must just see the run as Home instead of the coop. I hadn’t worried about it much until they didn’t even go under the coop during the storm. We live in Michigan and winter is coming sooner than I’d like to admit so they really need to go in the coop.

I’ll keep them in there for a few days to see if that helps.

Thank you!

 

[Twoleggedmotherhen]

I have a string of LED bluish white lights stapled to the 2x4s and on a timer. Just have to change the timer as it gets darker earlier. Older hens never had a problem going to roost, chicks learned to go in coop. Had to put them in and lock them in nightly for a couple of weeks, then they started doing it on their own.

 

[MissChick@dee]

When you FIRST take your new chickens to a new coop you need to put them and keep them inside the coop for at least two days with food and water. You need to TRAIN them that this is Home. So start over...

 

[Chad Oftedal]

View attachment 1527303

Sorry about the picture not attaching. This is the coop. Still needs paint. -_- There are windows on both sides so the breeze can get through. It should be plenty big enough for them and as far as I know nothing happened in there that would have upset them.

They’ve always slept outside since I put them out there, I guess they must just see the run as Home instead of the coop. I hadn’t worried about it much until they didn’t even go under the coop during the storm. We live in Michigan and winter is coming sooner than I’d like to admit so they really need to go in the coop.

I’ll keep them in there for a few days to see if that helps.

Thank you!

Good job getting the picture, that definitely helps. If you happen to have one of the inside, that'd be great as well.

I don't know that there is anything significant about the corner that they picked. Maybe just where they decided to start early on.

So this is just a string of thoughts from what I can see from the picture, and just things to think about - purely trying to be helpful, not judging.

It looks like the feed and water is in their coop? I don't see it in the picture in the run, so I'm just guessing unless you take it in and out of the run each day, it's actually available to them inside the coop?

From just silly guessing at the picture on my part, is that coop about 8 ft x 8 ft? If so, that would put you right on the rule of thumb of 4 sq. ft. per bird guideline. It's certainly not hard and fast rule, but it seems to serve most folks well. However, if you do have feed and water inside, that is taking up some floor space from the coop, and the nest boxes - presumably are inside as well - are also taking away from some of that space. If my guesses are close - and they are just guesses, that's making things just a bit tight in there. Enough to keep them out? Hard to say.

The window there looks nice, and I'm guessing from what you describe, there is another one approximately the same size on the other side. If that is all the ventilation there is, you might be on the low side for what you want to have. If that were the case, it might be a bit warm in there, and that could keep them out of the coop. Is there by chance open (but covered with hardware cloth) soffits up on the high side of the roof slope? It might be a good place to add some additional ventilation if needed.

As far as roost bars go on the inside, how many bars do you have, and how long are they? Another rough guide is 12" per bird. With 16 birds, you're looking at 16 total feet of roost bars with about 12-14" of space between the bars so the birds aren't bumped up against each other. Mine like to squish together on the bars - except one - and so they don't use their 12" personal bird space, but it is there for them if they want it. I think that's a good thing for them to have as an option and let them choose to take advantage or not. If they don't have the choice, or they don't think there is enough room, it might be enough in their minds to opt out of going in there at night.

Anyway, it looks like you've got a good solid setup going there (nice job!), and maybe you'll need a tweak or two, but I'll bet it won't take too much effort to get them settling inside at night. Pics of the inside and some rough dimensions will help keep the ideas rolling your way.

 

[aart]

We live in Michigan and winter is coming sooner than I’d like to admit so they really need to go in the coop.

Yes, yes it is. Although the cooling weather feels great, snow is inevitable.
Chad has asked all the questions I would have, thanks @Chad Oftedal !
Ventilation and light look to be lacking.
You're going to want some light in there for during those days long winter storms,
and some roofing for run.
Is that plastic mesh on the run?

I’ll keep them in there for a few days to see if that helps.

That should help, watch the temp inside tho. Have they ever slept inside the coop??