Late night party hens.....

[ozzchicken]

2 of my hens won't go into the coop till after dark, like 11 or 12 at night. They stay out in the run and cackle like crazy. Anyone else have hens that do that?????

 

[gryeyes]

Oh my goodness! I have four or five chickens whonpersist in roosting together on my porch railing at night, instead of inside the coop, but they go to sleep.

Now, my ducks, on the other hand, they party all night INSIDE the coop. Bothering the sleeping flock.

 

[ninabeast]

I had no idea my hens were so well behaved! I must give them more treats. Oh, wait. That's not possible.

 

[nakstk]

My girls will go in there coop at dusk. Sometimes in the middle of the night when take my dogs out for a potty break I hear the chickens jumping around in the coop and clucking like kids during a sleep over.

 

[Pele]

I have one girl who used to insist on fallin asleep on TOP of the coop, instead of inside with everyone else. She hates being handled though, so she soon figured out that roosting ON the coop got her man-handled nightly.

 

[millefleur]

My Hamburgs have always nested up in trees if I do not get them in at night (into half of an old barn where they nest high in the rafters). Go figure.

 

[BlazeJester]

My first flock of barred rocks always roosted in a tree - they did not have a run or coop. It is natural for chickens to roost in trees or the highest point they can reach. They frequently take turns keeping an eye out for predators, which are much easier to spot on the ground if you're way up in a tree.

 

[poseygrace]

Could it be the lighting around the run that makes them want to stay? I have a light inside the coop, and it's very dark in the run, so they all march in at sunset.