My girls won't roost at night!

[anniebanannie]

I just came on this morning to post the same question. Mine have been going in at night for about 3 months since we moved them outside into their new house. All of a sudden one night they were huddled outside on the top of their coop. It is immaculate inside, pine shavings, roost, a Trixie pen. I thought they would stop and start going inside at night, but I still have to wait till dark when I can pick them up and put them in their coop where it is safe. We only have three and they free range our yard during the day. Very puzzling...any help appreciated too.

 

[sandman55]

Hi anniebanannie it is puzzling when they were already roosting. Some breeds that have more of the wild instinct like bantams like to get up high and safe, they end up in your trees if available. What part of the world are you in? Is the weather more comfortable for them outside?
I would keep putting them on their perch after dark while you try to solve why they are doing it. How high is the roof? You could try clipping one wing http://www.permaculture.co.uk/readers-solutions/how-clip-chickens-wings-beginners is there something you could put their way to keep them off the roof, once you clip their wing and deter them off the roof they might in time forget about it and you may be able to remove what you have put in their way to keep them off the roof only you need to watch them as they learn from each other and if one starts doing again the others follow.

 

[anniebanannie]

I live in Reno Nevada and the weather has been perfect. Even when it was hot they went inside like clockwork. Nothing has changed. It rained all yesterday and they stayed in their covered run but huddled again at night. I have been waiting till dark so they are easy to catch and put them in to roost. Thought this was maybe a common problem, that is why I posted. Oh well, I already go out after dark to lock all their doors and picking them up at the same time is no biggie since I only have three, just another step. Thank you for your reply.

 

[ellend]

Try a lower "starter" roost bar. Also, check for mites; some (usually healthiest) aren't colonized, while others won't even go into the house because of them.

 

[whittychick]

I live in Reno Nevada and the weather has been perfect.  Even when it was hot they went inside like clockwork.  Nothing has changed.  It rained all yesterday and they stayed in their covered run but huddled again at night.  I have been waiting till dark so they are easy to catch and put them in to roost.  Thought this was maybe a common problem, that is why I posted.  Oh well, I already go out after dark to lock all their doors and picking them up at the same time is no biggie since I only have three, just another step.  Thank you for your reply.

Any luck with them roosting by themselves?

 

[anniebanannie]

NO!!!!! They still roost on top of their pen, I go out every night after dark and put them in their pen for the night. I tried containing them in their outside pen that joins their roost and as long as they were locked in they went in to roost. As soon as I let them out to free range during the day, back to not going in. No clue here. Thank you for checking in.

 

[slynng]

Victory (sort of...)! About a week after I last posted (20 week-old hens still huddling in a pile on the floor of the coop), they started roosting and now all eleven of them are on the roost. Or...they were. I have one Golden Comet who was roosting in the coop, but she now insists on roosting up VERY HIGH in the crabapple tree that is inside their pen. When it first happened, I thought she might have been caught outside the fence (I don't always get home before dark and am not there to make sure they are all in when it's time to go to bed) and managed to jump/fly up from outside the fence. Last night I made sure they were all in and then I watched her go over to the compost bin, jump up on it, jump up into the tree and keep jumping and climbing until she was probably 10 feet in the air! Tonight I am going to try to corner her before she makes it up, but once she is up there, I don't think it is worth either of our safeties for me to climb a ladder and try to get her down!

Any ideas why she might be doing this...or if she will stop when it gets colder? It is already getting down into the 30s at night - I don't want her to freeze to death out there on her own! Since it is still warm enough in the evening and chickens (dare I say this?) aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, I am not sure she remembers how cold it was the night before! (She seems to get along fine with the other hens, as far as I can tell, but she does like to get outside the fence more than the others...)

 

[sandman55]

Victory (sort of...)! About a week after I last posted (20 week-old hens still huddling in a pile on the floor of the coop), they started roosting and now all eleven of them are on the roost. Or...they were. I have one Golden Comet who was roosting in the coop, but she now insists on roosting up VERY HIGH in the crabapple tree that is inside their pen. When it first happened, I thought she might have been caught outside the fence (I don't always get home before dark and am not there to make sure they are all in when it's time to go to bed) and managed to jump/fly up from outside the fence. Last night I made sure they were all in and then I watched her go over to the compost bin, jump up on it, jump up into the tree and keep jumping and climbing until she was probably 10 feet in the air! Tonight I am going to try to corner her before she makes it up, but once she is up there, I don't think it is worth either of our safeties for me to climb a ladder and try to get her down!

Any ideas why she might be doing this...or if she will stop when it gets colder? It is already getting down into the 30s at night - I don't want her to freeze to death out there on her own! Since it is still warm enough in the evening and chickens (dare I say this?) aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, I am not sure she remembers how cold it was the night before! (She seems to get along fine with the other hens, as far as I can tell, but she does like to get outside the fence more than the others...)

They like to get up high for safety, birds like bantams that are closer to the wild chickens are notorious for roosting up in trees and they are better survivors against predators than the more domesticated birds. The only thing that I can suggest is 1 clip one wing and 2 create impediments to it's access to the tree like move the compost bin and temporarily attach some chicken wire for a while to the bottom of the tree in the hope it will in time get into the mode of roosting with the other birds, then after dark if it isn't roosting and if it is safe for you to get the bird, manually put it on the perch, even place it between two chickens so that it gets used to the warmth from them

When we buy new birds we have had to put them on the perch after dark to get them used to it otherwise they sleep it the nest box.

 

[whittychick]

NO!!!!!  They still roost on top of their pen, I go out every night after dark and put them in their pen for the night.  I tried containing them in their outside pen that joins their roost and as long as they were locked in they went in to roost.   As soon as I let them out to free range during the day, back to not going in.  No clue here.  Thank you for checking in. 

Bummer!!! Hmmm wonder why they keep doing that? Even my chicks are going in to roost in the big coop now. Hopefully it changes...must be a pain to worry about every night

 

[Romoshka]

Update on my recalcitrant roosting hens: all go inside to roost except 2 and they both insist on roosting outside, in the run, on a bracket affixed to the house that was part of the old watering system. Perhaps if I remove it the last 2 stragglers will go inside.