My hen refuses her coop

[3hens]

One of my 3 hens has been refusing to go into their coop for the past 3 weeks. We cannot catch her and she has found a favorite tree to roost in overnight. During the day, all 3 hens congregate together happily. She seemed to be going through a molt, but only partially. If she is laying, we cannot find the eggs. I'm worried about her becoming ill or being caught by a predator.

 

[Paganbird]

I would be worried about predators, too! Take her out of the tree once she has roosted for the evening & put her in the coop. Hopefully, after a few nights of being "relocated" with the other hens, she'll be more accepting of the coop.

 

[cmom]

I agree. If you can catch her maybe shut them in the coop for a couple of days. Is it hot in the coop?

 

[3hens]

Unfortunately, she has picked a branch about 20 ft. up and roosts half way out. Tree is on a steep hillside and she figured out how to jump form higher up on hill so it's easy for her, but not for us! We have tried luring her with food, but it doesn't work, she would rather go without the best treats. The "chicken round-up" with three people also failed. Once we do catch her Iwill leave her in for a few days and see if it breaks the habit. The temperature in the coop is always confortable and ventilation is good. Thanks for your ideas.

 

[LittleFeat]

Well hopefully she'll just decide to start using the coop again on her own. Also....if she's really hard to catch, maybe she'll be too hard for a predator to catch also!

 

[BroomFarm]

We were having a problem with several of our birds roosting where they shouldn't and also flapping like they were actually capable of flight! We simply clipped the primary feathers on one wing and they are all sufficiently humbled.