My new coop, see anything wrong?

[weeders n feeders]

After my new coop was completed I had to encourage them in each night for about a week. A few took to it right away but a few wanted to try out other posts like yours for a while but after the week they all went in on their own. Mine do NOT ramps no matter how I build them, what angle or what material. They'd rather fly so my solution was a large stump just to the side of the pop door which folds down to make a porch(where yours folds up). I put a little grain on the stump and then on the pop door porch they would hop to to stump and eat then hop to the porch and eat then I'd shoo them on in. All food is underneath the coop where it stays dry,is easy for me to get to and doesn't take up coop space. My coop is raised about four feet above ground.
In my opinion(and it is my own and everyone is free to have their own) I would not lock them up in the coop 24/7 for any time only at night. If I was locked in my bedroom for days at a time the I would probably find another place to sleep at night too cause I want to be able to get out during the day and I don't want to go to a place where I might not be able to get out of in the morning.
All that said I do now have one that at least once a week decides she's going to sleep under the roof of the coop on top of the hardware cloth ceiling instead of inside it.
Bottom line just keep putting them in each night and they will get the idea soon. Change and training for most things takes a bit of time.

 

[Katydid2011]

As others have said regarding the roost, it's best to use the 4" side of a 2x4 so their feet are flat. I'd replace the perch. If the birds are used to sleeping on the ground, getting up on a round roost pole will be even harder for them. They'll want to be where they can sit solidly. If you find that they're still not catching on after you provide a flat perch, simply go out after dark and move them onto the perch. After a couple of days of waking up there they'll catch on.

 

[Darklingstorm]

might also try adding a light so they can see inside. This helped mine and after a few days I took the light out and they went in without any problem.

 

[NovaAman]

I have both types of perches... I have 2-2x4s, 1-2in dowel, 1-3inch ladder style perch(poop falls right thru, is great) and 1-2x6 that my fat rooster prefers, and then an 8 in window seat thats 1.5 ft up that the silkies prefer and a 6inch wide self that my big girls prefer. I started out with just the 2x4s and there was alot of grumbling and complaining at night, so I added the shelf, then they all wanted to fight over the shelf, so I added the 2x6 thats 4 feet long and that helped alot. My neighbor gave me a dowel and said that his birds really liked it, but I was very hesitant, yet put it up, and yup, they use that too, and lastly I added the window seat and the ladder style (i think its for plates that sit on shelfs) and they ALL love the ladder one. Only the silkies like the window seat. Weird little birds anyway.

I am guessing that your birds keep roosting outside the coop because it is more comfy on the 2x4 than the round. Other than that, I think your coop is great. Nice and simple. About the food outside getting wet, get a bike hook, hang it up under the coop.

 

[ts72712]

Quote:
My "momma hen" (the only one of the two that seems to be laying, and has been for a month) had gone in and out of the coop 4 or 5 times today! And the boys have all been messing around on the ramp because of it so I hope tonight I wont have to catch them! I was worried they wasn't smart enough for a nipple watering system but if they catch on this quick about their new coop then they are certainly smart enough for that!

[Edit] She finnally layed her egg in the coop in the normal spot.

 

[ts72712]

As for the roost poles I do have two 3' 4x4s left over from the coops legs I'll just lay in there. I didn't wanna crowd up the inside of the coop and let them have plenty of space, but it just occurred to me that the roost poles are the main feature in the coop.(besides nest boxes) So it's not really "wasting space". As for nest boxes, I wish I could use 5gal buckets like some of you do, but my girls are way to big for those.

yay for brahma(?)

Thanks everyone for the input! I'll keep trying to train them, the coop being 2' off the ground gives them a perfect place to run from me though! lol

"Quick under here! Make daddy crawl to get us! HA HA!"

 

[ozark_chickies]

You have pretty birds, and I see you camo painted your coop

.

 

[ts72712]

I love their feathers, they aren't "zipped up" like normal feathers...except for their tail feathers. Thet have a point thats like normal feathers then the rest of the feather is kinda like hairs.