Need help encouraging them to roost at night

[aart]

Raised floor/roosting area: 2.5 X 4 ft (10 sq. ft)

This is actually your 'coop'... as it's the only enclosed area.
They'll end up sleeping in that nest.
I'd move the nest down below, and add a cover to it, and put an actual roost in this area. Once those birds grow up it may get crowded in there.

Curious.....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!

 

[Cryss]

This is actually your 'coop'... as it's the only enclosed area.
They'll end up sleeping in that nest.
I'd move the nest down below, and add a cover to it, and put an actual roost in this area. Once those birds grow up it may get crowded in there.

Curious.....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!
View attachment 1849435

Good point. I didn't catch that.
Coop and roost are not the same thing. Roost is the actual perch they sleep on which is inside the coop. Nest is not included in coup dimensions. Your downstairs area is not coop, it's a covered run. To roost they need to go upstairs to the coop.

 

[dgriffi3]

Sorry, I'm in Tampa, Florida. I set this account up years ago and only recently started using it again.

I'll move the nesting boxes, thanks. In the long run, I really prefer a run that I can walk in. We used to use an A-frame coop in a walk-in run, but the heat and humidity just destroys wood here so our old coop is no longer functioning and the run is massively overgrown. (We were using a narrow stretch of our yard on the side of our house.) When our neighbors offered us this it seemed like a great way to get started again--though I"ll admit I hadn't realized how much work I would need to put into it to get is secure!

By next year, I hope to connect this smaller run and coop with our larger walk-in.

 

[Cryss]

It’s not a great picture! The coop is attached to the run, and the ramp is inside the coop on the left of the photo. We have so many hawks, I don’t let them free range at all yet. Maybe when they are bigger.

I don’t think there is 1sq ft. per bird yet, but there will be when I expand the floor in a few weeks. Right now the raised floor only covers about a third of the coop area. When they get a little bigger (and I’m less busy!) I will add more.

Thanks!

1sqft per bird? They need 4sqft/bird indoors! And 10sqft/bird in the run! And that's minimal. More room is better. 9 birds need clear floor space (meaning no nests or feeders in that space) of 36sqft. A 4X9 coop would work, but more is better and it doesn't account for chicken math.
The run needs to be 90 sqft or more. A 10X10 would work but again not account for chicken math.
Crowding may also explain 3 not wanting to go inside and crying.
Don't feel bad about not letting them free range. If you give them a large covered run with things of interest they will be fine. I too have numerous hawks and owls. I watch them drooling perched in the tree limbs above the covered run. Nope. Not gonna free range.