Need help from you experts, is this normal?

[garden chick]

This is our first time raising chickens so I am learning. I open the run in the morning and let the girls roam, and when it starts to get dark, they file themselves into the run, up the ladder and instead of going in the coop, they pile themselves on the door, roosting in the doorway. (We have five, so two get stuck below). They have a roosting pole in the coop, but they for some reason do not want to go all the way in. My husband usually picks them up and forces them in, placing them on the roosting pole inside.

Is this normal? Are they ok not being in the coop to sleep? Do I need to place an actual door there? If I do, they wont have access to their water/food which is under the coop in the run.

Thanks for any advice

 

[lazy gardener]

This is our first time raising chickens so I am learning. I open the run in the morning and let the girls roam, and when it starts to get dark, they file themselves into the run, up the ladder and instead of going in the coop, they pile themselves on the door, roosting in the doorway. (We have five, so two get stuck below). They have a roosting pole in the coop, but they for some reason do not want to go all the way in. My husband usually picks them up and forces them in, placing them on the roosting pole inside.

Is this normal? Are they ok not being in the coop to sleep? Do I need to place an actual door there? If I do, they wont have access to their water/food which is under the coop in the run.

Thanks for any advice

I am also having the same problem. Only one of my roos goes up first and plops himself smack in the middle of the doorway. Then every one else ends up being stuck outside on the little "porch" which is a 16" x 27" piece of plywood. Then, there's "Stew", the dominant roo who is not smart enough to figure out the ramp, and he spends the night on the ground. He's a whole other issue, destined for the stew pot because he has a mean streak a mile long. He spends his days in solitary confinement. If you solve the issue, let me know!!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

It would possibly help to put a small battery-powered light in there, to draw them in for the night until they get used to going in by themselves.

Another thing that may help is to keep the food in the coop for awhile.

 

[chachie]

My hens did the same thing. I have a similar setup with my tractor but I have a sliding door attached to a pulley and string. The first night I had to physically put them in but the second night they went in on their own. I keep their food in the coop at all times. I open the door in the am and close the door after they put themselves to bed.

 

[lubird]

We had that problem with our girls when we first got them. We actually put them into the coop at night and lock the door then let them out in the morning. After a few days they were going in on their own.