Nightime troubles

[Penelope1989]

Hi! I need a bit of advice. I work at a farm and we raise around 200 hens for eggs. We've raised them for over 8 years and never had this problem
before. The problem is they aren't going into the back half of the coop at night, which is causing a traffic jam in the door. The hens outside will all be crowded on the ramp to get inside but can't push their way passed the ones inside. We use an automatic door so this causes hens to be left out over night. We had previously trained them to go in at night and had no problems for a few weeks but all the sudden they've started doing this. They have plenty of empty roosting space in the back but choose to roost in or around the nesting boxes. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Little Chicken Mama]

Is there something in the back of the coop they are not liking?

 

[Mutchi]

Hmm, how hot is it were you are? Cus they could be getting hot in the coop, there for going out.

 

[Penelope1989]

Hmm, how hot is it were you are? Cus they could be getting hot in the coop, there for going out.

It's pretty hot here. Around 95 today. That might be the problem because they started not going onto the back roosts, which are higher than the ones connected to the nesting boxes, right around the time it started getting really hot. The only thing that confuses me about that is that they're super crowded together when they stay by the door. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Penelope1989]

Is there something in the back of the coop they are not liking?

Not that I'm aware of. The only thing that's different is that there's a part of the floor that is only 1/2 wire fencing but they wouldn't have to stand on it to get onto the roosts. There's not a problem with predators either. They'll go into the back during the day and had no problem going back there before but ever since we've moved them out on pasture they've always favored the front of the coop even to the point of being two or three chickens deep in some areas. Luckily I managed to stop them from piling though. But it's never been so bad that the others couldn't get in.

 

[3KillerBs]

Better put in a thermometer and compare the temperatures in and out.

Do you use passive ventilation or active ventilation? Are your vents clear of blockage and your fans, if any, running well?

 

[tigger19687]

I would just keep the door open till it cools off. It is probably the heat so check inside temp
Also if they got scared of something in the rear... mouse, snake.. more likely a snake to scare them. Small and easy to miss.

 

[Penelope1989]

I would just keep the door open till it cools off. It is probably the heat so check inside temp
Also if they got scared of something in the rear... mouse, snake.. more likely a snake to scare them. Small and easy to miss.

Most of the coop is very open already there's a 1ft tall strip on two of the walls that's covered by 1/2 wire fencing and over half of the door is chicken wire .
The coop is on basically a trailer so we can move them to fresh ground weekly. This would make it hard for anything to get inside, even a mouse.

 

[Mutchi]

Most of the coop is very open already there's a 1ft tall strip on two of the walls that's covered by 1/2 wire fencing and over half of the door is chicken wire .
The coop is on basically a trailer so we can move them to fresh ground weekly. This would make it hard for anything to get inside, even a mouse.

bu snakes are small and slim. they can get almost anywere

 

[Penelope1989]

Better put in a thermometer and compare the temperatures in and out.

Do you use passive ventilation or active ventilation? Are your vents clear of blockage and your fans, if any, running well?

I'll try that. There's a lot of passive ventilation so it doesnt feel that much hotter inside but the coop is tall so it could be hotter in the top.