Nightly gathering of chickens

[Smashlee83]

About 6 months ago I lost all but two of my flock to predators (mostly raccoons) because my birds stopped sleeping inside their coop. Even my amazing roo, started insisting on sleeping outside the coop and was taken. I have two girls left and they consistently go into their coop and roost. Now I have 3 teenagers that have been out with the adults for about a month now. I kept them in the coop for a solid week before I let them free range with everyone else. They will go in and out of the coop to eat, but they won't go in at night. Every. Single. Night I have to go out at 8pm and pick them up from their little pile and place them inside. Will they ever figure it out? I have 14 more babies that will be introduced in a few more weeks and I'm worried they are going to have the same issues.

 

[Theorrin]

be persistent. ive had some learn after a few days. ive had some take weeks

 

[Saveria]

About 6 months ago I lost all but two of my flock to predators (mostly raccoons) because my birds stopped sleeping inside their coop. Even my amazing roo, started insisting on sleeping outside the coop and was taken. I have two girls left and they consistently go into their coop and roost. Now I have 3 teenagers that have been out with the adults for about a month now. I kept them in the coop for a solid week before I let them free range with everyone else. They will go in and out of the coop to eat, but they won't go in at night. Every. Single. Night I have to go out at 8pm and pick them up from their little pile and place them inside. Will they ever figure it out? I have 14 more babies that will be introduced in a few more weeks and I'm worried they are going to have the same issues.

How is the ventilation in your coop? If by Houston you mean Texas they may just prefer to live in a box with hardware cloth for walls right now. That may be the issue, or at least a contributing factor.

 

[Smashlee83]

How is the ventilation in your coop? If by Houston you mean Texas they may just prefer to live in a box with hardware cloth for walls right now. That may be the issue, or at least a contributing factor.

I've got windows on three of the 4 walls and it's about 80 degrees in the evenings. I wish I had a secure run to let them into at night but unfortunately not set up for that. I have worried it's the heat but when all of this started with my previous flock, it was much cooler.

 

[Smashlee83]

be persistent. ive had some learn after a few days. ive had some take weeks

I brought some ducks home recently that had it in 3 days. These goofballs are a month in. I'm tired!

 

[Saveria]

I wish I had a secure run to let them into at night but unfortunately not set up for that.

Yes, it is expensive. Maybe you can do that in the future.

How hot is it during the day? Can you close them in the coop alone for a couple of days and see if that helps?

Do you want to post pictures of your setup? Someone may see something they can suggest.

 

[Saveria]

I brought some ducks home recently that had it in 3 days. These goofballs are a month in. I'm tired!

Wow, I heard that ducks were worse. What breeds are the chickens, btw?

 

[Smashlee83]

Wow, I heard that ducks were worse. What breeds are the chickens, btw

One is a frizzle silky and the other two are EE silky mixes.

 

[Smashlee83]

Last night was extra hard. They decided to get UNDER the coop and no matter how I tried, I couldn't get them out to go into the coop. After 30 minute of laying in the dirt and getting chewed up by ants I had to leave the two cockerels there. I hope they made it through the night.


I have a large box style coop. Around 6x6x8. I've got lots of unused roost space and only two hens and 4 ducks that are currently sleeping in there.

 

[Saveria]

Gosh, if they want to go under you can make a simple door and fence that up easier. An apron would make it predator proof. That is probably just 1 roll of 1/2" hardware cloth, depending on how high the coop is.

If you get a thermometer you can get a reading in the coop during the day to see if you can lock them in it. Getting a tarp or a shade cloth to get the sun off it during the day would help.

Get up photos if you can, people will have more solutions then.