One girl not going in the coop at night

[HappyGals]

First time chicken owner, almost a year with my girls.

We have a buff orpington who has not gone in the coop at bedtime. For the last 6 days we have to go out after dark and get her and put her in the coop. I'm not sure if it's related but she just started laying eggs (finally, she's 10 months old!)

She's not on the bottom of the pecking order but is closer to the top.

She has had a dirty bum for awhile and we've chalked it up to being a big fluffy girl. I've trimmed her feathers but I don't want to get too aggressive with the trim as it's still cold here. We've been giving her baths to clean it off but she gets dirty quickly.

We dewormed and checked for mites and haven't found a problem. I checked her feet and she doesn't have bumblefoot.

Any ideas?

 

[CCsGarden]

The others could be kicking her out. How big is the coop?

 

[Tired old Rooster]

Is there a shortage of roost space? Is she the only Orpington? Flock dynamics can be complex and even more so, when you have a mixed bag.

To use my example.
After my previous flock was almost wiped out, I was left with Henrietta (lead hen) who is a barred rock. The only option I had to get her a new flock, was to take a deal of four pullets, two barred rock and two Black Orpingtons. One of the so called pullets turned into Galoot, the roo in my avatar, the other is Goofy. Once at laying age, the barred rocks tended to hang with Henrietta and Galoot, while Goofy tended to tag along at a distance.

I noticed, that she would always be the last to enter the enclosed run after the afternoon of ranging and the last to get on the roost, once everyone has settled. That way, no one fusses with her.

From my first hatch this summer, I got two pullets, Heckle and Jeckle, from eggs laid by Goofy (sired of course by Galoot). Heckle and Jeckle now wait until Goofy has gone in and joined the roost, before they do. I suspect Orpingtons are quite timid by nature, compared to most breeds. Just one feisty hen on the roost may keep them from going in at night and different breeds have a higher tendency to clash with one another.