Past two days my birds are not returning to coop!!!!!!!!

[Mac Momma]

My birds are 9 months, cooping up like clock work and the past two days, they are roosting outside. It is below 20 and I am rounding them up into their coop. What in the world? The coop is the warmer place!

 

[Master S.M.C]

It maybe you roosts in the coop are not high enough if you own a flighty breed.

 

[FrChuckW]

Also check the coop to see if there are any signs of a predator trying to get into the coop from underneath. Things like rats, a snake, weasels, etc. Or it could be that there isn't enough ventilation in there.

 

[gritsar]

Sounds like something about the coop spooked them. Like FrChuckW said, check for predators. For snakes check your nest boxes carefully and turn over your shavings on the floor.

 

[Rooster Ray]

Unfortunately I was ignorant to this very sign last summer. For a few nights I had to wrangle them to get them to go inside at night. After a few nights of this I lost 3 hens to a racoon. Luckily I got him before he got any more. Now I have no problem and they all return at night again.

 

[Mac Momma]

Snakes at this time of year? Uuuuggggghhhhh! I think my coop is pretty secure. It is a solid floor metal shed. rEally no way for things to get in, but I guess when the door is chicken door is open during the day. SNAKES in the winter?!?! I thought they would be burrowed deep in the underneaths of the earth, where they belong.

 

[Mac Momma]

I am wondering about the ventilation thing mentioned though. I had let my shavings get pretty dirty the past few weeks, turning them, but not really doing like I have been and cleaning them out. I chucked all the shavings into the run tonight and laid fresh in and got a heat lamp to maybe give some heat. Last night was below 20 tonight it isn't supposed to be that cold maybe mid twenties. I put them in the coop. I guess I will check tomorrow around for raccoons.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I saw a (another) young black snake out by my coop a couple of weeks ago. We had a warm up followed by another cold spell. Guess he/she was looking for a place to get warm. It was just a black snake, so it didn't bother me too much.
My SO warns me about snakes getting into the coop all the time because I leave the door open during the day.

 

[Akane]

In GA heck yea. We have snakes in the late fall and early spring laying out in the sun. They do disappear completely in winter here but then it was -30F a few weeks ago. They would probably be awful sluggish though. Usually on the 60F days (around 40-50F at night) you can just scoop them up off the concrete without them hardly trying to get away. A couple more weeks when we finally get back above freezing regularly they'll start showing up in the warmer spots in my stable and on the black top driveway.