Please Help Chickens refuse to sleep in coop

[swtbaby2]

My have what I believe to be two Sicilian buttercups and one Brahma. I have had them for almost 26 weeks which would make them about 27 weeks or so. Lately they refuse to sleep in the coop. They prefer to sleep in the roost. What can I do now that it’s cold to get them back in the coop? I also have 3 more hens which are about 37 weeks and one rooster who is also about 27 weeks old in another coop. I have tried integrating them about 5 times already and have to separate them again. Thanks for your help.

 

[azygous]

In the middle of your post, there is a whole lot of missing information.

One coop, seven chickens? What is the square footage of the coop (a minimum of around thirty square feet is required) and what is the length of the roosting perches? One long perch or a few shorter ones? How long is each? A photo of the inside of the coop would help. Does it have one entrance only or two? Two is much better.

Have you watched as the three younger ones try to roost in the coop with the older ones? If yes, what happened? If no, then you need to put the three youngsters into the coop at bedtime and watch what happens. This will give you important clues as to what you need to do to get everyone integrated.

How large is the run? For seven chickens, you would need a bare minimum of seventy square feet, or a run seven feet wide by ten feet long. Anything less is inadequate. Conflicts will result.

These three younger chickens may be getting bullied and they want no part of the older thugs. Adequate space is absolutely essential if they are to be integrated peacefully. Have you watched to be sure they aren't being bullied away from the feeder? Is there more than one feeder? There should be or the younger ones could be starving by now and too weak from hunger to stand up to the older chickens.

 

[MadamContrary]

The coop looks to be a prefab from tractor supply (Superior brand I think) is it the one with two short roosts that are super low in front of the the nest boxes? Have you modified the roosting situation in side at all to mimic the outside one? If it's the coop I think it lacks ventilation and roosting space, I have one I gutted and extended out all the way to the outside area. You could just take that roost and install it inside for a quick fix that might lure them in, but you'd have to be careful to not place it so they poop in the nest boxes.

 

[swtbaby2]

In the middle of your post, there is a whole lot of missing information.

One coop, seven chickens? What is the square footage of the coop (a minimum of around thirty square feet is required) and what is the length of the roosting perches? One long perch or a few shorter ones? How long is each? A photo of the inside of the coop would help. Does it have one entrance only or two? Two is much better.

Have you watched as the three younger ones try to roost in the coop with the older ones? If yes, what happened? If no, then you need to put the three youngsters into the coop at bedtime and watch what happens. This will give you important clues as to what you need to do to get everyone integrated.

How large is the run? For seven chickens, you would need a bare minimum of seventy square feet, or a run seven feet wide by ten feet long. Anything less is inadequate. Conflicts will result.

These three younger chickens may be getting bullied and they want no part of the older thugs. Adequate space is absolutely essential if they are to be integrated peacefully. Have you watched to be sure they aren't being bullied away from the feeder? Is there more than one feeder? There should be or the younger ones could be starving by now and too weak from hunger to stand up to the older chickens.

There are two coops for the seven chickens. The 3 younger chickens are in a smaller coop, it was bought from tractor supply. Below are some photos attached. The other three chickens and the rooster are in the bigger coop. The idea was for all of them to be in the bigger coop and have the door between both runs open to make the run bigger so that they would have more space. They have one waterer and one feeder in each run so that food and water isn’t a problem. My uncle built the big coop so I’m not sure what size it ended up being.

 

[3KillerBs]

Chickens want to roost in the highest possible place. They don't want to sit on the floor.

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

Here's a useful article on heights: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coop-stack-up-how-high-stuff-works-well.73427/

I have, so far, found that "teenage" chickens are more prone to try to sleep outside the coop.

 

[swtbaby2]

Chickens want to roost in the highest possible place. They don't want to sit on the floor.

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

Here's a useful article on heights: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coop-stack-up-how-high-stuff-works-well.73427/

I have, so far, found that "teenage" chickens are more prone to try to sleep outside the coop.

They used to sleep in the coop just fine. I’ve cleaned the coop, sprinkled diatomaceous earth on the bedding and still they won’t go in to sleep. They spend time in the coop during the day, just not at night. When the three are in there they have enough space for now. If it wasn’t getting so cold I wouldn’t mind then sleeping in the run. Last night it got down to 0F degrees with the wind chill here. They seem to be doing fine sleeping outside. This is my first year with chickens outside.

 

[3KillerBs]

They used to sleep in the coop just fine. I’ve cleaned the coop, sprinkled diatomaceous earth on the bedding and still they won’t go in to sleep. They spend time in the coop during the day, just not at night. When the three are in there they have enough space for now. If it wasn’t getting so cold I wouldn’t mind then sleeping in the run. Last night it got down to 0F degrees with the wind chill here. They seem to be doing fine sleeping outside. This is my first year with chickens outside.

Chicks sleep on the floor. But once they get older they want to be up high.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What can I do now that it’s cold to get them back in the coop?

So this is your first question. How can you get the three chickens to sleep in their coop instead of in the run? Go out every night and lock them in the coop. Once it is dark it should be easy to catch them. And I'd take down that roost in the run. You need to be consistent and do this every night until they get the message. I've had some catch on in a day or two. I've had some it took over two weeks. Be consistent, they will eventually get the message.

Some people put them on the roosts, I just toss them in and lock the door. They will survive either way.

I also have 3 more hens which are about 37 weeks and one rooster who is also about 27 weeks old in another coop. I have tried integrating them about 5 times already and have to separate them again.

What have you done to try to integrate them? What has the procedure been? What did the results like? Why did you feel you needed to separate them?

I assume they have been housed across wire so they can see each other for a while. How long? They are all old enough so it's not like integrating chicks with adults. What I'd expect to happen is that they will decide on the pecking order and integration is over. Sometimes that is extremely smooth but it sometimes involves some fighting. Quite often it involves running away and chasing. As long as the weaker can run away and get away it usually ends with no one hurt. If it cannot, the winner doesn't know it won so it keeps attacking. That's a good example of why I don't believe in magic numbers for how many square feet per chicken you need. How far can a chicken run in a 7' x 10' run, especially if they start in the middle?

You can greatly improve the quality of what room you have by adding "clutter". Clutter means something they can hide under, behind, or over. Something to break the line of sight. Maybe put a satellite dish or pallet up on blocks or lean a piece of plywood against the fence (fastened so the wind can't blow it over). Some people put a table in there so they can get on top or use a perch high enough the others can't peck their feet from the ground.

As long as no one is getting injured I tend to let them fight it out but I have a lot of room. The tighter they are the more risky this is but they do have to decide on a pecking order.

Without knowing exactly what you have tried before I'd try opening the door between the two runs and let them sleep separately until they have proven that they can peacefully coexist in those runs for at least a week. Then at night I'd lock the young ones in the main coop after dark and lock up their small coop to stay locked up so they can't go back to it the following night.. Then be down there first thing as they are waking up to see how it is going. Make further decisions based on what you see.

More room would make it easier but you can probably manage. Good luck!