Pullets stopped going to bed at night - any suggestions?

[ashesfallingdown]

I have four 18 week old EE pullets that haven't started laying yet and (except one) have very little comb and wattle development. I got them each when they were about 3-7 days old.

We had a wet cold spring here in the PNW, with no real warmth or dry out period until mid-June. Up until this point, my girls went to bed inside their coop on their own without issue. I have an Omlet cube inside a 6x12 run. The cube has an automatic door that shuts once its dark and opens in the morning. It's cleaned daily. There are no mites, and I'm positive that there has been no attempted predation.

Once it got warm out they just stopped going to bed on their own, preferring the perches inside the run. I need to shore up the run with hardware cloth, and until that point I don't feel comfortable leaving them on the perches because of raccoons and possums, which are the only predators I really have in my urban neighborhood.

If I lift them from the perches and place them on the floor of the run at bed time, they walk right up the ladder and go to bed inside the coop, following each other like the pied piper. If I place one of them directly inside the coop, they all follow as well. They seem to have no issue with coop, and when I "remind" them, they go right in. They have just stopped initiating their own bed time.

Is this just teenageness? Is it cause it's hot out and its nicer on the perches? I wish I understood why they stopped. The coop is well ventilated, and because it's in the middle of the run, I'm comfortable leaving the droppings tray out so they get direct fresh air.

I go outside every night and put them in the coop but that's getting old. I'd love to encourage them to enter their coop again without my prodding. Any ideas on how to recreate this habit?

Thank you!

 

[nuthatched]

Maybe try a night light?

 

[ashesfallingdown]

Ah, I forgot to mention! They do have an automatic light that comes on for a few minutes before the door closes. Do you think I should try one that stays on longer or is always on?

 

[Callender Girl]

Have you tried bribery?

It's my senior girls who want to be night owls. After all the other chickens, ducks and geese have gone into their respective homes for the night, I can count on my oldest hen and her three companions to be hanging out on the wrong side of their coop door. I toss a tiny handful of scratch or a few grapes into the coop, and a blur of feathers follows as everyone tries to snag a wee bedtime snack.

 

[WIchickMama]

My guess it was too hot in the coop and now roosting outside is habit.

Pics of coop set up please?

 

[3KillerBs]

What's the temperature inside the coop?

Omelet coops, like almost all prefabs, are badly-ventilated.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

 

[aart]

Is it cause it's hot out and its nicer on the perches?

Probably.

 

[AnnPann]

Some of the Omlet coops are badly ventilated. I have both a Go and a Cube. The Go is pretty bad, IMO and I had to fashion my own back to add a window for air flow this summer. The Cube is actually pretty decent. I monitor the humidity and temp constantly in the Cube compared to the outside air, and even in winter, the humidity inside never exceeded the outside.

That said, air flow can be an issue in hot, sunny weather if you don't make some easy modifications. If you don't stay on top of it, it turns into an oven. I love how secure my Cube is and how easy it is to clean, but the claims about "cool in the summer, warm in the winter" are BS. It gets hotter than outside air during the summer, and is the same temp as outside air during the winter.

One simple thing you can do right away is swap out the 3 grey vent covers with hardware cloth. Just unscrew, cut the HWC to size, then reattach the cut HWC using provided screws and washers. (You want to do this AFTER cleaning it out b/c to do the front one your face will be in the coop!)

If you're in a hot area, you should consider locking your hens OUT of your Cube/Go during the day. If laying, setup a nesting box in a shaded area of your run. Focus your efforts on keeping the run cool during the day, not the Cube. Then you can work on the Cube in the evening if you need to. This also allows you to open up the egg and back doors to let air move through it more during the day.

I have found that after many super hot days in a row, my Cube will still be 95 degrees at bedtime. In order to cool it off quickly, I pull out the tray and hose off the INSIDE of the Cube too, which will drop the temp 10 degrees or more. Since it's plastic, it dries off fast.

You can also give them more space to spread out, as well as give them a more traditional way of roosting by doing something like this. For my older hens, I even took out the grey bars (not shown) and it's even easier to clean out since no poop gets stuck between the bars. I use PDZ in the tray and super easy to scoop out.

Some people also take out the bottom tray, but unless your Cube is inside a predator proof run, you introduce risk with that if you leave it out overnight. Not something I'm comfortable with personally.

All that said, I have 3 that aren't quite laying yet that don't go to bed unless I tell them to, just like yours. Chickens can be so adorably infuriating sometimes. Fingers crossed they grow out of this phase soon!

 

[ashesfallingdown]

Some of the Omlet coops are badly ventilated. I have both a Go and a Cube. The Go is pretty bad, IMO and I had to fashion my own back to add a window for air flow this summer. The Cube is actually pretty decent. I monitor the humidity and temp constantly in the Cube compared to the outside air, and even in winter, the humidity inside never exceeded the outside.

That said, air flow can be an issue in hot, sunny weather if you don't make some easy modifications. If you don't stay on top of it, it turns into an oven. I love how secure my Cube is and how easy it is to clean, but the claims about "cool in the summer, warm in the winter" are BS. It gets hotter than outside air during the summer, and is the same temp as outside air during the winter.

One simple thing you can do right away is swap out the 3 grey vent covers with hardware cloth. Just unscrew, cut the HWC to size, then reattach the cut HWC using provided screws and washers. (You want to do this AFTER cleaning it out b/c to do the front one your face will be in the coop!)

View attachment 3207529

If you're in a hot area, you should consider locking your hens OUT of your Cube/Go during the day. If laying, setup a nesting box in a shaded area of your run. Focus your efforts on keeping the run cool during the day, not the Cube. Then you can work on the Cube in the evening if you need to. This also allows you to open up the egg and back doors to let air move through it more during the day.

I have found that after many super hot days in a row, my Cube will still be 95 degrees at bedtime. In order to cool it off quickly, I pull out the tray and hose off the INSIDE of the Cube too, which will drop the temp 10 degrees or more. Since it's plastic, it dries off fast.

You can also give them more space to spread out, as well as give them a more traditional way of roosting by doing something like this. For my older hens, I even took out the grey bars (not shown) and it's even easier to clean out since no poop gets stuck between the bars. I use PDZ in the tray and super easy to scoop out.

View attachment 3207530

Some people also take out the bottom tray, but unless your Cube is inside a predator proof run, you introduce risk with that if you leave it out overnight. Not something I'm comfortable with personally.

All that said, I have 3 that aren't quite laying yet that don't go to bed unless I tell them to, just like yours. Chickens can be so adorably infuriating sometimes. Fingers crossed they grow out of this phase soon!

That's a great set up inside!

I keep my droppings tray out because the cube is inside the run (I'm only concerned about raccoon swipe throughs if they are on the perch, but I'm confident in the safety if they are inside the cube, even without the tray), so there is a lot of air coming in and out beneath them. I don't plan to put it back in until the temps get cold again.

Where will your gals nest when it's time?

I suppose I will chalk this up to temperature and teenage willfulness for now, and try to retrain the coop habit by being out there as they are considering perching for bed.

Bribing with treats seems like a great idea too.

 

[3KillerBs]

I suppose I will chalk this up to temperature and teenage willfulness for now, and try to retrain the coop habit by being out there as they are considering perching for bed.

Be sure to check the temperatures and don't force them to roost in an over-heated coop.