Let me just say my first flock of hens from last summer were such good girls. 10 total, golden comet, black rock, and speckled Sussex were tame and friendly. We got 8 to 10 eggs every day. They were free to roam the farm but came back to the coop every night. But, sadly we have a predator problem, there are only 2 original hens left. We think its coyotes and are trying to create a safe space for them; another story.
This year bought more chicks. A mixture of breeds, some straight run, some rare breeds. And of course some roosters.
The last flock and these up until a week ago would come back to the coop every night. They willingly went in for some dinner and to roost. I went on vacation, and while I was gone most of the new flock stopped coming back at night. A few still come, not always the same ones. The others are roosting somewhere, I assume in trees, but I can't find them. I tried locking them in the coop all day, but that isn't really a solution. How do I get them to come back at night?
We have a coop built onto a barn that is in a 3/4 acre fenced paddock. This fence is 6 ft. with barbed wire strands angled out on top. That should keep coyotes out and we already have it. But there are several ways the chickens can escape that we are in the process of correcting. If they couldn't get out of the barnyard I think they would return to the coop. But besides the holes, we have seen some of these chickens fly over the fence. I will fix the barnyard, but would still like to know how to get them back into the coop now.
This year bought more chicks. A mixture of breeds, some straight run, some rare breeds. And of course some roosters.
The last flock and these up until a week ago would come back to the coop every night. They willingly went in for some dinner and to roost. I went on vacation, and while I was gone most of the new flock stopped coming back at night. A few still come, not always the same ones. The others are roosting somewhere, I assume in trees, but I can't find them. I tried locking them in the coop all day, but that isn't really a solution. How do I get them to come back at night?
We have a coop built onto a barn that is in a 3/4 acre fenced paddock. This fence is 6 ft. with barbed wire strands angled out on top. That should keep coyotes out and we already have it. But there are several ways the chickens can escape that we are in the process of correcting. If they couldn't get out of the barnyard I think they would return to the coop. But besides the holes, we have seen some of these chickens fly over the fence. I will fix the barnyard, but would still like to know how to get them back into the coop now.
