Refusal to leave coop

[Amazonlover]

Hi,

I have 5 pullets who are around 19 weeks old. For months they have excitedly exited the coop the second the pop door opens. Now they won’t leave the coop. About 5 days ago this area got around five inches of snow and extremely cold weather-they wouldn’t leave the coop the day it was snowing, which I get. And I kept them in one day when it was freezing. But yesterday and today the weather has been in the 40s and 50s, no rain yet and no snow, but they absolutely won’t leave the coop. what should I do?

 

[southwestclucker]

Even my 2+ years old got confused this past week when we had 5 straight days of snow/rain/extreme cloudiness - they stayed in the coop those days and yesterday it was finally sunny and a bit warmer, and they did not come out until I went out in the coop to invite them. I fluffed up their leaf pile (which stays dry under an a-frame covered with clear shower liners - it's the chicken version of a ball pit) and they had a good old time. Tempt them with treats to get them out there.

 

[aart]

But yesterday and today the weather has been in the 40s and 50s, no rain yet and no snow, but they absolutely won’t leave the coop. what should I do?

Snow still on the ground?
Shovel it down thinner and toss some straw or shavings or something down.
Hopefully the coop is large enough for them to shelter there, and there's feed and water inside.
Mine spent 8-10 days in the coop during the recent blizzard cold snap.

 

[southwestclucker]

Snow still on the ground?
Shovel it down thinner and toss some straw or shavings or something down.
Hopefully the coop is large enough for them to shelter there, and there's feed and water inside.
Mine spent 8-10 days in the coop during the recent blizzard cold snap.

Oh, yes, related to this - when I know snow/rain are coming, I lay down (and weigh down) sheets of cardboard in select areas of the run, so that when it's over I can remove those and give them some drier areas (makes shoveling the snow easier too). And I keep buckets of dry leaves, wood chips in the shed to dump out there when it's over. My girls hate cold wet tootsies.

 

[Amazonlover]

Thanks @southwestclucker and @aart I think I figured out the mystery-but now have another problem! A neighbor who has a woodworking shop came by a couple days ago and dropped off two big bags of very fine wood shavings-much smaller in size than the traditional pine shavings I’ve been buying. Well, the girls were terrified of it. I pulled them all out of the coop but they stuck to the uncovered end of the run-where there are no wood shavings. But then, when they got closer, they started eating it! Like, gobbling it up. I panicked because I don’t want it impacting their crops and am now planning on mucking out the entire 8 feet of run that is covered in the fine wood shavings. Thoughts?

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

You can't do it this year but next year - I always suggest stowing away a few lawn bags of dry leaves. I usually get them from fussy neighbours (I leave my leaves) and store 8 in the basement. That lets me have a dry bag for every week of winter, if needed. When there's a big snow fall or a lot of rain I will go add a bag of leaves to their covered run, which just adds some fun and I think it's less cold on their feet.

 

[southwestclucker]

Thanks @southwestclucker and @aart I think I figured out the mystery-but now have another problem! A neighbor who has a woodworking shop came by a couple days ago and dropped off two big bags of very fine wood shavings-much smaller in size than the traditional pine shavings I’ve been buying. Well, the girls were terrified of it. I pulled them all out of the coop but they stuck to the uncovered end of the run-where there are no wood shavings. But then, when they got closer, they started eating it! Like, gobbling it up. I panicked because I don’t want it impacting their crops and am now planning on mucking out the entire 8 feet of run that is covered in the fine wood shavings. Thoughts?

Yeah might be best to try to get that out of there

 

[5Australorpasaures]

Ours woke up to 4"s, Rooster stuck his head out and said, not today, nor two days after. On the fourth day he came out and the rest followed. they'll be out when they're ready.

 

[Chicken poppy]

You can't do it this year but next year - I always suggest stowing away a few lawn bags of dry leaves. I usually get them from fussy neighbours (I leave my leaves) and store 8 in the basement. That lets me have a dry bag for every week of winter, if needed. When there's a big snow fall or a lot of rain I will go add a bag of leaves to their covered run, which just adds some fun and I think it's less cold on their feet.

That’s really smart . My chickens love to forage in leaves so i might have to try this myself

 

[rosemarythyme]

A neighbor who has a woodworking shop came by a couple days ago and dropped off two big bags of very fine wood shavings-much smaller in size than the traditional pine shavings I’ve been buying. Well, the girls were terrified of it. I pulled them all out of the coop but they stuck to the uncovered end of the run-where there are no wood shavings. But then, when they got closer, they started eating it! Like, gobbling it up. I panicked because I don’t want it impacting their crops and am now planning on mucking out the entire 8 feet of run that is covered in the fine wood shavings. Thoughts?

Got any other stuff to throw on top of it, like dried bagged leaves, larger wood chips or shavings, etc? Mine snack on tiny wood bits but in moderation so it's not been a problem.

Or throw any remaining snow on top of it for now, they'll hate that and leave it alone until you can get other stuff to mix into it.