Rooster not roosting in the coop

[Kuntry Klucker]

Hi, I have one rooster right now hens coming soon. We have two coops and our rooster
Roy does not roost in them at night. If fact he does not go into them during the day at all.
He rather roost under a big tree in our backyard where the chicken area is. I have heard
that they will roost in trees if they don't have a coop. He has a coop but would much
rather roost under the tree. What can I do to encourage him to roost in the coop like
a chicken should.

 

[70monte]

You need to put him in the coop and keep him in there for a couple of days so he knows where he is supposed to live. I have always done this and have not had a problem with them roosting elsewhere.

Wayne

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

Thanks for the advice. I was also wondering if anyone has an idea of how to get the roo in the coop. I cannot
pick him up, he keeps his distance from me and will not allow me to get close enough to him to actually grab him,
i guess that is good. is there another way to get him in the coop without catching him?

 

[bturbo87]

we had just recently moved our coop and run to a new location in our yard, and this time did not enclose the top, the only one that ever tried to get out was one of our welsummer ???'s no idea roo or hen, looks like hen acts like roo, anyways feirst few nights it would get out and go over to the old enclosure and roost on the framing( we had reused the wire in the new area). after i put a few more roosts inside the new area he/she hasnt tried to get out since. also advice on catching it, wait until later at night, chickens go into an almost coma when they are sleeping, see if you can find a low powered flashlight, or find where hes roosting at dusk before all the light goes, then quietly walk up it him, thats how i got my first to, they were roosting in a tree in the front yard when we moved in, penned them up and the addiction began.

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

Thank for the tip but will the chicken put up a fight when i pick them up? this is my first handle at having chickens and i have no
skills at picking them up what so ever. I am actually a little afraid and do not want to get spured or bit or
anything like that. I have walked up to him after he started to roost because I was testing the theory
that chickens are dosile when they are roosting and he got up and walked away from me.

I don't have
any tools, tricks, or traps when it come to catching chickens just my hands and a pare of gloves. How fast do
you have to be, and will he get startled when i pick him up?

 

[gritsar]

Wait until after he's settled down to roost, then snag him. Since I know that you are a tad bit weary of picking him up I would suggest a fishing net, if you have one or ask your hubby to do it for you. Then lock him in the coop, as the other posters have suggested. Give it at least three days, a week would be better.
They'll be docile when roosting yes, but not entirely comatose. I have one hen that puts up a big fuss if I go in and pick her up off the roost at night. I just position my hands so that I'm picking her up and pinning her wings against her body at the same time. If they start flapping their wings, they just upset themselves even more and make themselves harder to handle. The key is to pin the wings to the body.
Sorry, I don't know a better way to describe it.

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

thank you Gritsar, that is a lot of help, when we get the coops done, i will snag him and put him in it.
if he roosts in the coop i am sure that the hens will follow his example.