Roosting outside the run and coop

[RawDaddy]

Hi all, I have an interesting situation. I have 11 hens 5 Polish, 2 Wyandotte’s, 1 Rhode Island Red, and 3 others I can’t remember their breeds. Ranging in age from 9 months oldest, 5 months are the youngest. I have one silver hair polish that refuses to start her night roosting with the others. My coop and run are predator proof. I wouldn’t be asking this if she would roost in the run, but she doesn’t. I’m in the process of building a duck house( no ducks yet), and that’s where I find her every night sitting there fast asleep. I’m installing a coop/run door opener today cuz we’ll be going on vacation at the end of the month. This has been going on for two months now. It’s almost like she’s waiting for me to put her in the coop on the bar with the rest of the crew which I do every night. This is usually well after dark which is not safe for her. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I have 3 x 6ft roosting bars in the coop all 18” apart at different heights. The older birds take the top and the middle bar you get middle age and youngest get the lower bar which is 2 ft off the coop floor. And the coop is off the ground as well. There was some bullying going on a month and a half ago but since changing the roosting configuration everyone but her all head to the coop at sunset. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[swamphiker]

We had the same issue of a couple of chickens not roosting until we installed a light in the coop. We have a small LED light on a timer that turns on around sunset and turns off after dark. This seems to have solved the issue for our flock.

 

[WhySayWhat]

The lowest in the pecking order is my little scissor beak EE, she absolutely refuses to go into the coop at night. If the door is open, she goes outside to roost on their "daytime roost bar" at the other end of the run. She also puts herself to bed hours before everyone else and way before it even starts to get dark! She hops up mid-afternoon, tucks her head under her wing, and goes to sleep. She refuses to move from the old tree branch) I moved it from my old coop so this old branch has been off the tree for 11 years (we don't even have the trees anymore)! But, as soon as the pop door closes, I go out with my flashlight and pick her up and take her into the coop for the night. Usually, 1-2 chickens miss the door closing as well, so it's usually a group of "late arrivals" getting a flashlight led walk from the run, into our "breezeway" and into the coop via the human door. The chickens have a door from coop to run, but we added this intermediate area between the human sized doors to have extra security and keep our dogs and chickens seperate (the little chi mix thinks she can eat a chicken whole and has tried in the past). I think one or two do it on purpose, because they all enjoy the walk to the big doors that they aren't allowed to go through during the day! But, every night, I have to go traipsing out there to get them to go to bed...if I open the pop door, they all come out and nobody wants to go to bed!

 

[RawDaddy]

Makes it hard to leave them for any length of time? Unless you hire someone to do that for you?

 

[WhySayWhat]

Makes it hard to leave them for any length of time? Unless you hire someone to do that for you?

My husband and I never travel at the same time, one or the other is always home (minus a few hours going to Grandma's that lives in town every few months together). So, if I have to leave, he's here to take care of them.

We just had this pop up last night as my mother thought she was having a heart attack last night (she's 400 miles away). I was prepared to rush out the door this morning. Mom was released and sent home on strict bed rest until she sees her cardiologist, but my aunt and stepfather live with her, so I'm not rushing down right now. It looks like she will be having vale replacement surgery, then I will go down for that, but will stay home until then and run this house/mini farm!

I keep a "care and feeding" document on my PC, but also do 99% of the chicken care with my 6 year old (it helps her focus and calms her, she has ADHD and ODD), so all he really has to do is follow her out and open latches that are purposely out of her reach. She feeds, waters, scrapes, poo, collects eggs, and makes their daily mash...we have a scissor beak that can't eat dry food. She also goes out with me right before bedtime to put our scissor beak gal into the coop (she refuses to go in on her own).

 

[NatJ]

It’s almost like she’s waiting for me to put her in the coop on the bar with the rest of the crew which I do every night.

Maybe you could shut them all in before dark, for several days in a row.
Then she could put herself on the roost, and realize that she doesn't need help.
("Shut them in" meaning either in the coop, or in the predator proof run/coop area.)

If you have watched them at roosting time, does she try to go in but get chased out? Or does she not even try?

 

[aart]

I have 3 x 6ft roosting bars in the coop all 18” apart at different heights.

In the coop pictured in your first post?
It certainly doesn't look big enough for the roost bars you describe.

 

[RawDaddy]

My husband and I never travel at the same time, one or the other is always home (minus a few hours going to Grandma's that lives in town every few months together). So, if I have to leave, he's here to take care of them.

We just had this pop up last night as my mother thought she was having a heart attack last night (she's 400 miles away). I was prepared to rush out the door this morning. Mom was released and sent home on strict bed rest until she sees her cardiologist, but my aunt and stepfather live with her, so I'm not rushing down right now. It looks like she will be having vale replacement surgery, then I will go down for that, but will stay home until then and run this house/mini farm!

I keep a "care and feeding" document on my PC, but also do 99% of the chicken care with my 6 year old (it helps her focus and calms her, she has ADHD and ODD), so all he really has to do is follow her out and open latches that are purposely out of her reach. She feeds, waters, scrapes, poo, collects eggs, and makes their daily mash...we have a scissor beak that can't eat dry food. She also goes out with me right before bedtime to put our scissor beak gal into the coop (she refuses to go in on her own).

I’ve never heard of the term scissor beak before. Is it part of a particular breed?

 

[RawDaddy]

In the coop pictured in your first post?
It certainly doesn't look big enough for the roost bars you describe.

I’ll take a picture of the inside a
Nd post it as soon as the sun comes up. I have 11 chicks with 3 x 6 foot roosting bars a total of 18 feet. Another 1:30 and everyone will be up by then. The coop size 6x4 foot. I do have a video of the inside of the coop but it’s t doesn’t let me load it here.

 

[aart]

4x6 is tight space for 11 birds.

Looking forward to seeing the pics, double check the measurement between roosts.
Vids have to be uploaded to youtube, or similar platform, then paste a link here.