Roosting Question

[vonniefisher]

So, my girls are about 13-15 weeks old. They have been outside in their coop for a couple of months now. I let them out and they get to free range on the weekends and when I get home from work in the evening. Up until 3 days ago every night between 8:30 and 9 they would voluntarily go back into their coop and jump on their roosting bar and they were in for the night. The last 3 or 4 nights they have started flying to the roof of the coop and roosting up there - I go out and pick them up and put them INSIDE the coop - when I pick them up they squeal like a predator has them. But I can't figure out why all of a sudden they won't go in at night, and I have to put them in. Any ideas??? or should I just keep putting them in every night and eventually they will get that they are supposed to sleep INSIDE and now OUTSIDE on the roof - LOL

 

[Monguire]

There are LOTS of possible reasons for this behavior. The top things I'd look to in your situation:

• Is there adequate space in the coop? You'll need at least 4 SqFt per bird for standard breeds.

• Is it HOT where you are? If there isn't sufficient ventilation and your coop is more oven than safe sleeping space, the chooks might opt to camp out in the cooler air outside

• Are there any critter-issues in your coop? Trolling mice/rats and mites at night can make an unpleasant evening for the chooks. Ensure proper rodent-controls (no open feed containers/spilled food, etc) and make sure mites aren't living in the nooks and crannies of your coop (they come out at night to feed on the chooks)

That said, chooks are chooks and will often need remedial training for the simplest of things. Assuming your coop is up to snuff (safe, secure, comfortable) you want them roosting in it ALL night EVERY night. There are just too many things creeping around at night looking for a chicken dinner to let them stay outside. You might have to repeat the process of putting them inside at night for up to a week or so before it finally clicks. One way I always used to encourage them back to the coop after a day of ranging was to toss a little scratch in the run and/or coop and then securing the run for the night when they were all in.