Silly Chickens--avoiding the coop at night time

[DeeSmidt]

Questions? My chickens are nearly 6 months old and I am getting 6 sometimes 7 eggs out of nine chickens daily. My coop is 4 feet wide, 4 feet long and 4 feet tall with two 4 foot long roosting bars and 4 nesting boxes. I also have an automatic chicken door that opens at first light and closes about 10 minutes after the sun sets. All nine chickens used to get into the coop as the sun was setting earlier in the summer, but now I have had 2 and sometimes 3 chickens who don't make it in before the door shuts so I set the door to shut 10 minutes later. This week I have had 3 chickens who don't get into the coop on time. What to do is my question???? The weather is still nice here in Northern Wyoming. The chickens who are out when I get home around 8:45 pm are sitting out on the outdoor rooster bar seemingly enjoying themselves. So I open the door manually and then the go in within a few minutes. I don't know what to do to get them in the coop. It is plenty dark long before the door shuts on its own, and I'm not home at that time because my job requires that i work late. As the weather turns colder will they go in? I have also made sure the coop is very clean, but it doesn't seem to be helping. Any advice would be appreciated from this "rooky!" Thanks! I hope I wrote this in the right place. If this is a case of overcrowding, should I l change the light setting on the door so it will stay open even longer after dark? And, When the snow flies here in Wyoming will they go in even if its crowded?

 

[PirateGirl]

I see a few potential issues.

The coop is quite small for that number of chickens if they are LF. Now that they are full grown they all need a bit more space and maybe they aren't happy cramming in there.

Sunset and total dark are two different things. My chickens are in the coop by the time it's black out, but if it's dusk, shortly after sunset, and they can still see, they still like to hang out outside as much as possible. Maybe your timer needs to be later by quite a bit.

Another possibility is something a bit more sinister... mites or parasites of some sort that inhabit the coop. Night as well as inside the coop is when and where the chickens suffer the most from the bites and itching. I'd do a check of the birds and the coop by flashlight after dark one night soon and make sure there's not another issue.

 

[Howard E]

Dee:

Can you provide a photo of your coop and run setup?