Sleeping on the outside of the coop not inside

[Lrajos4]

Hi all...my 5 chickens 13 weeks old started sleeping outside instead of inside the coop...why? They seem to be happy on top of the coop...the house is in the run and it has hardware cloth over the chicken wire all around...its about 30 degrees, should I worry?

 

[thecatumbrella]

Few thoughts.

1. Mites. Check the coop over at dark, particularly around the roosting bar and any crevices. Also check the birds themselves, focusing on the vent and under the wings.
2. Any sign of rodent activity?
3. They're still young and possibly need to be retrained to sleep in the coop. Place them inside every night at dusk and shut the door behind them. Might take a few days for them to start doing it themselves.

 

[Sefirothe]

Chickens like to roost as high as possible. If you have a small prefab inside a run, then the roof is higher than the roosts inside.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Chickens like to roost as high as possible. If you have a small prefab inside a run, then the roof is higher than the roosts inside.


View attachment 4278664

They look like a cheerleading stack! This is too cute.

 

[Sefirothe]

They look like a cheerleading stack! This is too cute.

Probably huddling to keep warm! That was their last night in the temporary housing. They got moved to the just built real coop the next day.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

If there aren’t any older hens to teach them to go in the coop then you are the boss hen and you will have to physically put them in the coop until they get the hang of it. I still have to do this sometimes with new free-rangers.

 

[Lrajos4]

Few thoughts.

1. Mites. Check the coop over at dark, particularly around the roosting bar and any crevices. Also check the birds themselves, focusing on the vent and under the wings.
2. Any sign of rodent activity?
3. They're still young and possibly need to be retrained to sleep in the coop. Place them inside every night at dusk and shut the door behind them. Might take a few days for them to start doing it themselves.

I will check...fingers crossed that's not the case...I was thinking it has gotten too small inside sinse they are soooo big now...I dont think rodents but I will stay up watching from the window now lol....I probably over did the hardware cloth all around and daily walk around it looking for holes...

 

[Lrajos4]

Chickens like to roost as high as possible. If you have a small prefab inside a run, then the roof is higher than the roosts inside.


View attachment 4278664

That's what I was also thinking

 

[thecatumbrella]

I will check...fingers crossed that's not the case...I was thinking it has gotten too small inside sinse they are soooo big now...I dont think rodents but I will stay up watching from the window now lol....I probably over did the hardware cloth all around and daily walk around it looking for holes...

I wasn't considering the size of your coop, so @Sefirothe might have hit the nail on the head. I used a smaller prefab, but the roof was blocked and the roost itself was the highest spot in the run.

Still a good plan to check for mites. I believe they're more common this time of year?

 

[Lrajos4]

If there aren’t any older hens to teach them to go in the coop then you are the boss hen and you will have to physically put them in the coop until they get the hang of it. I still have to do this sometimes with new free-rangers.

They were going inside till today I didnt want to move them since they looked so content and didnt even flinch while I added water and food but there is poop all over the coop wasnt like this yesterday