Sleeping on the "porch"?

[GentlyLiving]

I converted a large dog house into a coop for my six girls. They are about five weeks now and just moved outside. The original doghouse had a covered porch on the front. Basically I put the whole house on a frame so the girls have a covered outdoor space underneath and put hardware cloth around that and the now upstairs porch. There is no door to close between the porch and the main part of the coop. I have roosts inside and lots of nice cozy bedding, but the girls just pile up on the porch to sleep. The whole coop is in a pretty protected part of the yard so I don't think they will get too much wind, but is the draft too much for them out there? I keep putting them on the roost, but 2 seconds later they are out on the porch again. Should I figure out a way to close them in the more sheltered part of the coop? Or will they move there if they are uncomfortable? I am not worried about preditors. We don't have very many around here anyway, but I made sure the coop was really secure and I have two dogs who "patrol" the area too. Thanks for the advise!

 

[Jenny28]

They will move into the warmer part of the area when they get cold and older! I have found 5 week old birds don't usually like to roost as much as they like to sleep in a "chicken pile" (as hubby and I call it lol). As long as predators aren't a concern I would let them be.

 

[GentlyLiving]

Thanks! That is good to know. I figured they would kind of figure it out, but I just didn't want to be leaving them out to get sick or anything!

 

[Delta2 23]

They shouldn't get cold sleeping on the porch, especially if there's six of them together! They'll keep each other warm. And I find when the chickens are older, they take care of themselves, if they're cold they won't stay outside. Perhaps they're just enjoying the fresh air outdoors!