Sleeping outside in freezing weather

[KimbosKluckers]

Both your coop and run size are too small for 6 chickens in general. Just because chickens are sleeping does not mean they do not need adequate space in the coop. Your run is more open feeling compared to your coop and feels bigger to them that is why they are out there. Them all scooting together on one roost is not an indicator that they have enough space it is just what chickens always do regardless.

Ok I honestly didn’t think 20 square feet was so horrible, obviously not the best but didn’t think it was detrimental. Thanks.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

It looks like one of the roosts is pretty close to the wall. Sometimes they won't sleep on a roost if they're touching the wall when they do. I like the upgrades you made to the coop though! Much better than any of the prefabs I've had. Like someone else said, if they are happy sleeping out and safe then just leave them to it.

 

[aart]

Remove the roosts in the run and see what happens.
Might want to sand down the sharp edges on the inside roosts.

 

[KimbosKluckers]

It looks like one of the roosts is pretty close to the wall. Sometimes they won't sleep on a roost if they're touching the wall when they do. I like the upgrades you made to the coop though! Much better than any of the prefabs I've had. Like someone else said, if they are happy sleeping out and safe then just leave them to it.

Thanks so much! The bars are 10-12” from the wall (I can’t remember without measuring again) but that’s a possibility. I thought we did a good job on modifying it but maybe not enough. Thanks for the input!!

 

[KimbosKluckers]

Remove the roosts in the run and see what happens.
Might want to sand down the sharp edges on the inside roosts.

I did think about doing that! They use them during the day so it was a last resort but I may try it. Thanks.

 

[FrostRanger]

For 6 birds you're going to want 24 sqft of coop space, 6ft of roost space, 6sqft of ventilation (12-18sqft in a hot climate) and 60sqft of run space at a bare minimum. Prefabs are a trap that many of us have fallen into unfortunately. They are invariably too small with too little ventilation. It's usually cheaper and better to repurpose a used shed or otherwise build your own. What I would do is turn your existing setup into a coop and build a run around it. That's probably going to be the cheapest and easiest thing to do at this point since you already have the prefab

 

[triciayoung]

Thanks so much, I keep thinking if they get cold enough, they’ll go in. But I worry. Lol

I'm telling you from experience it is the mice. Even though they can kill them, the don't like the scurringing around them while they are trying to sleep. Use this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B78355CP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

@Debbie292d wrote an article https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/diy-mice-deterrent-pouches.79542/. I started using the pouches and they work.
I don't get the mice thing...I have 18-inch aprons around everything (coop and run), and I swear they can tunnel that far.

 

[YCKMO Chickens]

I'm telling you from experience it is the mice. Even though they can kill them, the don't like the scurringing around them while they are trying to sleep. Use this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B78355CP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I don't get the mice thing...I have 18-inch aprons around everything (coop and run), and I swear they can tunnel that far.

I agree with @triciayoung, I think it is the mice at night. Chickens cannot see without good light.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The best I can figure the enclosed space protected from weather is about 45" x 69" but I think the nests eat up 13" of that so you are probably left with about a 45" x 56" usable area. I'm not a person that so rigidly adheres to magic numbers about guidelines for how much room chickens need that I get a hernia if I burp. I consider rules of thumb to be suggestions that will keep you out of trouble in most cases but not laws of nature. Most people can get by with less. Some people need more. If you follow the link in my signature below you can see some of the things I think are important.

I do not believe that chickens distinguish between coop space and run space. That's a human concept. I believe chickens are only concerned about how much room is available when they need it. They don't care where it is as long as it is available at need. If they have access to the run when they need it then it is available and can be used. If it is not available then it isn't there. That's why chickens can sleep in pretty tight quarters when it is dark at night as long as they can get away from each other when it gets light. If the run is predator safe many people leave the pop door open to facilitate this.

Your "run" space is also below the suggested guidelines of 10 square feet per chicken but many people get by with way less. Some people have trouble with even more. Quality of the space can make a big difference. Clutter to give them places to get out of line-of-sight and providing multiple feeding and watering spaces can help. If you run into a problem, feeding both in the run and in the coop might help, for example.

You are in the White Mountains of Arizona. You can get some fairly cold temperatures which, with a wind, could keep them inside. You can also get a lot of snow which can lock them inside the coop section only which would be tight. If you can wrap that run so it is always available and leave the pop door open for when they wake up you will probably be OK. It is tight but with an all-girl flock all the same aged you usually do not need that much room. It depends a lot on their individual personalities. Integration takes more room than after they have matured into a flock so I would not try to integrate any more.

As to the mice. My chickens will catch and eat mice at times but most of the time the mice are too quick and get away. Mice are really good at setting up places protected from the chickens to raise families. I do not count on my chickens to control the mice. I mainly use traps outside of the areas the chickens can get to so I can catch and eliminate mice. Since they are not poisoned I feed the dead mice back to the chickens.

I don't know why your chickens decided to sleep outside of the coop. It could be the mice, it could have been a predator scare, either real or imaginary. It could be one of them had an idea to try it. It could be mites. I just don't know. My understanding is that they are all now sleeping outside so they are not being beat up by some of the others.

My suggestion is to check them for roost mites after dark to see if that is the problem. If you want them to sleep inside, consistently lock them in the coop section after dark until they go in on their own. Just be there fairly early every morning when it starts getting light to open the pop door so they have access to outside if they need it.

Good luck!

 

[KimbosKluckers]

For 6 birds you're going to want 24 sqft of coop space, 6ft of roost space, 6sqft of ventilation (12-18sqft in a hot climate) and 60sqft of run space at a bare minimum. Prefabs are a trap that many of us have fallen into unfortunately. They are invariably too small with too little ventilation. It's usually cheaper and better to repurpose a used shed or otherwise build your own. What I would do is turn your existing setup into a coop and build a run around it. That's probably going to be the cheapest and easiest thing to do at this point since you already have the prefab

Thanks. They only have 20 square feet in the coop and about 16’ of roost but there are nest boxes-I added a lot of extra ventilation I wasn’t too worried about run size since it’s opened to the big yard from dawn until dusk. I did think about enclosing the run part too. I’m going to try to ward of mice and take down outside roosts. I will put them in and close pop door at night for a few days to see if they go in on their own after that. Right now pop door is always open.