Sleeping outside in freezing weather

[KimbosKluckers]

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.

Thanks for this! I also have 17-18” of apron but I open their run during the day I will try repellent. I have a spray but will look into these pouches.

 

[KimbosKluckers]

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

Thanks so much.

 

[KimbosKluckers]

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!

Very informative. Thank you. I have always left their pop door open 24/7 (except the first 3 days I got it) I’m going to try mouse repellent and maybe take outside roosts down. Put them in at night, shut pop door. It’s an auto door that I can set a timer to open. I also thought of enclosing the run…their run is always open to the yard from morning until dark right now. We have been getting snow and last night was 13°F!! As is tonight. I feel that’s too cold? Though there’s no heat in the coop either. On another note, today I’m getting a heated water bowl and a 100’ extension cord There was blood on their frozen bowl this morning and one gal had a bloody beak She looks ok but I feel horrible.
As for mites, can you only see them at night? Do I just use a flashlight and I can see them? I appreciate your help.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Roost mites avoid the light. During the day they hide in dark spots like cracks and crevasses and come out in the dark to feast on the chicken's blood. They tend to like the vent area since it is kind of moist. So to check for roost mites use a flashlight after dark and look in the vent area. Don't take a lot of time with the light shining in there as they will run from the light. Roost mites lay their eggs in the cracks and crevasses where they hide so you cannot see their eggs on the chickens.

Fowl mites live on the chickens all the time so you can check for them at any time. They lay their eggs on the feathers, close to where they feathers are attached to the body so you can also look for them.

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Well, I only put the light in days AFTER they started this. It’s just a small string of Christmas type lights. I thought they’d like that for the 2 hours at dusk. Since it didn’t work I kept them off the past few nights. Occasionally one or two will go in but the other 4-5 huddle outside. It’s brighter outside than in the coop. Thanks for reply!!

Oh I see! I did not know that...Now I am stumpedHow's the roosting situation? Did you move the perches? Did you do anything else to the coop?

 

[KimbosKluckers]

Roost mites avoid the light. During the day they hide in dark spots like cracks and crevasses and come out in the dark to feast on the chicken's blood. They tend to like the vent area since it is kind of moist. So to check for roost mites use a flashlight after dark and look in the vent area. Don't take a lot of time with the light shining in there as they will run from the light. Roost mites lay their eggs in the cracks and crevasses where they hide so you cannot see their eggs on the chickens.

Fowl mites live on the chickens all the time so you can check for them at any time. They lay their eggs on the feathers, close to where they feathers are attached to the body so you can also look for them.

Got it. I will definitely look. Thank you!

Oh I see! I did not know that...Now I am stumpedHow's the roosting situation? Did you move the perches? Did you do anything else to the coop?

Absolutely nothing changed except the weather

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Got it. I will definitely look. Thank you!

Absolutely nothing changed except the weather

That's really odd

 

[KimbosKluckers]

That's really odd

It really is. So I just sprayed for mice Hooked up a heated water bowl (after above event) and I’m going to wrap the run in shade cloth for a wind break in case this doesn’t make them go in. Thanks again.

 

[talkinboutchickens]

It really is. So I just sprayed for mice Hooked up a heated water bowl (after above event) and I’m going to wrap the run in shade cloth for a wind break in case this doesn’t make them go in. Thanks again.

That's good that u sprayed for mice Like @Ridgerunner said it could be roost mites maybe or some other sort of pest. You would think that mice would attract your chickens My chickens would probably want to be in their coop more so that they could eat the mice. I hope your hen is okay with the bloody beak I wonder how it happened? The cloth should help. Every winter we put a tarp up on one side of the run, and it blocks the wind Of course, happy to help Sorry that I didn't really know what was causing your chickens to roost outside

 

[KimbosKluckers]

That's good that u sprayed for mice Like @Ridgerunner said it could be roost mites maybe or some other sort of pest. You would think that mice would attract your chickens My chickens would probably want to be in their coop more so that they could eat the mice. I hope your hen is okay with the bloody beak I wonder how it happened? The cloth should help. Every winter we put a tarp up on one side of the run, and it blocks the wind Of course, happy to help Sorry that I didn't really know what was causing your chickens to roost outside

lol I thought they’d eat a mouse too (they have before) I assume at night it scares them? I believe the bloody beak came from frozen water bowl but I fixed that and she seems ok so far. The only thing I don’t like about wrapping the run with cloth is it blocks the warm morning sun. Hmm Good news is last night 3 of them slept in the coop! I’m hoping the others will catch on soon. I truly appreciate your help!
Oh and I wasn’t able to see mites but I’ll look again, I’m afraid I don’t know what to look for.