Hens go broody when you don’t want them to… and won’t go broody when you do. 
Coop Haters
My hens won't go into the coop to lay.
Or to live, for that matter.
I'm on my third flock of hens in this location, and unlike the previous two, they absolutely HATE their coop. It was thoroughly cleaned before moving in a new flock, and the new flock, like the others, was raised in our house until pretty tame and old enough to handle nights outdoors. They began life in the coop and its small attached pen, then in time were released free range like our other flocks. But these birds refused to return to the coop. With racoons and foxes in the area, I collected them one by one at night and put them away and shut them in until morning, because they wouldn't go in otherwise. I live in the foothills (5,200 elevation) and see snow three seasons a year, and yet they insisted on sleeping outside, piled together for warmth, clear into the winter, until it was so cold outside that they were turning blue in the combs and I said, "You idiots! Inside with you by force, then!" and locked them in for the duration of our very heavy snow season. They have a very small roofed pen attached to the coop, and that's where they were day and night until the nights reached well below zero and they finally consented to sleep indoors. Foolish things. During their lock-in time, they began laying, and that's been all well and good. But now it's spring, and while we still see snow on and off, it doesn't linger, and I'm ready to let them out. One problem: they refused to come back to the coop to lay the first day I let them out. As before, they want to sleep elsewhere. They must have laid their eggs somewhere out in the two acres of wooded land we live on, and that's no good - I can't collect them that way. If they won't go in to lay, what do I do? Keeping them locked in that little pen all year seems cruel. We've never had such an odd flock before.
My hens won't go into the coop to lay.
Or to live, for that matter.
I'm on my third flock of hens in this location, and unlike the previous two, they absolutely HATE their coop. It was thoroughly cleaned before moving in a new flock, and the new flock, like the others, was raised in our house until pretty tame and old enough to handle nights outdoors. They began life in the coop and its small attached pen, then in time were released free range like our other flocks. But these birds refused to return to the coop. With racoons and foxes in the area, I collected them one by one at night and put them away and shut them in until morning, because they wouldn't go in otherwise. I live in the foothills (5,200 elevation) and see snow three seasons a year, and yet they insisted on sleeping outside, piled together for warmth, clear into the winter, until it was so cold outside that they were turning blue in the combs and I said, "You idiots! Inside with you by force, then!" and locked them in for the duration of our very heavy snow season. They have a very small roofed pen attached to the coop, and that's where they were day and night until the nights reached well below zero and they finally consented to sleep indoors. Foolish things. During their lock-in time, they began laying, and that's been all well and good. But now it's spring, and while we still see snow on and off, it doesn't linger, and I'm ready to let them out. One problem: they refused to come back to the coop to lay the first day I let them out. As before, they want to sleep elsewhere. They must have laid their eggs somewhere out in the two acres of wooded land we live on, and that's no good - I can't collect them that way. If they won't go in to lay, what do I do? Keeping them locked in that little pen all year seems cruel. We've never had such an odd flock before.
