They choose to sleep outside...

[chickengeorgeto]

So true. A chicken doesn't know that coop is home until it has been forced to sleep in there for several nights.
Until then, they are just as content sleeping on the bed of a pickup truck or a porch handrail. No one ever told them what a coop looks like.

And remember that once you FORCE them to inhabit your coop they still may prefer to roost in the weeds.

Take your chances. Chickens who roost in the sticks are gambling men who IMHO would rather take the chance of a GHO eating them instead of Red Roost Mites doing it.

 

[Helen_Jayne]

As pirate girl said, you want to check for mites and any other critters they might be avoiding. There's a reason they aren't going in there.

 

[cmom]

Why don't you spray your coop on the inside if you suspect mites. I had mites this summer for the first time. I don't know where they came from because I hatch my own chicks and don't bring in birds from the outside (closed flock). Luckily they were only in one coop but I sprayed all of the coops as a precaution. I used concentrated permethrin spray, mixed with water and now have a dedicated sprayer, and thoroughly sprayed every crack and crevice, walls, ceilings, inside and outside the nest boxes, on and under the roosts, everywhere. No more mites. Now I check the birds once in awhile and have had no more mites.

 

[aart]

I don't know where they came from because I hatch my own chicks and don't bring in birds from the outside (closed flock).

Wild birds maybe?

 

[cmom]

I had mites this summer for the first time. I don't know where they came from because I hatch my own chicks and don't bring in birds from the outside (closed flock).

Wild birds maybe?

I don't know? The mites were in my chick/grow-out coop. I cleaned it thoroughly before I put them in it. They were in there quite awhile before I noticed the mites. The birds started looking scruffy so I checked them and discovered the mites. The birds were loaded with them. I tried bathing them with flea shampoo and it did help but didn't kill all of the mites so I sprayed the coop thoroughly with the permethrin spray as well as the other coops as a preventative. Now the birds are looking good.

 

[Gilmore768]

I have a similar problem. I have 10 hens and only 5 go in to roost. Others stay underneath the coop in a corner. I locked all of them in the coop for several days. One by one they started going in at night but has stopped at 5.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The wrens around my place tend to roost inside empity feed sacks in which I store used hay twine. There are usually two wrens in a feed bag, I guess because this helps the tiny little wrens better keep their tootsies warm.

The wrens survived for thousands of years without feed bags or any other human related thing.

 

[LulaBell]

Chickens are crazy. It seems that no 2 are alike, yet they are all alike. If that makes any kind of sense I think it is trial and error until you find a combination that works for your girls. The right kind of roost bar and height, the right lighting, ventilation, bedding, nesting box, feed, temp, etc. The list could go on for days. However you decide to deduce what the problem is, the #1 priority is to keep your girls safe. I think that is something we can all agree on Don't worry about it too much, things will come together. My best advice is to read, read, read! Educate yourself on your animal so you are prepared to deal with what IS going to be thrown at you at some point! Good Luck!

 

[Lidiapac730]

I have the same situation. My chickens sleep outside and I did everything recommended, I have light in the coop, I was putting them all in the coop at night for weeks, I put treats inside in the evening to lure them in... nothing worked, they just sleep outside. Only a few sleep inside but not always. But they do lay eggs in the nesting boxes inside the coop.