They sleep in the pine tree!!!+

[Keri78]

That's right!

They are insistent that they MUST all sleep in my big pine tree now rather than their nice comfy barn!

I'm a little concerned about owls getting them but more concerned about once the younger ones start to lay that they will not go to the barn to lay eggs! My older hens we're all raised in the barn and a couple still sleep in the barn at night but all of my new chickens want to roost waaaay up high in my pine tree! I'm also concerned about colder weather coming and storms and if it's safe for them to be nesting in the tree at night...say in a snow storm???

Would they get cold and uncomfortable enough eventually and decide to get out of the tree and opt for the warm comfy barn? PLEASE help me out here!

 

[Keri78]

OK...I'm now having visions of me climbing up a pine tree in the middle of the night this winter in a snow storm to rescue 20 some dumb chickens that can't figure out where they need to sleep at night!!!!

 

[OregonChickenGal]

You need to confine them to their run for a few days. No free rangeing. After that, they may get the hint, and start going home to roost.

 

[gryeyes]

Did you lock them IN the barn for a week or so before letting them out? That's how I "imprint" This Is Safe Home For NightTime on my chickens.

I would catch 'em when you can and lock 'em in the barn for a while. Like a few nights.

 

[itsalladream]

What? No pictures?

 

[tuesdays chicks]

Call them into the barn before sundown and lock em up keep them in for awhile make sure they have good roost in there.

 

[jojo54]

yes, we need to see pics of a treeful of feathered goofballs.

sorry, I shouldn't laugh but my imagination got away with me.

 

[jacyjones]

We had this problem once and ever since we have clipped wings and always made sure we shut the new chickens in the coop and run for a few days so they know "home".

 

[wyndski]

I have a pair that just showed up from a neighor that moved, they were young. Shortly after they came he started crowing and then she started laying. I left them free ranging and they sleep in a high tree at night. She lays her eggs in my spare stall and even if I change the horses around she lays in the open stall. I live in fl, so I do not have snow storms thank goodness. I do have thunderstorms and nasty crazy weather and they still prefer the tree at night. It has been 5 years since they came and they still do the same thing. I do worry about preditors, and have kept my other chickens (their son and grandkids) in a coop and pen. I would say make sure you have high perches in the barn and try and lock them in at night for awhile.
















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[Keri78]

Thanks guys! I was able to wrangle up most of them yesterday but still have a few stranglers that are just being rebels at this point!

I raised them in the run part of my coop and then recently started letting them out during the day to free range. At night they would return to the run section of the coop. I was then going out and putting them all in the barn at night(barn is attached to the run). It started with just one or two hens deciding to sleep in the tree and then it spread to the whole flock and before I knew it EVERYONE was onto the "Chickie Tree Hotel Idea"!!!

We had a bad rain storm the other night and I was soo worried about them but there was nothing I could do as the roost waaay up high in the pine tree where I could never get to them! They weathered the storm just fine but like I said colder weather is coming and I would prefer not to have to worry about where their sleeping and soon laying. My plan is to eventually catch them all and lock them up for a week and then maybe just start out slow by letting them out just for an hour or two before bedtime to test out their home instinct. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks a million! Keri