Update-Why won't my silkies go into the coop? See post #9 for picture

[Hoover67]

DH build a wonderful, elevated coop (1.5' of the ground) and run for my daughter's silkie and the chicks. The silkies will not go up into the coop. She puts them into the coop on really cold nights. This is getting to be a pain. She has to crawl into the pen and reach way under the coop. Is this normal for silkies?

Michele

 

[Mrs.Puff]

I've heard silkies don't roost. I don't have them myself, but maybe that's why they want to sit under the coop. I'd cut the legs off that coop.

 

[conroy]

My silkies went into coop... maybe they can't figure out how...

 

[Mrs.Puff]

You could also block the underside of the coop so they can't go under there. You can teach them to go up the little gangplank by scattering scratch on there for them to go up there.

 

[FrChuckW]

Try throwing some scratch on the ramp and in the entrance to the coop. If the coop is new, it could also be that they are sensitive to the smell of the new coop. If you could upload some pictures of the setup it might help us come up with some other ideas for you to try.

 

[TaLani]

Maybe put up up some chicken wire or hardware cloth around the entire bottom of the coop so they can't get under the coop. Unless the purpose of the coop being 1.5' off the ground is for shade. You may have to keep physically putting them into the coop nightly until they figure out that's where they're supposed to go. I have 2 silkies, but don't have a problem at all with getting them to roost. They hop from one roost pole to the next highest one until they get to the one at the top (6ft!). Mine get their roosting cues from the other chickens I have though. If you don't have other chickens to show/teach them where to roost, you'll have to be their leader and show/teach them. Maybe there's a specific reason as to why they're not going into the coop such as mites, rats, etc.??

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Mrs.Puff :

I've heard silkies don't roost. I don't have them myself, but maybe that's why they want to sit under the coop. I'd cut the legs off that coop.

This is FALSE. Silkies DO roost, it's just that most people have their roosts too high for the silkies to reach them. Anything taller than 1.5 ft. and the silkie can't get up, so they just sleep on the floor. My silkies do roost, just depends on the height of the roost.​

 

[WiseChicks]

My Silkies do not care to roost on the perching rods or on the tree branches that are in the coop; however, one night I accidently left a milk crate in the coop, and the next morning the top of the crate was one giant fuzzy mass of white. Now there are 2 crates side by side to hold 9 Silkies and the 4 Belgian d'Everbergs that use the Silkies as "blankets". (It is the funniest sight to see these 4 little red heads poke up out of the White Fur Sea when I come in the coop.

Katie

 

[Hoover67]

Here is a picture of the setup. It is raining today so the photo is not great. There is a ramp that you can barely see. This coop is directly across from my mirror image habitat for my button quail and hopefully finches.

Silkie coop - DH built this just for them. The bigger mutt chickens were not very kind to her!

This is the button quail coop .... just for grins!

Thanks for the help!

 

[Mrs.Puff]

Huh- Well Year of the Rooster says silkies DO roost, they just need a shorter roost. Probably cause they don't have solid flight feathers to get very much lift. So sounds like you should block off the underside of the coop for a while, and they to lure them up into the actual building. Then maybe once they get used to going in there for a few weeks, you could open up the blocked off area so they will have full range.