Won't go in coop, which door should I make automatic.

[GHagler]

Our 4 pullets have been outside in their coop since mid April. It is a prefab TSC coop that has been working well for us. They have a large run under our deck that they have access to during the day, I took out one of the sections of hardware cloth in the coop and made a sliding door that we can open and close to keep them in the coop. The outdoor run area is under our deck and about 12x25 and we have enclosed with chicken wire. We also let them out to free range in the backyard most evenings for a few hours.

For their first two weeks outside we kept them in the coop - they had access to the upstairs and the small attached run. Since then we close them in the upper area of their coop at night and during the day they have access to the entire coop, nesting boxes, attached run and larger run. Since April the girls have been nicely going upstairs into their coop at night. If they are out free ranging they automatically head back inside like clockwork at 8:45 - head up the ramp and into their coop to roost for the night.

All of a sudden last week they have stopped going up the ramp into their coop at night. They come in from their large run and hop up onto the roosting bar in the small attached run. I have to pick them all up and stick them through the door into their upstairs area and close the door behind them.

So here are my questions...

1. Why have they all of a sudden stopped going upstairs like clockwork to roost for the night? Must they roost upstairs at night or is it ok to let them roost in the coop run?

2. I have 1 automatic door that I purchased to install. Should I put it on the upstairs door (assuming I can get them to go inside to roost again!). Or give them full access to the coop & small run, let them roost wherever they'd like (we haven't had any predator issues) and install the automatic door between the large run under the deck and the coop?

 

[azygous]

The major consideration to letting the chickens roost at night in the lower space under the coop is that they could be vulnerable to a predator reaching in from the side to try to snatch a chicken. It's why most chickens instinctively choose to roost where they have full cover at night. Chickens are "sitting ducks" when they are on a perch at night.

You would need to observe your chickens at roosting time to try to figure out what may have caused them to prefer not to sleep upstairs. Chickens usually have a good reason for not sleeping in their coop. Conflicts over the perch, coop mites, rodents, maybe it's too hot and stuffy in there.

Don't assume that you will never have a predator attack simply because you haven't had one yet. Wildlife is constantly moving in and out of territories and ranges. You can go years without a predator noticing the chickens, and then bam! One morning you come out and see a chicken with a bloody wing stub where a predator had tried to drag her through the side mesh. This happens far more often than you'd think.

I can't speak to placement of automatic doors. I am not in favor of them for some distinct reasons. First, they can injure a chicken that gets caught going through just as the door closes. Chickens have been left out overnight on the wrong side of an automatic door. And the biggest reason I oppose these doors is because it lulls a chicken keeper into a false sense of flock well being when it's far better to see and inspect your flock regularly each morning to catch any possible health issues before they become too serious to resolve.

 

[GHagler]

azygous Thanks so much! That was my initial thought about predators - I would much rather them roost upstairs. I've been watching them in the evenings and they don't seem to even want to try to roost inside. They walk in an hop up on the lower roost and call it a night. It could be stuffy as it is August in Atlanta but temps are about the same as 2 weeks ago when they seemed to enjoy their indoor roosts. Maybe I will add a few more vents and see if that is the fix?! Thanks for the automatic door info - our main reason to install one is for the ease of a chicken sitter that we need for a beach trip - I have a sitter that can come once per day so I would like the door to be automatic so the sitter has one less thing to do?! When I'm home I still plan to come and chat with them in the am - they enjoy our tea time together

 

[azygous]

I can understand wanting to make things as easy as possible for a chicken sitter, but it actually defeats the purpose of a sitter to makes it so easy she doesn't need to see the chickens in the morning. Eyes on your chickens is why you have someone check on them.

My neighbor is happy to come do a mid-day check on my chickens when I need to be gone all day. One time she walked into the run and discovered a hen with her foot caught on a perch brace and was dangling upside down. She saved the chicken's life.

Things happen over night that should be discovered first thing in the morning. If I had to be gone overnight, I would want my sitter to check on the chickens first thing in the morning and again mid-day, and if I had to be gone that night, a bedtime check is important.

Chickens are like kids. If you leave them alone without checking on them, they can get into all kinds of trouble.

 

[Mrs. K]

Well I imagine that little house is hot, but what I think is the main problem, is it is not big enough for 4 full grown chickens. The coop looks to me to be about 3 x 2 or 6 square feet. A little small for 2 chickens.

What seems like more than enough room for chicks, rapidly becomes not enough room for full grown birds. I am sure that set up sold as being enough room for 6 birds, they generally do, but they do not have enough room for anywhere near that.

People often have the misconception that if during the day time, they have enough space, that will make up for a too small coop. It does not. All night is a long time to be cooped to tightly together.

What the chickens are telling you is that they out grew the coop, they found a solution by roosting outside that little house.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

Tiny coop/run combo could be made into all coop.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you're interested in converting the entire prefab into a coop...

So to turn it from 2 small "boxes" (tiny coop above tiny run) into 1 bigger "box" you'll want to remove as much of the inside coop wall as possible, plus the floor. Take out the old roosts too.

Nests might be able to stay as is, or may need to be relocated elsewhere or replaced - depends on the structure of the coop and how things inside stack up once done.

Run a new roost(s) lengthwise across the newly open space. Ideally you’d like 12” per bird but 10” can suffice in many cases.

Board up some of the external wire walls so that the roost area is protected from winds and rain. Do NOT fully cover up all the wire, you need ventilation and natural light, so at the very least a few inches under the roofline should remain open. If your climate allows for it, you can leave entire walls open with just the mesh, but I don't know how cold it gets in winter - though you also make it convertible for the season by covering up open walls for winter, and then uncovering for hot and humid summers.