Young chickens won’t go in coop with the older girls

[Hellomap]

Hi- first time chicken lady here- I have 9 chickens that aren’t all Arje same age. I have one group of 4 approximately 4 months and one group of 5 approximately 3 months. They are in the same coop togetherbut pretty much stick togetherness those group. At night the older group goes in the coop but the younger group won’t join them. I have put them in physically but tonight they kept escaping. They get along fine in the run and free ranging but for some reason won’t go to bed together- and help appreciated!

 

[ChickNanny13]

How big is your coop? Do you have enough roosts?

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

Agree coop size and roost bar count would help. I have 5 in my coop presently, same like you two separate flocks. I still have to put the younger away off/on even though they all roost together on one bar (there are two in the coop). Give it time, they will catch on if your coop size is big enough and you have enough bars.

 

[rosemarythyme]

My guess is it's "roost time rumbles" - chickens fighting over favorite roost spots, and the younger ones are being bullied off. Have you ever looked in at dusk and watched what the flock is doing?

How many roosts do you have and what's the total linear length of roosts? Assuming there's enough room, you could try putting in some cardboard or plywood around the bars to make a divider so that the younger birds can use one side and the older ones the other, without so much jostling.

 

[Hellomap]

The coop and the two roosting bars is about 4 foot long each the coop itself is 5’x 4’ with four nesting boxes

 

[Hellomap]

It’s funny the older girls roost at the opening to the coop and give the younger ones the stink eye like don’t come in here- there’s like 3 feet left they don’t use

 

[aart]

there’s like 3 feet left they don’t use

They know that 3' of roost is not enough for the 5 younger birds.
Did you get all these birds at the same time....or add the younger ones at a later date?

Coop may be(likely) too small for 9 birds.
Pics of coop and run, inside and out, may help us make suggestions for solutions.

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[Hellomap]

Thanks! Did it- it’s a coop from TS has two roost bars on coop parallel to each other eachapprox 3.5 feet long yes fist set of four chickens are 4 months second set is 3 months - it’s like I have two clicks of mean girls going on but they get along in the run and free ranging
Pictures coming

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We have our older girls separated from our 12-week olds in a separate small coop, they have separate bed times. The mature flock is roosted and settled typically a good half hour before the young-uns. DH has to wait at least that long before those young party anaimals are ready to have their door closed. Maybe you just need to give your younger birds a little extra time to settle down.

 

[woodmort]

I've had the same problem with two groups of pullets that are 2 weeks apart. Interestingly, the 6 older ones do not really go out--if they do they just hang within a couple of feet of the door--and when the younger ones try to come in they stand in the front of the door keeping them out, It isn't a case of coop or roost size since both have accommodated over 20 birds and we're taking just 12, it is just a case of bullying. Fortunately, after a couple of weeks they worked things out and the older birds relent as it gets dark. Hopefully this will pass for you as well.