Sleeping outside in freezing weather

[SoCal Chicken Mama]

Oh, I forgot to say, one of my chickens could not get up on the high roost, and the others were mean to her (she's way bigger than them and a different color). I isolated the bully one night, and now they all get along and "big bird" CAN get up on the high roosts. But I had to build her a low roost first, eventually she decided she can fly up directly to the higher ones. Maybe there isn't enough room to land on the the floor from the roosts that are inside, or maybe they can't get up there in the dark. Maybe a ladder, or a shelf to get up easier. With a light inside that is just on until the get up there?

 

[the old rooster]

My gals (8 months old) are starting to roost outside their coop even in snowy/cold weather. This just started a couple weeks ago, they used to always coop up. Nothing has changed except the weather. Their run is completely predator proof. Is this normal? I even put a light in their coop since I read that maybe my solar lights keep them out. I put them in manually a couple times and they run right back out. Thanks!

 

[the old rooster]

I have found that if the roosting bar is higher in the run .the Chickens will know this and roost there. Their instinct sends them to the highest point they can get to. So try lowering the outside bar lower than the inside bar and/or raise the inside bar . after you do this wate till they have roosted for the night and move them to the higher bar

 

[Doriss]

R

My gals (8 months old) are starting to roost outside their coop even in snowy/cold weather. This just started a couple weeks ago, they used to always coop up. Nothing has changed except the weather. Their run is completely predator proof. Is this normal? I even put a light in their coop since I read that maybe my solar lights keep them out. I put them in manually a couple times and they run right back out. Thanks!

My gals (8 months old) are starting to roost outside their coop even in snowy/cold weather. This just started a couple weeks ago, they used to always coop up. Nothing has changed except the weather. Their run is completely predator proof. Is this normal? I even put a light in their coop since I read that maybe my solar lights keep them out. I put them in manually a couple times and they run right back out. Thanks!

Rats would be a threat to their safety, and they'd try to escape. You'd be surprised how easy it is for a rat to get in and cause carnage. Start by examining the roof of your coop, for small holes.

 

[KimbosKluckers]

True. Looking back, all my girls except one started roosting elsewhere. Found mites in the coop later.

No signs of mites. I hope that never happens. How awful.

 

[KimbosKluckers]

It’s a really tough balance. We had a local chicken coop builder make our coop for us. Florida Chicken Coops! Look them up on YouTube if you live in Florida & interested, everyone. It’s so reasonable, as far as price goes. Cindy is absolutely the best! She customized our coop for what we needed. She works with you, and her last video (a few days ago) was about how well they stood up to the hurricanes with a repeat customer of hers.
We moved from California in late 2022, so we wanted a local to build us something we couldn’t build for ourselves. We wanted someone with knowledge of the climate & issues that might arise. She knows what’s necessary for this climate & it’s worked out amazingly for us, especially being first time chicken owners & Florida residents.
You need ventilation above & below. As well as windows you can close in the middle for wind & sideways rain. She uses sand for her coop floor. I still use hemp bedding, but I can see why she uses sand. You can fluff it up and it will dry even when sun is not directly on it. Hemp is decent, but I plan to change to sand when I can find a decent fluffy sand, for free or cheap. We have a lot of sand on our property but it is way too fine for the coop. It gets hard & compacted easily.
I think you’re right. If they continue staying outside, apparently they like it better. As long as they’re safe, it’s all good. We all have preferences.
All the Best,
Crystal

That’s great you found someone local who knows what your needs are! Thanks for all the help.

 

[KimbosKluckers]

You might want to remove the outside roosts temporarily, that might move things along more quickly.

I’m thinking of doing that today as no one slept inside last night. I was too tired to herd them in but it was warmer so I left them. I’m worried if I completely remove them they may just find a tree or something instead of the coop. Hmm

 

[KimbosKluckers]

I'm not sure where your solar lights are? Outside the coop/run area? If the yard is pretty bright I think it could disturb their sleep/wake cycle. Make them not want to go inside because it is not dark?

I wish there were solar lights that I could turn off after a couple of hours. I only want them from sunset to a couple of hours later, because I know the light pollution disturbs many kinds of wildlife and insects. And I don't need the yard to be light while I'm sleeping. But they are made to stay on dusk to dawn. If I remember, I put caps on them part of the day, so they don't last all night. They are far away from the coop and give off a pretty weak light.

My girls voluntarily crowd from the run into the closed part of the coop when it starts to get dark, so I put a flashlight in there until they are all up on the roost. It only takes about 10 minutes. Then I take it out so they can sleep in complete dark, and I lock all the doors in the coop and run. Once I forgot and left the light in all night and they were very irritable in the morning.

I don't let mine go loose, because I'm afraid of owls and hawks. If I take them out to free range on grass, they are in a chicken tractor with a cover. I have to catch them and put them back in the run before dark, they would just run all over and hide in the yard (or even fly over the fence, where all my neighbors have more dogs than me!)

I think the mice might be scaring yours at night, or maybe it is a bigger rodent. Since your wood floor area is so small, you could take all the bedding out and put a pet mat there. They cost about $15. It collects all the poop every night. I fold it up and shake it into a bucket in the morning and dump it in the compost. I rinse off any wet poop with the mat hanging over the side of the compost bin, and let it dry in the sun. I put a clean mat in every night, and wash them in the machine a few times a week. Your nighttime invaders might not be attracted to a floor with no wood shavings. I also put something like First Saturday Lime or Diatomaceous Earth once in a while to discourage mites. It doesn't cause a breathing problem if it is under the rug (which is lined with something waterproof on the bottom). I do have bedding out in the run area. If the coop feels too damp I put Sweet PDZ in there to dry it out and neutralize any odors.

My outdoor solar lights are very weak along the fence line. I did try turning them off until after they went to roost for the night, didn’t work. Then I added a small light in the coop that I would turn off after they came in like you mentioned, didn’t work. Funny yours got irritated about it on all night oops. I have not seen any more mouse droppings since I cleaned the few I saw but who knows. And no signs of mites :/ I may try removing outside bars and hope for the best. I appreciate all your advice!

 

[KimbosKluckers]

R


Rats would be a threat to their safety, and they'd try to escape. You'd be surprised how easy it is for a rat to get in and cause carnage. Start by examining the roof of your coop, for small holes.

Thanks. There’s absolutely no holes but I open their run during the day so it’s possible a rodent can come and go. I try to shuffle around and use a flashlight before I shut it for the night but you never know if one gets trapped in I guess.

 

[KimbosKluckers]

Oh, I forgot to say, one of my chickens could not get up on the high roost, and the others were mean to her (she's way bigger than them and a different color). I isolated the bully one night, and now they all get along and "big bird" CAN get up on the high roosts. But I had to build her a low roost first, eventually she decided she can fly up directly to the higher ones. Maybe there isn't enough room to land on the the floor from the roosts that are inside, or maybe they can't get up there in the dark. Maybe a ladder, or a shelf to get up easier. With a light inside that is just on until the get up there?

Aww m glad your girl figured it out and is no longer bullied. Mine have a “step roost” that they use to get to the high ones too. Nothing changed since they started this. I had hoped the bigger bars would be more comfortable. They sure are stubborn ha! I’m determined to figure this out.