Chickens are creatures of habit, and once they know where their roost is, they will return to it every night–like clockwork. Keep your chickens in their coop for 1-2 weeks.
Moreover, do chickens go back to the coop?
It is true chickens are creatures of HABIT. Once they have in their mind that they need to return to the coop, they will do it like clockwork. If you have them in the habit of returning to their “home” (the coop), then it is unusual for the habit to be broken.
If it is older birds it could be that the coop has pests. Not the same, or as bad as a predator, but mice or rats or red mite in the cracks of the wood might be putting your hens off entering the coop at night. Who’d want to sleep in a lice ridden bed! It can make them a little scared and it will stop them sleeping. So they won’t want to go in.
Well, so as the day draws to a close, and it starts to get dark, the hens already sense that it is time to go home – to the warmth and safety of the coop. It is true chickens are creatures of HABIT.
Should chicken coop doors be closed at night?
If the weather allows it, chicken coops should be closed at night. As many predators are nocturnal, this will greatly increase the amount of protection for your chickens.
One query we ran across in our research was “Do you open your chicken coop door at night?”.
Every morning the coop door opens at dawn as well as the their run door because my flock free ranges all day. At night everything closes up. It allows me to sleep late or get home late or even go away overnight and the system is automated. If you plan on keeping chickens for a few years – this is a MUST HAVE investment!
I keep my coop open (doors and windows) all day in the summer, and keep windows open at night if it is particularly hot out. In the winter I try to keep the coop open for at least a few hours each day even if it is cold, but more if the weather is nice. Also if you plan to leave your windows open, make sure your screen is installed securely!
Should I give my chickens a roost to sleep on?
Moral : please provide your chickens roosts to sleep on! In the wild, a flock of chickens try to get as high off the ground as they can at night, most often in the branches of a tree. They do this to help them stay safe from land predators. What we are trying to do is train the chickens that their coop is a safe place to sleep at night.
Do you have a coop door on the run?
We have the coop door and a door on the run. By using pulleys, 1 motor will easily open both doors. Every morning the coop door opens at dawn as well as the their run door because my flock free ranges all day. At night everything closes up. It allows me to sleep late or get home late or even go away overnight and the system is automated.