Chickens roosted in run, not hen house tonight

[Steve Harmony Grove]

Hi Everyone. 

 

Have a question.  Prior to tonight, I beleive the chickens always have made their way into the hen house at dusk.  For some reason, tonight I decided to go out and check on them.  I found the hen house empty, and all four hens were roosted on the highest roosting bar in the run. 

 

I think they are perfectly safe there, as the run is fully enclosed.  But I'm wondering why they didn't go into the hen house tonight.  Perhaps it's cooler out in the run?  Is this anything I should be concerned about, or just leave it to them to decide where they want to roost for the night.

 

Thanks for your advice on this.

 

Steve

[Steve Harmony Grove]

Update - as I expected, they made it through the night fine.  I'm still wondering if this is possibly the start of a bad habit on their part, or if this is maybe nothing for me to worry about.

 

I wonder what would happen if they roosted in the run, and some bad storms roll through at night.  I'm assuming they'd be stuck out on their roost having to ride out the storm and they would get all wet.  Isn't that something to worry about?

 

What have you all experienced with this kind of thing, and what if anything did you do about it?

 

Thanks.

 

Steve

[Erica Solis]

Are they roosting on a spot higher than roosts in the coop? Chickens like to roost as high as possible.

Erica

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[Steve Mlejnek]

Thanks Erica.

 

The high roost in the run is about the same height as the roost in the hen house.  I could remove it and see if that forces them back into the hen house.

[WoodlandWoman]

I would check to see what the temperature and air quality is inside the coop.  You might need more ventilation in the coop.  More ventilation can let cooler air in and let the trapped heat out, at the end of the day.  If the air quality isn't good, you might need more ventilation or you might need to manage your litter differently.  You might need to clean it or add more litter, if you're doing deep litter.

We have some ventilation open in the winter and a lot open in the hotter months.

[Steve Harmony Grove]

So here is an update:

 

I had two roosting bars in the run, one higher than the other.  I lowered the higher bar down to equal the height of the lower one.  Now they have two roosting bars at the same lower height in the run, and both of these are lower than the one roosting bar in their hen house.

 

Since I did this on Friday, the hens have returned to the hen house to roost at dusk.  I can't be certain that this did the trick, but it certainly seems it didn't hurt!

 

I believe there is adequate ventillation in the hen house, with air flow that can come through on three sides.

 

Thanks for the feedback as always.

 

Steve

[WoodlandWoman]

That's great news!  Especially with all the severe storms lately.

[Math Heinzel]

Just curious, what is the purpose of a roost in the run?  Mine have a couple of low things (I don't have a cover and don't want them jumping out) to roost on, never see them on them, they spend all their time scratching or dust-bathing, or just lying on the ground.

The few times they have been caught out after dark, they find spots on the porch or tool shed, can be fun tracking them down.  (did I say fun? Not so much)

I'd worry about wet all night, especially with breezes.  Lowering the roosts makes the most sense to me.

Math

[C Bracewell]

I would tend to agree here.... roosts are "beds", the hens need to be 100% clear that they "go to bed" inside the coop. Putting desirable roosts outside seems unnecessary and confusing? 

Not sure of the goal? 

I have been known to put hay bales or lawn chairs out so that hens can chill out/rest/nap and be up off the ground, but I don't think they would ever confuse them for their proper beds/roosts.

-Carol