problem with Hen.

cosher10

Hi,

im starting to get worried about one of my hens.

i have just gotten 3 hens last week out my urban back garden and i have them in an enclosed run. they used to go into the coop every night around 9 or so. but now one of them wont go in at all even when i go out at midnight she is in a corner outside sleeping. i am still getting three eggs everyday in the coop so she goes in during the day to lay.

The hens dont fight with each other so im hoping the other two are not bullying her i cant see any evidence of this im just worried she stays out all night.

at the moment i leave the coop hatch open all night in the hope she will go in at some stage. it is not in danger of foxes or anything so im ok that way.

any advice on anything is much appreciated.

sorry for long post

Rasmus

Are you sure a predator did not get into the enclosure? When any of my hens refused to go into the coop at night I think it was because they got a scare. Maybe lock her in for a few days so she feels like it is her home again.

Iyaibeji

cosher10 wrote: »

Hi,

im starting to get worried about one of my hens.

i have just gotten 3 hens last week out my urban back garden and i have them in an enclosed run. they used to go into the coop every night around 9 or so. but now one of them wont go in at all even when i go out at midnight she is in a corner outside sleeping. i am still getting three eggs everyday in the coop so she goes in during the day to lay.

The hens dont fight with each other so im hoping the other two are not bullying her i cant see any evidence of this im just worried she stays out all night.

at the moment i leave the coop hatch open all night in the hope she will go in at some stage. it is not in danger of foxes or anything so im ok that way.

any advice on anything is much appreciated.

sorry for long post

When i got my hens they were point of lay, so still young.
The first night i had them one of them didnt go into the coop with the other two when it got dark, she was sitting in a corner of the run.
I had to go out and lift her in.

The second night she didnt go in either but when she saw me coming she got up and went in to roost.

I have had no problems with her since.

Maybe pick your hen up and put her into the coop like i did?
She might get the idea after you have done it a couple of times.

SligoEdo

I agree with Iyaibeji.
Pick her up and stick her on the perch. We had to do it a few times when we first got ours....3 would go in, the other one would sit outside. She'll be no problem to pick up as they get very docile at night.

cosher10

hi Guys,

thanks for the replies. she has gone in the last two nights on her own so im delighted but in future i will pick her up as i want to get her into the habit of going in.

by the way i dont have a perch in my coop should this be something i should put in and i have put loads of straw in the coop but they pull out 90% of it and keep a small bit for the one nest box. ( as they only use one and dont use the other two) sorry for all the questions but im new to this completely but loving it.

Iyaibeji

Yes you need a bar for them to roost on.
Nothing too narrow, they like to be able to perch and fold their toes over the side and hunch down to sleep.

If they have somewhere to roost you might find that they dont throw out as much of their bedding.

There is a forum called backyardchickens.com and i have found it invaluable for information.
(am i allowed to mention other forums? Hope i haven't broken any rules?)

We are relatively knew to this lark too, we only got our chickens in october last year.

SligoEdo

Oh yeah, they'll be much happier with a perch. They originally lived in forests and at night would go up into the trees to sleep on a branch so they wouldn't get eaten by floor dwelling predators.

Qualitymark

They also prefer a nest box to be up off the ground.

Another informative site is Feathersite (http://www.feathersite.com)