7 Tips Things To Check If Your Flock Won’t Use Their Coop
Many are surprised to learn that when keeping backyard chickens, you will spend the most money on their housing and infrastructure. The chickens themselves are often the cheapest part of the equation with the largest portion of the budget going to their coop, run, and accessories. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to create an inviting, safe, predator proof coop for your chickens. With resourcefulness and creativity, you can assemble or create a coop that your flock will love.
Is it OK to just let me flock sleep outside?
Ultimately the decision you make for the care of your livestock are your own, but your flock will be safer from the elements and nighttime predator attacks in a coop or barn structure with a door rather than roosting in trees. Depending on your climate and the predator pressure in your region allowing your flock to roost outside may be life threating due to things like extreme weather and predator attacks. Predators are not limited to wildlife and can include unmonitored domestic animals. Extreme weather followed by freezing temperatures can be fatal to some chicken breeds especially younger chickens, elderly chickens, and ornamental breeds. Some breeds of chicken and individual chickens are more weather tolerate than others. Some breeds and individual chickens are flightier and more prone to roost in trees than others. In general, and for most environments a coop, run, or barn structure is necessary to maintain a safe and healthy flock. Based on your specific situation or environment you may choose otherwise, but providing livestock animals (chickens or others) with appropriate housing and maintaining that housing is considered base best practices and is part of the expectations of care.
I’m moving my flock outside to their coop for the first time, how do I get them to use it?
The following is steps for introducing your first flock to their coop. If you’ll be introducing a new group of chickens to an established flock, that is its own dedicated subject. You can find more information about that topic here.
This is what worked great for my flock when transitioning them from their brooder to their permanent chicken housing outside. When working with baby chicks first make sure they are ready to go outside physically. This is typically at 8-10 weeks of age once the chicks have a full set of feathers from head to tail and no longer have any remaining chick fuzz. Transition your chicks outside to their new coop during good weather (above 35 degrees F when there will be no rain or storms). Remember temperature shock can be fatal to chickens so don’t transition your flock outside when there will be more than 20 degree difference between inside and outside.
Have your coop set up completed with: roosts and perches, ground cover litter (typically pine shavings, straw, or course sand), nesting boxes, a roof, and a predator proof door.
Place your new flock in their finished coop with adequate food, water, and grit for 24 hours. Allow the flock to remain in their coop for an entire day and night, opening their door to their run or grazing area after 24 hours. After one full day and night in their coop, the flock will identify the coop as their safe place to return to at nightfall. If after a few days you notice some of your chickens are still not using the coop you can repeat the process. If they are still resistant to using their coop you can explore the following tips to make the coop appealing and safe for your chickens.
It’s unadvisable to leave your food and water stations for your chickens in your coop as they will not use them when they roost and sleep at night. Doing so will draw pests like rodents into your coop. Ideally your food and water stations can be moved somewhere else that is accessible to your chickens in their run or grazing yard. If the only structure you have for your flock is their coop, you can store their food and water dispensers in a weather proof tote or utility shed nearby and hang them daily for your flock when they will be in use. You can use items like a boot tray under your feed dispenser to keep feed from accumulating in your chicken bedding as chicken feed when mixed with soiled bedding can create extreme unsanitary conditions which harbor bacteria and pests.
If you notice your flock has stopped using their coop, is avoiding their coop, or otherwise won’t utilize it here are some tips you can try.
Ensure the coop is large enough for your chickens. The bare minimum recommended space for standard size adult chickens is 4 square feet of coop space per chicken and 8-10 feet of run space (a run is a protected, typically wired covered day time exercise area) per chicken. Bantam breeds require approximately half of that. Larger, heavier breeds will require even more space. If the coop is not large enough for your flock they are unlikely to use it if given a choice. Overcrowding is directly connected to serious negative outcomes in chickens including things like: aggression, feather pecking, diseases, ailments, poor productivity, and other undesirable results. Providing your flock with sufficient space is essential, and providing additional space if possible is preferential. Overcrowding can cause some or all of your chickens to abandon their coop.
Have adequate roosts and perches for your flock. A common form of roost for your flock is a 2×4 with the flat 4-inch side placed down. This allows the chicken to disperse their weight over the whole foot and it also allows them to completely cover their feet with the feathers during extreme cold. Natural branches at least 3 inches in diameter can also be used. Be sure to sand off/remove any sharp edges or protrusions from any roosts or perches you create to avoid conditions like bumblefoot and other feet injuries within your flock. Dowl rods, broom sticks, metal tubes, and plastic tubes do not make appropriate perches and roosts for chickens. Having to grip a roost that is too small will strain your chickens’ feet muscles causing injuries and conditions like bumblefoot, lameness, and arthritis. Metal and plastic get too cold and too hot in outdoor weather and are too slick for your chickens to grip safely. Wooden roosts are best. For elderly or small chickens you can repurpose items like a bale of straw or an old thrifted chair. Roosts should be at least 2 feet off the ground to allow your chickens to feel safe and give them relief from moisture and cold in their environment. You can build a ramp up to your roost for elderly or smaller chickens (bantams). Each standard size chicken will need at least 8-10 inches of roosting space per chicken. More roosts are better than not enough. You can experiment with different levels and positions to find the arrangement that works best for your flock.
Keep your coop clean. Developing a daily and seasonal maintenance routine is essential to the health of your flock. Chicken droppings are 70% or more comprised of moisture. Allowed to accumulate unchecked excess droppings become home to pests and disease and additionally can contribute to conditions like frostbite and ammonia toxicity. Removing droppings from roosts and perches makes them more appealing and safer for your flock. Removing droppings also keeps your eggs cleaner! Whether you are using deep bedding method or spot clean and scoop method, a clean well-maintained coop will be naturally more appealing to your chickens.
Place your coop in a peaceful place. Your chickens need a good night sleep to be productive but also to feel safe and rested. If your coop is positioned somewhere where your flock is being interrupted in the middle of the night by things like bright lights or loud sounds, they may abandon the coop. You can use things like natural shrubs and trees as sound barriers for your coop. Plywood, tarps, and stacked straw bales can also be used to construct walls to give your flock additional protection from sound and disruptions.
Make sure no predators have made a home for themselves inside your coop. If your flock is hesitant to use their coop, there is a reason. Sometimes that reason is a well-hidden predator has moved in. Predators like snakes and rodents, even raccoons can permeate your coop and make a home for themselves in thick bedding, in the walls, or even on the ceiling. Check your coop thoroughly for a predator presence. At night you can place a flashlight or electric camp lantern inside your coop and walk around the outside. The light will show holes and places where predators may be accessing your coop. Check the perimeter of your coop for signs of digging, scratches, unexplained holes, and other signs of a predator presence.
Make it easy for your flock to access their coop. What might seem like a small and easy step for us might actually be challenging for your flock. Chickens are diurnal, meaning they are most active from dawn to sunset, and they are effectively night blind which is why they have the instinct to roost at night (to get off the ground and get someplace high) to protect themselves from predators when they are most vulnerable. If the coop door is too small, too high, or too dark for them to navigate when they are seeking their safe evening roosting place they are unlikely to use it. You can easily assemble a walkable ramp for your chickens from scrap wood or purchase a poultry ramp. Things like straw bales or branches can also be repurposed to give your flock greater access to their coop.
Does your coop have a predator proof door you can open at dawn and close at sunset once all of your flock is inside? The door to your chicken coop should be easy for you to operate and heavy enough that it can’t be easily pushed aside or opened by predators. Redundant locks or latches are helpful to keep your flock safe. Automatic, timed, and electric coop doors are also available. If your flock feel exposed or unsafe inside their coop they are unlikely to use it and may seek shelter elsewhere. Your flock will need to be let out of their coop as close to dawn as possible and then have their door closed for them at sunset once all of the flock is inside. This routine helps keep them safe from predators and a peaceful routine also helps maintain their overall health and productivity.
Can you do everything right and have an ideal coop and still have your chickens or a few select chicks in the flock not use the coop? Absolutely. There are an infinite number of factors to examine if your chickens are avoiding the coop you have built for them and these are just a few. Observing your chickens during their nighttime routine to see what factors are impacting them may also help provide clues to their behavior. You can utilize outdoor cameras to watch your chicken area to provide additional information. Some breeds of chicken and individual chickens are more prone to explore and roost in unconventional places than others. If your flock has enough space, their facilities are clean and appealing, they are being fed adequately and appropriately, and they have enough roosting space they are much more likely to use their coop.
I hope this has been helpful to you to identify possible factors why your flock is not using their coop. If you want to enjoy even more backyard chicken and homesteading content and learn other helpful tips, check out Chuck’s other social media linked below.
Chuck and the Chicks 
One response to “7 Tips Things To Check If Your Flock Won’t Use Their Coop”
youre incredible kiddo ! keep up the good job !
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