Sleeping outside in freezing weather

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the old rooster said:
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
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My coop bars are higher than the outside ones but only by a few inches. I may try removing the outdoor ones completely for a bit. I’m just worried they may find a tree instead.
 
Yep, the little roosting bars that come with prefab coops are for chicks. Once they are fully grown they need something bigger to hang on to. My gardener (who does odd jobs for me, like building the low roost) accidentally cut up the only roost I had for inside, but fortunately we found one of the pieces. My husband attached pieces of the little rod to the 2x2 new one (so it would fit on the original brackets made for the little one.), and now I can see they are much more comfortable with the bigger rod. I use 2x2 redwood or a birch limb that is at least 1 3/4" diameter. They like both.
 
SoCal Chicken Mama said:
Yep, the little roosting bars that come with prefab coops are for chicks. Once they are fully grown they need something bigger to hang on to. My gardener (who does odd jobs for me, like building the low roost) accidentally cut up the only roost I had for inside, but fortunately we found one of the pieces. My husband attached pieces of the little rod to the 2x2 new one (so it would fit on the original brackets made for the little one.), and now I can see they are much more comfortable with the bigger rod. I use 2x2 redwood or a birch limb that is at least 1 3/4" diameter. They like both.
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I can’t believe I didn’t realize how small they were for their growing talons. I changed them to 1x5 boards but for some reason they’re still accustomed to the outdoor ones, I removed those today
 
KimbosKluckers said:
Thank you, it has to be coming in during the day when I open their run to the big yard. When their run is closed there’s no way anything can get in. They may have even already killed it lol. I hope no mites. I don’t see any but not sure I would?

I have six gals in this coop https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...210107&click_id=4690076279&clickId=4690076279
…but it’s never bothered them before.
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It sounds like I have a similar setup to yours with 6 hens also. Our girls are fearless, I’ve found snake and rodent skeletons while cleaning.Sometimes I let them free range during the day and clean about every 3 to 4 weeks. I use garden lime for deodorizing and mites. During the summer heat they liked sleeping in the run outside the coop on a roost. Now that the weather is getting cooler it’s seems to vary from night to night. They definitely go in during full moons. Chickens are pretty smart when it comes to their habits. If there are no mites, I wouldn’t worry and let them do what they do. Ours seem the happiest when they are free to act on their intuition.
 
Here’s the new, wider roost bars. I’m going back and forth on keeping the black ramp bottom center. It can help them reach the top if others are on the other small bar on bottom left but may get in the way when flying down? All run roosts are gone. They hate me now.
IMG_4266.jpeg
 
KimbosKluckers said:
Here’s the new, wider roost bars. I’m going back and forth on keeping the black ramp bottom center. It can help them reach the top if others are on the other small bar on bottom left but may get in the way when flying down? All run roosts are gone.
Click to expand...
Yes, I would remove the lowest black one.
The far upper one, is it it at least a foot from the wall?
Are all there new roosts firmly attached so they don't move or fall?
 
aart said:
Yes, I would remove the lowest black one.
The far upper one, is it it at least a foot from the wall?
Are all there new roosts firmly attached so they don't move or fall?
Click to expand...
Ok I removed the black one. I have not screwed them in yet. They are tightly wedged, I used a mallet to pop them in. I can’t move them by hand, hope that’s ok until I get a permanent idea. They are only 8” from the wall. Otherwise they’d be too close together I’d think.
IMG_4268.jpeg
 
ChickDaf said:
It sounds like I have a similar setup to yours with 6 hens also. Our girls are fearless, I’ve found snake and rodent skeletons while cleaning.Sometimes I let them free range during the day and clean about every 3 to 4 weeks. I use garden lime for deodorizing and mites. During the summer heat they liked sleeping in the run outside the coop on a roost. Now that the weather is getting cooler it’s seems to vary from night to night. They definitely go in during full moons. Chickens are pretty smart when it comes to their habits. If there are no mites, I wouldn’t worry and let them do what they do. Ours seem the happiest when they are free to act on their intuition.
Click to expand...
Oh wow. I haven’t found any skeletons yet. Haha. I’ll look into garden lime. I have not heard of using that. Thanks. Mine cooped up all summer when it was hot and want to stay out when it’s cold. They’re backwards! The moon has been bright, full tonight but I hope they go in now that I removed the outside roosts. If they don’t then I’ll put them back up and give up. lol.
 

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