Solitary chicken - need advice

[Sallybeligum]

Hello,
 

I have the eglu cube mkII and 3 Pekin bantams.
In the evening they all go up the ladder to sleep, BUT....once one chicken enters the coop, it stays in the doorway!  It turns around, facing the ouside and sits there...lets no one else pass!!
It can be any of the three chickens...the first that enters the coop stays...
 

I tried to put treats in their coop, put hay, push them... nothing helps!
As soon as I take them in manually, they stay inside...but I have to do it each night before the autodoor shuts!!  If they sit like that, the autodoor keeps on trying to close (which obviously doesn't work).

Does anyone has any suggestions to me here??

 

Greetings 

[Beantree]

The usual answer is red mite in the coop, but perhaps it is too hot or there isn't enough ventilation?

[Sallybeligum]

That wood be very strange as the coop is brand new, and I inspect it daily...no trace from mite.
I clean it once a week completely, with infecto+ spray just to be on the safe side, use ambiose, diatomaceous earth and tobacco stems in the tray as prevention....
So it is almost impossible that there would be mites in the coop
 

The ventillation should be ok in an omlet I suppose, or do I have to do something extra here?

They stay outside on warm evenings but also on chilly evenings...

[Beantree]

The only thing that I can think of is the smell of everything may be a bit too much or it's too dusty. We stopped using Aubiose because it was too dusty in summer and don't use diatom for health reasons. What do tobacco stems and the spray smell like? Not sure the ventilation can be definitely OK as it will need some breeze for an airflow, so it depends on your location. Certainly looks as though the hens want the safety of the coop, but don't want to be inside it.

[eggysoldiers]

Do they maybe just prefer the door as a perch to the roosting bars? 
mine seem to like the edge of the classic nestbox better than the bars. Was debating trying to fit a perch....

[The Dogmother]

It can also be a sign of the ranking within their pecking order - usually the most dominant bird will take the 'cockerel position' in the door, although this doesn't seem to be the situation here. I would persist in popping them in on the roosting bars and see if they pick up the habit.

I have mark 1 cubes, the runs are on slabbed bases, so pretty much as secure as they can be - I don't ever shut the door at night, so it doesn't matter whether they want to perch in the doorway or elsewhere. 

[majorbloodnock]

1 hour ago, The Dogmother said:

It can also be a sign of the ranking within their pecking order - usually the most dominant bird will take the 'cockerel position' in the door, although this doesn't seem to be the situation here. I would persist in popping them in on the roosting bars and see if they pick up the habit.

That makes a lot of sense.

We have a nightly rigmarole when the girls are getting ready for bed that one bird will go up into our mk1 cube and then sit in the doorway. A queue forms on the stairs until at least one other bird gets tired of waiting and pushes past. Most often, the bird in the doorway will then get up and move out of the way allowing the other girls to get in. The last bird in will try to sit in the doorway but be pushed or cajoled out of the way again by the dominant girl and, that being settled, I'll shut the door and we're all set for the night.

I always thought that was general lack of sense on the chickens' part, but now I'm pretty sure it's the result of each bird trying her luck at improving her social standing if only for a few minutes.

[Sallybeligum]

30 minutes ago, majorbloodnock said:

That makes a lot of sense.

We have a nightly rigmarole when the girls are getting ready for bed that one bird will go up into our mk1 cube and then sit in the doorway. A queue forms on the stairs until at least one other bird gets tired of waiting and pushes past. Most often, the bird in the doorway will then get up and move out of the way allowing the other girls to get in. The last bird in will try to sit in the doorway but be pushed or cajoled out of the way again by the dominant girl and, that being settled, I'll shut the door and we're all set for the night.

I always thought that was general lack of sense on the chickens' part, but now I'm pretty sure it's the result of each bird trying her luck at improving her social standing if only for a few minutes.

This looks a lot like mine....

1 hour ago, The Dogmother said:

It can also be a sign of the ranking within their pecking order - usually the most dominant bird will take the 'cockerel position' in the door, although this doesn't seem to be the situation here. I would persist in popping them in on the roosting bars and see if they pick up the habit.

I have mark 1 cubes, the runs are on slabbed bases, so pretty much as secure as they can be - I don't ever shut the door at night, so it doesn't matter whether they want to perch in the doorway or elsewhere. 

That is my plan...I keep on taking them in every night....  but I hope they will get it someday....

[Patricia W]

Mine sleep in the run on a perch in all weathers.   They are bantams who prefer to roost high.   I’m happy for them to do it as the run is secure.   

[Luvachicken]

You could also change the time that the door closes as maybe they will go in of their own accord a bit later.

We have set ours for 11pm for the summer to help keep it a bit cooler.

[Sallybeligum]

1 hour ago, Luvachicken said:

You could also change the time that the door closes as maybe they will go in of their own accord a bit later.

We have set ours for 11pm for the summer to help keep it a bit cooler.

Waiting doesn't help either, I left the door open one night when we went out, and we came back at 1 AM and they were still sitting the same way...no one wants to move an inch...

 

[Luvachicken]

On 7/2/2020 at 12:42 PM, Sallybeligum said:

Waiting doesn't help either, I left the door open one night when we went out, and we came back at 1 AM and they were still sitting the same way...no one wants to move an inch...

 

Oh, silly things xx

[NewbieChickenMomma]

Hi,

I want to follow this as I am in the same boat.  I have a brand new eglu cube and 8 silkies who are 11 weeks old.  The 3 smartest and bravest can climb the stairs and get in no problem...but they sit with their butts out the door so no one shall pass!  I know they do it on purpose because it must be the best seat in the house..

But the others just cluck in a frenzy at the bottom of the ladder and if I dont go and help them climb up the ladder by lifting them and moving the "bosses" out of the way   ...they all give up and go to sleep in a pile under the coop.  I want them all to be able to get up the ladder!!

Are some birds incapable of climbing the eglu ladder? The dumbest/timid birds seem unable to move their feet up the rungs....  they jump half way- the freakout and flap their wings and fall off!!

 

I had no intention of having to babysit chickens every night before bed!

[Sallybeligum]

For the people interested... I booked some progress...  
I put a little board richt after the autodoor....to thin to sit on... So if the first one wants to stay at the entrance, she is very unstable.  The rest can push her in.
This was a little progress, all the chickens were in, but their heads were still sticking out :-)
Now I put light in the coop (I had the omlet coop light, but it goes on for only 5 minutes...that is not enough), and a little bit of treats at the end of the coop.
Now they all go in (2 nights in a row), but now they sleep in the nest-space!!
I think it has clearly something to do with the bars in the coop....they are really struggling on the bars....
Should I put hay on the bars as well?  Or let them sleep in the nesting area?

 

 

[Luvachicken]

Block the nest box off with a Tub trug - that should do the trick and they will soon get the hang of it - or a bucket will do.

Well done for getting them almost where you want them.

[Sallybeligum]

13 hours ago, Luvachicken said:

Block the nest box off with a Tub trug - that should do the trick and they will soon get the hang of it - or a bucket will do.

Well done for getting them almost where you want them.

I don't need to block it off, because I have a cube Mk2 that has a divider for the nest box.  But as they never done it before, I didn't do it yet.
Yesterday I moved the light that I put in there at night, and it worked!  Before, the light was in the nest box, so that the coop was free for them...  Now, I put the light in the coop...and yes, they go in without trouble and go and sit around the light....   So finally, that is the trick!  Put a light in the coop and all chickens automatically gather around it...simple as that!!

I hope I can help, other people that have trouble getting chickens in there coop at night, with this solution...

[Luvachicken]

That's excellent that you have managed to solve the problem 

They must be like moths and gather around the light 

[majorbloodnock]

A moth goes into a podiatrist’s office. The doctor asks the moth, “What seems to be the problem?”

The moth says, “Doc, I don’t know where to start. I feel like my whole life has been a waste of time. I’ve been at the same job for twenty years and I don’t just hate it, I’m revolted by it. I can barely summon the strength to drag myself in every day but I have no choice because I’m in debt up to my compound eyes. The idea of doing this job for years more just makes me sick."

"I’ve grown apart from my wife. She’s no longer the woman I loved, and I can barely stand to be around her but I feel guilty for feeling that way about her. Doc, it just eats me up inside."

"My daughter’s shacked up at eighteen with a guy I can’t stand who’s terrible for her and she dropped out of school, but she won’t listen to reason and it breaks my heart. And my son… Doc, I just don’t know if I love my own son, because he reminds me of everything I hate about myself. I look into his eyes and see the same digusting, snivelling cowardice I know everyone sees in mine. I can’t even work up the courage to pull out my gun and blow my own brains out. I feel like my entire life is nothing more than a fragile web of lies just barely holding me back from the screaming abyss."

The podiatrist says to the moth, “You do seem to have a lot of problems, and it's clear you need professional help. But I’m just a podiatrist; you need to see a therapist, a psychiatrist even. Why did you come to me?"

“The light was on."

 

Badoom, tsh. I'll get my coat.

[Luvachicken]

That is so funny.

Just what we need on a grey day in these strange times.

[ChucksNZ]

Just reviving this old-ish thread, as I’m having a similar problem.

I got a new Cube this week for my 2 ladies, Gladys and Hilda, and they both seem reluctant to venture very far into the coop.

On the first night, Gladys parked her big butt in the doorway, and Hilda couldn’t get in at all. Hilda kept trying to force her way in, and they both just kept tumbling back down the ladder onto the floor in a big heap of feathers, accompanied by lots of squawking.

After the first night, Hilda is pushing her way in, but then comes straight back out again, and ends up precariously balancing at the top of the ladder with Gladys immediately behind her, both of them sticking their heads out the door.

They seem to struggle with the plastic roosting bars, slipping and sliding around, and I’m wondering whether to just take the bars out and put some shavings on the floor tray to see if they’ll go further in. I’ve tried a light inside as it’s darker than their old wooden coop (and the doorway is a lot narrower), and I’ve tried putting food at the back of the coop to tempt them in, but no luck there. 

Any ideas? I’ve spent a fortune on this, and I really don’t want it to fail!!

 

 

 

[mullethunter]

Mine hated the roosting bars at first in both the Go and the Cube. So much so that I used to have a wooden perch in there for them to use. However after I had a mite infestation and burned the perch they’ve got used to the bars - so I’d just give it time and hopefully they’ll come round.

[ChucksNZ]

4 hours ago, mullethunter said:

Mine hated the roosting bars at first in both the Go and the Cube. So much so that I used to have a wooden perch in there for them to use. However after I had a mite infestation and burned the perch they’ve got used to the bars - so I’d just give it time and hopefully they’ll come round.

Thanks, I’ll leave them for a few more nights, and hopefully they’ll adjust. They don’t like change, so maybe they just need a bit more time. I think I have a habit of worrying too much about them!

[Cat tails]

Not to insult Hilda and Gladys, but I seem to remember Polands not being the brightest lights on the Christmas tree... might take them some more repetition.😅

[ChucksNZ]

3 minutes ago, Cat tails said:

Not to insult Hilda and Gladys, but I seem to remember Polands not being the brightest lights on the Christmas tree... might take them some more repetition.😅

You’re not wrong 😁

[Sallybeligum]

On 9/26/2020 at 8:42 AM, ChucksNZ said:

Just reviving this old-ish thread, as I’m having a similar problem.

I got a new Cube this week for my 2 ladies, Gladys and Hilda, and they both seem reluctant to venture very far into the coop.

On the first night, Gladys parked her big butt in the doorway, and Hilda couldn’t get in at all. Hilda kept trying to force her way in, and they both just kept tumbling back down the ladder onto the floor in a big heap of feathers, accompanied by lots of squawking.

After the first night, Hilda is pushing her way in, but then comes straight back out again, and ends up precariously balancing at the top of the ladder with Gladys immediately behind her, both of them sticking their heads out the door.

They seem to struggle with the plastic roosting bars, slipping and sliding around, and I’m wondering whether to just take the bars out and put some shavings on the floor tray to see if they’ll go further in. I’ve tried a light inside as it’s darker than their old wooden coop (and the doorway is a lot narrower), and I’ve tried putting food at the back of the coop to tempt them in, but no luck there. 

Any ideas? I’ve spent a fortune on this, and I really don’t want it to fail!!

 

 

 

Yes, I started this threat and found a solution
It are not really the roosting bars that are the problem (of course the need to get the habbit), but it is the lack of light in the cube!
What you have to do is (aprox 1hour before it gets dark) to put a bright light in back of the cube.   The chickens go towards the light....
I have the coop light as well, but this wasnt bright enough, but a big led-torch did the trick....  You will see that they go to sit next (or on) the torch....
Once the door is closed, remove the torch...
After 2 weeks I stopped this ritual, and they went in all the way from then on....

 

Edited September 28, 2020 by Sallybeligum