Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi! I live on a hobby farm in Minnesota, and we love having chickens around. But they always end up being picked off by the local wildlife and the neighbors farm dogs and cats (and probably our dogs too to be honest) because they REFUSE TO SLEEP IN THE COOP. When we first got chickens, I would go outside every single night and catch all 30 of them and put each and every one back in the coop. It took me hours. And then in the morning I would let them out. Well I'm away at college now and nobody has the time to go catch them all now, PLUS lots sleep out in the woods and we can't find them. Well inevitably they get eaten. Does anyone have any advice for how we can get our chickens to find their coop enticing? The only survivors are the ones who sleep in the rafters of the pole shed. I figured they would go in of their own accord, it's warm, it's protected from the wind, and it's COLD in Minnesota in the winter. Many of our chickens end up missing bits of comb or toes due to having spent the night in the woods. Well, if anyone has had similar problems or good solution ideas please write back!!! Thanks!!!

LAURA*

>>Hi! I live on a hobby farm in Minnesota, and we love having chickens around. But they always end up being picked off by the local wildlife and the neighbors farm dogs and cats (and probably our dogs too to be honest) because they REFUSE TO SLEEP IN THE COOP.

Oh dear. Well, I only have one idea, and it will only work if you are willing to catch them all and confine them in the coop at least one more time.

Could you build a fenced area, or more than one, for them? You would probably like to have more than one so you can rotate their "range" when it starts looking a bit ragged. If they are good flyers, you can either build it high (at least 4 feet or more), or clip their wings.

Then, if you want, you can add electric strands outside the fence to discourage predators from climbing over/digging under.

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Pituophis