[tweed]

I wrote earlier about hens that had been dumped in my chicken run, which are now part of the family, however the interlopers prefer not to come into the hen house at night and would rather roost in bushes and trees, not too high of the ground. Although they are tame, every night we have to capture them and put them into the house. Can anyone suggest why they prefer to stay outdoors? They should been used to their house by now.

[bantam novice]

I am not an expert but possibly if you can catch them and keep them in the coop for about 24 hrs before letting them out again (not forgetting to put food and water in the coop) that might help them to identify the coop as home.  Good luck whatever you decide to do and well done for looking after your interlopers. 

[daisy1990]

lots of reasons why they may prefer the trees.  Lots of hens like to stay outside given the choice.  Your new girls may be wary of going in the coop (a confined space) with the higher ranking hens who may peck them when there is no escape.  They may not recognise the coop as being home.  The coop may feel too warm (we have had some hot nights and the other hens give off heat so they may feel too warm).  They may be used to sleeping outdoors (do you know how they slept in their previous home?)

I agree that keeping them in the coop for 24 hours can help them understand this is their new home, but lifting them in each night will usually convey the same message.  I know some keepers let their hens roost in trees all year around, but I would worry about fox attacks and the cold in winter

[ChristyRose]

I took my first 7 chickens in when my neighbour moved and she used to just leave them out at night and they used to roost in the trees.  I didnt have any mature trees in my run so they soon got used to using the hen house.  I would be worried about foxes at night aswell.  I dont know how big your trees are but could you drape netting or put mesh around the trees so that they cant jump up?