[orchardlady]

I purchased some new Cotswold  Legbar pullets about six weeks ago. I quarantined them from the rest of the flock in a nice little coop with a lovely big area to play. Probably about 100m square.
Everything has gone swimmingly and they settled into their new environment well.

On arrival I Frontlined them all and made sure their new home was slathered internally with a diatomaceous slurry and I mean everywhere perches the lot.

They happily went to bed at dusk and rose in the morning when I let them out. They now mix with the main flock (during the day) and the integration has been relatively painless as they have been in full view during their quarantine period.

These young ladies have started perching on the apex of their coop each night now. It started with two and is now all five girls.  I have to lift them off and place them in front of the pop hole and they them (mostly willingly) troop into the coop.

I've been to look in the coop at night and no sign of red mite, both with a torch and I've done the white piece of paper under the perches test.

The weather in Oxfordshire has been dry and sunny mostly but certainly not baking and cool of an evening.

Any ideas please?


Orchardlady.

[joyfull]

are the older birds preventing them from going in?

[orchardlady]

No these ladies have exclusive use of their own coop that they started out with. The main flock go off to bed just fine in their big hen house.

OL

[joyfull]

scared of the dark perhaps - have you tried the torch trick?

[Laidback]

We are pretty new to chicken keeping, but last year ours did a lot of this, particularly the Vorwerks and the Dorkings. Now, the Dorkings are a bit heavy for top of the roof antics (it's 7') and the Vorwerks have settled down too, though they can fly anywhere!

The Welsummers never bothered at all and usually just go to bed, so I wonder if it's a breed thing.

At present, with the decent weather, the two former rooftop perching breeds now sit out on their chest height windbreak at dusk and just socialise. At about 9.30pm we come along and say, "That's it, break it up" and generally they jump down and go in. Like you, there's no evidence of mites.

As yours are young birds, you may also find they settle down with age. Most of us do!

[joyfull]

Most of my araucanas sleep outside in the trees, they always have and show no signs of stopping.