Why Have My Chickens Stopped Going into their Coop at Night?
Refreshed 3rd March 2025, First published Sunday 19th September 2021
Here are FIVE good explanations as to why this could be happening.
Your chickens coop should be a space for your flock to eat, drink, lay eggs, and sleep. It should also be a place for your chickens to feel safe and be protected from the outside elements or any danger. However, sometimes chickens may suddenly decide that they do not want to go into their coop at night, which can be for a number of reasons.
#1 A Broody Hen
Hens can get broody, regardless of if you have a rooster. Although many hens will decide to stay in the nest of their coop so that they can sit on their eggs, others like to search for a quiet space away from the coop, which can mean remaining outside the coop all night. Moving a broody hen from her secret spot can be highly stressful for them, so should you decide that it’s best to move your hen inside the coop, due to safety concerns, you need to take great care when doing so.
You will want to reduce the light supply when you move her, as the moving process situation will be less traumatic in the dark. Our recommendation is to set her up in her own secure coop (away from the laying flock) such as this Dorking sitting on eggs in the Eglu Go Chicken Coop. The best time to move her is just prior to her starting sitting, if this is not possible, once you have moved her you will need to check regularly that she is still sitting on her eggs and has not abandoned them!
#2 Predators
Predators such as dogs and feral cats could be one reason as to why your chickens have stopped going inside the coop at night. These animals will spook your flock, with smaller predators such as stoats, rats and ferrets having the potential to gain access inside the coop by climbing over the fencing, or squeezing through small openings in the coop’s wiring.
Luckily, there are a few steps you can take to deter these animals and have your chickens back in their coop every night. One option is to get a motion sensitive light installed, which will scare off any unwanted guests.
All of the Omlet Eglu Chicken Coops are predator resistant, which will reassure you that your chickens will be safe from any night time visitors. With anti-tunnel skirts that lie flat on the ground, and heavy duty steel weld mesh, these features will help to prevent animals from digging in. When the house door is shut then your hens will be 100% secure all night long.
You can also invest in the Omlet automatic coop door which automatically shuts your chickens away in their coop at night to keep your flock secure, enclosing them until the time you set for the door to open in the morning.
#3 An Overcrowded Coop
Chickens need their own personal space, hence why many chickens are also kept free range. Not only is overcrowding an unpleasant experience for chickens, causing them to avoid the coop at night, it can also lead to further complications such as the build up of ammonia and an increase in disease. The solution? The more space the better!
How to chicken proof your garden
Omlet Chicken Fencing is available in 4 different sized rolls to suit your garden's/chickens' needs. You can also make any shape of chicken enclosure you like, rather than just squares or rectangles. Perfect for hens that need more space 😊
Invest in an Omlet Walk-In Chicken Run. These are modular and can be extended to suit your space.
#4 Tensions Amongst Your Chickens
Unfortunately, bullying amongst chickens happens, and isn’t actually too uncommon of a problem. Chickens naturally create a pecking order, whereby the flock will establish themselves in a social hierarchy of strongest to weakest chicken. However, if aggressive behaviour continues after the head rooster, or the dominant hen in their absence, has found their way to the top of the ladder, you may be dealing with a bully. Common signs are missing feathers from a chicken’s back, unusual weight loss, reduced egg production, or blood from where the victim has been pecked, all of which could lead to a chicken/s refusing to go into their coop at night.
To stop the bullying, and therefore get your chickens back in their coop at night, first try to establish the cause. Common reasons for bullying can be an injured or ill bird, having a large flock, or your chickens being bored. However, should the bullying continue after attempting to resolve what you believe to be the cause of conflict you might need to look at other solutions like give them more run space, keeping your flock busy with activities or removing the bully. Isolating the bully for a week may mean that they lose their dominant position in the hierarchy once they are reintroduced.
#5 Mites and Parasites in the Coop
Pests are a very common cause for chickens to have stopped going to their coop at night. Red mite in particular is a likely culprit, a parasitic mite that lives inside chicken housing and lays eggs in cracks near nests. They can make your chickens restless at night, as they live inside chicken coops and crawl onto the chickens to feed on their blood as they sleep. More active during warmer weather, red mites are also more likely to strike wooden coops.
Red mites are not the easiest thing to get rid of, however, with the right treatment programme you can get on top of them! The best way to avoid the red poultry mite is to have good, regular, coop maintenance.
If your hens have shifted outside to roost then this will most likely be the reason. Check you chicken coop for mites.
Luckily, chickens are creatures of habit, so once you’ve identified the cause, you should be able to get your flock back into the coop at night in no time!
Copy written by Sarah from Omlet and embellished by Fionna for our NZ Chook Keepers :)