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Training your chickens to move to the coop at night

post #1 of 15
4/6/12 at 8:03pm
Thread Starter 

Hi, we are first time backyard chicken farmers with 4 6.5 week old chickens.  For the last week they have been outside full time, in their chicken run during the day and then moved to their secure nighttime enclosure coop at night.  The problem is they won't go into their coop on their own.  When it gets dark they just huddle around the door to the run instead of going up the ramp to the coop.  I have to go out and pick them up and put them in so I can close the door.  I know they can go up and down the ramp and in and out of the coop in the day, but they don't seem interested in doing that at night.  Am I just being impatient, or are their tricks to training your chicks?  Thanks!

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post #2 of 15
4/6/12 at 8:35pm

Is it darker in the coop then outside? 

http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=39612-bio-bators
http://www.eggzy.net/
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http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=39612-bio-bators
http://www.eggzy.net/
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post #3 of 15
4/6/12 at 8:43pm

I have a ramp to get to my coop too! I had to go out there every night for about 4-5 weeks and manually push my chickens up the ramp and after about 4 or 5 weeks I went out there and BOOM they had gone up there by themselves!

 

I guess they got tired of my constantly puchin them in the butts every night lol. :)      But as long as it works i dont care!

 

Wishing you the best of luck!

Colby

3 silkies, 5 seramas, 3 dogs, and a perfect life................ I  my       's

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3 silkies, 5 seramas, 3 dogs, and a perfect life................ I  my       's

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post #4 of 15
4/6/12 at 8:44pm
Mine did this too. O just kept moving them by hand up the ramp and onto the coop everyday. Eventually they started doing it themselves.

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post #5 of 15
4/6/12 at 8:47pm

Remember that chickens cannot see in the dark, not at all.  They need a "night light" to get into the coop and settled..  then, later, after they are settled "tucked in", you can unplug or turn off the light.  Or, a timer will work.  Set it up to come on at dusk and go off at 9 PM or so...   you will have to adjust as the daylight length changes.

You can also try keeping them inside the coop, and not let them out into the run for a couple of days...  two or three days.

 

They are young and will eventually get it.  Do they have a ramp up to the roost as well (inside the coop)?

 

Best of luck.

Same "old" Chicken_Pauper, just changed my Avatar, AGAIN!

2 Chronicles 7:13-14

 

http://www.joegriffin.org/Pages/default.aspx   -   http://www.rbthieme.org/  - http://www.gdconline.org/Pages/default.aspx - http://www.gracemissions.org/publications.aspx

 

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Same "old" Chicken_Pauper, just changed my Avatar, AGAIN!

2 Chronicles 7:13-14

 

http://www.joegriffin.org/Pages/default.aspx   -   http://www.rbthieme.org/  - http://www.gdconline.org/Pages/default.aspx - http://www.gracemissions.org/publications.aspx

 

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post #6 of 15
4/7/12 at 7:05am
Thread Starter 

Wow, thank you all for responding so quickly.  This is my first post on BYC and the response has exceeded my expectations.  I have started putting a nightlight in the coop and I guess I expected it to start working right away.  I will just be patient with my chick training.  Thanks again!

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post #7 of 15
4/7/12 at 1:51pm

LL

 

 

LL

 

LL

LL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Edited by centrarchid - 4/8/12 at 10:14am
Make every effort to understand your chicken's biology and the environment that supports it.
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Make every effort to understand your chicken's biology and the environment that supports it.
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post #8 of 15
4/7/12 at 1:55pm

just keep at it they'll figure it out sooner or later. 

Father of 1 2yr old daughter, 1 beagle/basset hound, 1 pit bull/basset mix, 1 mutt chicken, and 2 dominique pullets, 2 rir pullets

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Father of 1 2yr old daughter, 1 beagle/basset hound, 1 pit bull/basset mix, 1 mutt chicken, and 2 dominique pullets, 2 rir pullets

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post #9 of 15
4/7/12 at 2:24pm

Or they won't. Mine are a year old and still don't go into the coop to sleep at night.  Instead they chick-pile into the corner of the run.  Oh well, at least it's secure.

Gotta hatch 'em all! Check out my blog! http://texasfarmwife.atwebpages.com/
Home made incubator, up and running and in it's test phase. It's DY-NO-MITE!

Chicken math, because story problems are hard

School presentation: Incubation; What's Going On In There? (pdf)

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Gotta hatch 'em all! Check out my blog! http://texasfarmwife.atwebpages.com/
Home made incubator, up and running and in it's test phase. It's DY-NO-MITE!

Chicken math, because story problems are hard

School presentation: Incubation; What's Going On In There? (pdf)

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post #10 of 15
4/7/12 at 2:28pm

Cheese.  They love cheese.  Our birds free range all day.  A little shredded cheese in the coop is their "bedtime snack".  We walk to the coop with the bag of cheese and in they come :)

 

Married over 25 years to the same man who tolerates my off the wall ideas.  One son who is a member of the Blue Angels precision flying team.  A wonderful daughter in law, two grandsons, and one granddaughter.
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Married over 25 years to the same man who tolerates my off the wall ideas.  One son who is a member of the Blue Angels precision flying team.  A wonderful daughter in law, two grandsons, and one granddaughter.
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