Method to get the chickens to go into their coop at night?

i have five 5 wk olds.  they wanted to go under the coop & cry rather than go in.  i had to get them one by one & put them in the coop.  this went on for about 5 days.  then one by one they started getting in the coop @ dusk.  initially the others would call them back out again, but over 3 or 4 days they began going in & staying in. 

now i just have to go in to close the door.

Is there a light in the coop?  My neighbor said it helps to lure them in.  

Our 6 1/2 week olds have put themselves in 3 nights in a row after getting rounded up for 2 weeks.  Their auto door shut before they were in once and the sure made alot of peeping until we saved them.

Figure out who the leader of your gang is and show her the ramp, when its dusk if you put her on the ramp and give her some taps on her fluffy behind she will move forward up the ramp, the others will likely follow her.  One of ours went up on her own and stood at the top and called the others to come with her.  But the little runt of the bunch was scared so the other 2 stayed with her trying to get her to move, finally the boss came back down and got them all moving, we still had to help the runt up a bit, by giving her some taps on her tush to get her moving, but eventually they all went up and in.  It was really sweet to see that the other 3 would not leave the runt behind, though they seemed to be getting frustrated at her stubbornness and reluctance to move with them, but they kept trying! 

Quote:

Originally Posted by howfunkyisurchicken 

I just put my chicks on the roost every night. Then one night you'll walk out dredding rounding them all up and they'll already be there. Good luck!

Best advice! You don't need a light; you don't need chicken psychology. Just pick 'em up, put 'em in. One week. Every night. Same time. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by howfunkyisurchicken 

I just put my chicks on the roost every night. Then one night you'll walk out dredding rounding them all up and they'll already be there. Good luck!

This is what happens.

I started my chicks in the coop at 2 weeks old. By 3 weeks old they had the yard. I had to put them away every night. By 5 weeks old they were putting themselves up at night and out in the morning. It will just take 1 brave chicken to go up the ramp at night and the rest will copycat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mstricer 

I just leave mine locked in the coop for at least a week, then let them out for about an hour before sun set. They should figure it out. No light is needed.

I didn't have my run done when I had to put my chicks out in the coop.  They were locked in the coop for about a week and a half.  I've never had to round them up.  They all go in at dusk like good girls! (except the two that decided the pop hole door was a good place to roost, and that only lasted a week or so before they got over that)  So my advice would be to leave them in the coop for a week or so and then you should be good to go!

I vote to this just keep them lock for some time and then they will be all good girls