Merging 13 wk'ers with existing flock - how to get them to sleep in the coop??

We have five 1+ year old leghorns we raised from chicks last year. This year we purchased 5 new chicks (2 Barred Rock, 2 RIR and 1 Easter Egger). We kept them in the house until they were about 6-7 weeks old at which point we moved them out to the existing run.

The way our coop/run is built is that part of the run actualy goes under the coop. So, we separated the run by using chicken wire from that point down and put a large dog crate in there to act as a temporary coop for the chicks. They had their own food & water in that area as well. We were told this would be the best way to integrate the chicks so that the older chickens would begin to get used to seeing them.

After a few weeks we started letting all of them out of the run and into the yard together so they could begin to mingle a little. About a week ago, we removed the chicken wire as well as the seperate food & water. There was a little pecking from the leghorns but after a couple of days they seem to be getting along nicely. The chicks have found their way to the food in the "big" coop, with a little help from me and are now coming and going freely. We originally left the old dog crate in the run for a few days even though they were no longer seperated but have since moved it out.

Here is my dilemma...the new chicks are still sleeping in a pile in the run. They do not go up to the coop at night with the leghorns. What is the best way for me to encourage this? Should I just put them all in the coop at night and lock them in? I don't want to cause too much of a ruckus or force anything that might cause the younger chicks to get picked on if it is not necessary. Most of the new chicks are already as big, if not bigger in a few cases, than the leghorns.

Any recommendation for how I can get all my girls roosting together in the coop??

Thanks in advance!

If they have been getting along during the day and are the same size, put them in the coop on the roosts. They just have no idea that the coop is their new home. It may take a little while, but they will get the idea.

Could you put a new roost/perch in the coop just for the new ones? They may not be comfortable sharing the roost with the old girls. Once you have a new perch, you can go out after dark and gently move them to the new perch. Depends on how skittish they are. But it sounds like you have made it very comfortable for them, so it just might work!

The older girls may not let the new ones on the roost if there is only one. This is the part of integration that takes the longest. Placing them in the coop every night until they catch on will help, but don't crowd them onto the roost next to the older girls. Installing a secondary roost helps.

BUT, roosting is learned balance, and they have to practice. See if you can show them during the day, or provide a "balance beam" in the run for them to play on. When raised in a brooder and then sleeping in a pile... the roosting comes much later.

I've found that providing play roosts to chicks encourages roosting later on. They just need to learn to roost, so that they can be more confident in taking a spot on the roost near the older girls. It sounds like their fear of the older girls is mostly gone? It can take them some time to get "brave" and claiming their own territory so to speak.

Might not be a bad idea to keep the extra food and water, unless you've seen nice sharing going on. Sometimes the older birds will continue to "guard" the food and make the young ones wait their turn.

I keep two of everything going until they're legit friends. Two roosts, two feeders/water, 2 doors open (my older girls will guard doors too)

I got lucky this year with a real sassy pullet, she leads the others around and will stand her ground in front of most of the older girls. Only one doesn't tolerate her sass. But she's drawn the line in the sand for her and her friends, which has made my job a lot easier. It can take months for pullets to really get settled in and accepted.