Free range

[Lillith37]

The previous poster is right, they are too young. Try putting some scratch grain (favorite treat) or feed in the coop at dusk and CALMLY herd them in to the coop. Don't chase them, they will never learn when they are scared. Putting an owl decoy up will terrify the chickens.

The only time I have ever had to get up during the night because I heard the chickens upset about something and it turned out there was an owl on the clothesline which is right in front of the coop.

 

[Onyxflock]

The addition of a little lighting will help. There are solar options that your set up would be great for. Place on on the wall by the side window to shine down the outside wall and they'll se it through the window. When it's dark, that will tend to draw them in. Like she said, they can't see well in the dark. And the garden solar lights are fairly dim.
It will also give you added benefit of seeing what's going on at night if you need to have a look.
X5 - That's a big area. Yes move the set up or add structures around. Also add perimeter fence - especially at first. They need to be trained to the area, and if you have structures around by their house they'll want to be there. Garden wire 4' at least, it's not expensive so you can surround a large area - it helps you contain them and easy to move if necessary.

If you have owls - don't believe they only come out after dark. Hawks are morning and late afternoon predators.

 

[Donette]

This never works for long.

First, you wrote that your birds were 5 weeks old so they are still chicks and with no adult chickens to teach them about roosting in the coop, they won't do it on their own at that age. They are of an age where they are more likely to huddle up in a pile in the corner somewhere. But with your run being completely vulnerable to predators due to the use of chicken wire instead of 1/2" hardware cloth, this is very bad for them.

Eventually they will use the coop. Can you post pictures of the interior and of all the ventilation you have other than that window?

I would recommend flipping the closure on the window over to have it top hinged so it can be propped or hung open during rain and it will keep water from entering the coop. A glass or lexan window would be better to let light in when it is closed.

One other potential issue is the placement of the coop out in the open like that. Birds feel much more secure near structure: trees, shrubs, buildings so they can run to shelter if they are attacked. And there are tremendous benefits to having lots of shade on the coop and run. If you can relocate the setup to a shadier spot, I would do that.

When you are ready to let them out, start by releasing them about 2 hours before roost time (after they've learned to roost). This way, they will not want to wander far from the coop. Once they routinely go back to roost, you can

This never works for long.

First, you wrote that your birds were 5 weeks old so they are still chicks and with no adult chickens to teach them about roosting in the coop, they won't do it on their own at that age. They are of an age where they are more likely to huddle up in a pile in the corner somewhere. But with your run being completely vulnerable to predators due to the use of chicken wire instead of 1/2" hardware cloth, this is very bad for them.

Eventually they will use the coop. Can you post pictures of the interior and of all the ventilation you have other than that window?

I would recommend flipping the closure on the window over to have it top hinged so it can be propped or hung open during rain and it will keep water from entering the coop. A glass or lexan window would be better to let light in when it is closed.

One other potential issue is the placement of the coop out in the open like that. Birds feel much more secure near structure: trees, shrubs, buildings so they can run to shelter if they are attacked. And there are tremendous benefits to having lots of shade on the coop and run. If you can relocate the setup to a shadier spot, I would do that.

When you are ready to let them out, start by releasing them about 2 hours before roost time (after they've learned to roost). This way, they will not want to wander far from the coop. Once they routinely go back to roost, you can start releasing them earlier and earlier.

start releasing them earlier and earlier.

 

[Donette]

View attachment 3664321

Great info.thanks and here are some more pics of the coop before we finished the run. He made it to be a tractor