Moving in to the coop

[Saffi0418]

Hi - I've just moved my 8 week old chicks out of our house and into their house. It is a 1.8m square cubby house inside a 9m square enclosed run.
I thought I read somewhere that they should be confined to the cubby for a while, before going into the run.
Does anyone know if this is the way to do it, and if so - how long before they can go into the run? Thanks for any input.

 

[GoldDogsMom]

Whenever I have moved young chicks into a coop it usually takes them a few days to get up the courage to venture out to the run so I have never had a problem with them knowing to come back in at dusk. If you find that they are roosting in the run at dusk you might need to close them in the coop for a few days so they get accustomed to roosting inside.

 

[Saffi0418]

Thanks for that.
Speaking of roosting - We put in a roosting perch, but they seem to be still huddling together in a corner when dusk comes.
The perch is a 2" x 2" timber with the edges smoothed off - would this be too big for them? I've wrapped some cloth around it to help them grip, as they seemed to be slipping around when they did try it out.
I guess they have been used to sleeping together in their big box in the TV room - so hopefully they will work it out.
It has still been a bit chilly at night (even though Summer is only a few weeks away), so maybe they are warmer huddled together.

 

[GoldDogsMom]

My chicks huddled even after a few days in the coop, they eventually figured it out. 2x2 shouldn't be a problem for them, I have 2x2s in one coop and 2x4s with the wide side up in the other coop. Don't know if the cloth is really necessary

 

[lynyrd]

just be careful of corners with all that huddleing. we almost lost a roo to the bottom of the pile in a corner. luck we found him before to late, but he was unresponsive when we unburied him. had to be our kitchen rooster for awhile till he recovered. we almost lost him