When do chicks usually go to the Coop at night on their own

[Sheysd1]

I have six, 7 week old chicks who have been out in a coop with an attached run for two weeks. I let them out of the coop early in the morning and I put them back in just before dark each evening. They do not want to go back into the coop and I have to pick up each one and put them in. I leave the coop door open all day and they will climb the ramp and go in and out on their own during the day. Is there something I should be doing to train them to go in the coop at night?

 

[N F C]

Our younger chicks (they're about 10 wks old) pretty much go into the coop for the night just as it starts to get dark. When we first moved them from their brooder to the coop, we kept them inside for a couple of weeks before letting them out into the run. It was sort of funny, but when gong outside into the run was new to them, they were like little kids that didn't want to go in for dinner and bed so we had to help them move on inside. They were having too much fun playing. Now they know they'll get a chance to go outside again in the morning and it's ok to go in for the night so they go inside on their own without any help. Our older girls (they're about 8 months old) tend to go inside just a little earlier than the youngsters but also around dusk.

 

[6of6chicks]

Do you have any lights on in the coop, by any chance? At first my girls wouldn't go to bed by themselves either, and after a few days I realized it was because I had the light on in the coop. Once I turned the light off and let it get dark naturally my girls automatically started putting themselves to bed about 20 minutes before it gets completely dark.

 

[Julia62]

We have four hens that are 10-12 weeks old. They all go in by themselves about 7:30-8:00pm right now. It was cloudy yesterday and they were in even earlier.

 

[Sheysd1]

6of6chicks...I don't have a light in the coop. I am going to see if they will go in on their own tonight if I don't do anything. Hopefully they will go in before dark as it is very dark in my yard at night.

 

[Sheysd1]

YES!...............Finally!......after two weeks, they put themselves in the coop tonight, on their own at 8:45. Of course, Maizee, she is the last to do anything new, cried for about 5 minutes before she followed the others up the ramp but she finally managed. No more chicken wrangling for me at night woo hoo! I'm so proud of my girls!

 

[N F C]

Yay!