10 Week Old Chicks will NOT go into the coop

[SueT]

Your coop looks big enuf to divide it temporarily during integration. We had to make an extra pop door, leading into a divided part of the run. I close off these areas to the bigs when integrating littles.

 

[LoLoGarrett]

 

[LoLoGarrett]

View attachment 2759287View attachment 2759289

 

[aart]

Girls went in last night! Stayed inside their crate. Everyone seems to be interacting a little better, although young girls are still intimidated by older ones. Young ones are staying in coop this morning and have not ventured out with the others. Just need to give them some time. Mean while I am checking every hour right now.

Good they went in!
Not a problem that they sleep in the crate.

It'll all take time, once they start laying they will enter the pecking order of the older birds.

 

[LaFleche]

Very nice setup!

It will take some time for them to adjust to their new environment.

 

[ElizaMay]

My newer golden comets are bi!che$. They came as five layers and a barred rock roo into my small existing 6-bird flock of blue orpingtons and hamburgs, and they peck at and chase all the other birds - nasty. One even cut a wing and danced this morning at my bewildered silkie rooster.
So I have been integrating a group of 15 birds that were hatched May 1, some are offspring of my original orp and hamborg flock, some of other parentage. These new birds have their own stall in my barn and can see and hear all the others. They all have feathers, and one little roo is now crowing, so I began letting them out of their stall for short periods last week, and sitting on a bag of shavings for an hour or so to watch over them, before herding them back into their stall. During this free time/play time, I had to interfere more than once and slap down a comet hen getting very nasty with a newb. Today is the first time I have let the 15 out and walked up to the house, as they seem to have learned to avoid the nasty redheads. It is a slow process, and moreso I believe with comets. But maybe that is only my experience - good layers but not personable.

 

[LoLoGarrett]

Yes, pictures, please.

It's recommended to home new chickens to their coop by shutting them in there for several days before letting them out.

Also, is it dark yet when you're trying to put them in? I find that I have the most trouble getting chickens into their coop when my idea of "time to close up the chickens" is earlier than their idea of "time to go to roost".

Just last night I had to go down the line of chicks roosting on the run clutter to pick them up and tuck them through the pop door (it was nearly full dark so I had a headlamp with a red light).

Waiting until dark did the trick! Thank you! Now they don't want to come out!

 

[LoLoGarrett]

Very nice setup!

It will take some time for them to adjust to their new environment.

Thank you! Agreed, just need to be patient and not over stress about it. Every time we have had new girls it has taken about a week for everyone to get in sync. I have just never dealt with this age before, so it makes me extra nervous.

 

[LoLoGarrett]

My newer golden comets are bi!che$. They came as five layers and a barred rock roo into my small existing 6-bird flock of blue orpingtons and hamburgs, and they peck at and chase all the other birds - nasty. One even cut a wing and danced this morning at my bewildered silkie rooster.
So I have been integrating a group of 15 birds that were hatched May 1, some are offspring of my original orp and hamborg flock, some of other parentage. These new birds have their own stall in my barn and can see and hear all the others. They all have feathers, and one little roo is now crowing, so I began letting them out of their stall for short periods last week, and sitting on a bag of shavings for an hour or so to watch over them, before herding them back into their stall. During this free time/play time, I had to interfere more than once and slap down a comet hen getting very nasty with a newb. Today is the first time I have let the 15 out and walked up to the house, as they seem to have learned to avoid the nasty redheads. It is a slow process, and moreso I believe with comets. But maybe that is only my experience - good layers but not personable.

Thanks for sharing! Thankfully my 5 Sex Links have only chased a little bit, but for the most part if the little ones stay away from them they leave them alone. They all seem to have done the separation on their own. When the older girls do chase, I give them a big uh-uh and they back off, but I warn them these little ones are going to end up bigger than them, so they best be nice! LOL

 

[Mrs. K]

I just added birds to an empty coop/run. Two nights ago, one went in, last night all went in, but sitting at the door. I shut the pop up door, and am leaving them a bit this morning as it is rainy and cool. They did not roost, but I expect them to do so tonight.

Where ever they are sleeping in the run, I try and make it less desirable. Going down too early does cause problems, going down later, does help.

MRs K