It's cold as heck outside, and so I've been crawling around on my knees and grabbing them up to get them in the coop at night. A couple of them have gone up at night on their own, but it was random. They are always huddled in a corner freezing when I go out in the evening.
So I think part of the problem is that the mother and father are in the coop, and they are afraid of them. There are places to hide, like under the nesting boxes, and that is where they go. They haven't figured out how to fly up to the roosts yet, and they'd probably get pecked down if they did anyways.
Okay, so I've been putting them in the coop every night for over a week. How long until they start going up on their own? Their first week outside they slept in the run, which was fine because it was warm out, and because this was the adjustment period for the bigger birds to learn to get along with them. I think they will bond with the adults better if it warms up enough that I can let them free range, where they will surely stay close to the big birds.
So I think part of the problem is that the mother and father are in the coop, and they are afraid of them. There are places to hide, like under the nesting boxes, and that is where they go. They haven't figured out how to fly up to the roosts yet, and they'd probably get pecked down if they did anyways.
Okay, so I've been putting them in the coop every night for over a week. How long until they start going up on their own? Their first week outside they slept in the run, which was fine because it was warm out, and because this was the adjustment period for the bigger birds to learn to get along with them. I think they will bond with the adults better if it warms up enough that I can let them free range, where they will surely stay close to the big birds.