2 story coop---forced roost will they learn?

[seashoreduck]

I am in a situation where I need to put my chickens into a bigger coop with some urgency so someone can care for them as I need to go away for a few days. They can't stay in the smaller, outdoor brooder and their real coop is not ready yet. The other outdoor brooder was all one level and they've been in it for 2 weeks, with temps down to 20.

I have my old coop, fortified a bit with hardware cloth that they are in. I put them in there today and they hung out on the bottom. I went out after dark and chucked them in the upper portion (now fully enclosed below is an old pic). This coop is also in an 8x8 run.

It's no longer snowy out and temps are going to get into the 30's at night. If they are up, they should be fine...I think? They will be 8 weeks old tomorrow.

This coop is 30 inches by 5 feet. The upper part is now all enclosed, the lower is still open. There are 3 birds. Will they learn quick or am I going to come back to chickens who didn't make it?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

They may learn to go in by themselves at night, with chickens you never know.
Whoever is taking care of them probably needs to do a head count or a search of the run to make sure no one is left outside for the night before they close up.

 

[seashoreduck]

They may learn to go in by themselves at night, with chickens you never know.
Whoever is taking care of them probably needs to do a head count or a search of the run to make sure no one is left outside for the night before they close up.

The whole thing is really secure with hardware cloth on the bottom. I'm more worried about them being cold. Headcount is easy, there are only 3!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The whole thing is really secure with hardware cloth on the bottom. I'm more worried about them being cold. Headcount is easy, there are only 3!

Well, the headcount will be easy then!
They may still have to be moved into the coop portion and locked in at night, once placed there, I think they will be fine. At that age, they usually still snuggle around so I would make sure they have a generous amount of bedding in the coop.