5 wk olds don't want to go out...?

[mudhen]

I opened the coop door for the 9 pullets yesterday, and no one seemed interested in going out.
Same today.
The closest I saw is one of them roosting at the very top of the inside ramp, looking outside. But zero interest in even stepping out to the little deck or the the ramp down into their little protected run.

Any suggestions? Should I just not worry about it?

This is a picture of the inside of the coop with the door open to the outside.

This is a picture of the back of the coop with the temporary screened area.

 

[Critter Crazy]

it will just take some time for them to adjust! Just give them time, they will be fine.

 

[keljonma]

They'll get there. They are just leary of new experiences. If you want to see what will happen, you could put your brave daredevil chick (doesn't everybody have one?

) on the lower end of the outdoors ramp. Put the rest on the top of the outdoors ramp. Once she sees that grass, your daredevil will most likely investigate. The others will likely jump down and join her.

 

[mudhen]

Day three: I can't belive this! Today I opened the coop door, and, again, no one could care less.
I left them alone for a while and checked on the other hens in the other coop.
Then I thought, well maybe a clump of dirt would perk the little one's interest in the great outdoors.
Plus a couple of leftover leaves of lettuce.
I go into their coop, put the new treats on the floor, the little peeps come close, look, and ... NO INTEREST AT ALL!!??
I pecked at it with my fingernail at it and they still couldn't care less.
What is with these goof balls?

Is this the difference between raising them with out a momma hen vs. with ?

Of course, I'll give them time to adjust, but I am just amazed.
I don't think I've ever mentioned before that they turned down greens before this too.

 

[keljonma]

My flock wasn't raised with a hen. I can't remember how old your chicks are now, mudhen, but chicks are very leary of new experiences. They just haven't figured out where the door goes yet, so it is the great beyond as far as they are concerned. Like I said, you can just leave them alone and they'll eventually figure it out. Or you can gently push them out the door.

My flock isn't thrilled with lettuce either. A more tempting treat at our house is chopped tomatoes or low-sodium cottage cheese.

Try putting treats up the inside ramp and down the outside ramp. I have a daredevil pullet (doesn't fear the rototiller or the lawn tractor) and an investigator pullet (has to know what's in every dark corner of the barn and farm yard). I would lure them outdoors with chopped tomatoes. After 15 minutes or so, the rest of the flock followed. Once our flock figured out how much fun it was to be outdoors, it was hard to get them inside.

Here are Pat, our White Wyandotte (daredevil), and Eleanor. our White Faced Black Spanish (investigator), outdoors this past winter checking out the snowfall. They were the only ones who went out. The temperature was 20°F before the wind chill, so even I didn't like being outdoors.

regards,
keljonma
if edited, probably for typos...

 

[mudhen]

Wow! Beautiful picture! Thanks, keljonma .

Well, its been four more days, and they still don't want to go out.

I put another clump of dirt in there, they seem to like that, though don't go nuts over it like the previous batch of chicks I had.
I'm getting concerned that they seem more interested in old droppings than treats or going out. Their feeder is full and clean, the water is full and clean. The pine shavings are relatively fresh and about 4 inches deep.
They have sand/grit for dustbathing and eating. And they seem generally healthy and OK.
So maybe I am worrying over nothing? I just wish they would go out and enjoy this wonderful weather!
Goofy chicks....

 

[montverdechick]

Mine were the same way. We finally jsut picked each of the up and gently tossed them out the hatch! At night, we had to catch them up and put them back in. It only took a couple days of that before they started going in/out on their own...

 

[birdlover]

Mud,
Chicks don't usually have the brightest bulbs in the pack. LOL Is there anyway you can fit in that little run area and sit with them? Then, if you can, you could just bring them out and I'm sure it wouldn't be long before they discovered how cool the outside world is. I have a folding dog fence that I use to introduce them to the outside. I just put it in a grassy area and put them in. They like it after a few minutes. One thing though. Maybe that grass is a little too long for them to navigate? I don't know. Just a thought! See ya June 16!!

Ellen