6 w/o behavior question.

[FreckledFox]

I have fifteen 6 week old chicks and last week I moved them to their big girl coop. I locked them in the new coop/run for a week (per advise from BYC-ers) when they started going into the new coop from their run by themselves at night I decided they could explore outside their coop. It's been so wet here in Texas that their coop is constantly wet (it has sand floors and we have had over 15" of rain this month alone) and I felt bad, so I turned them out to enjoy the sunshine while it lasted. They chose to trample my new flower bed, but at least they enjoyed themselves.

My issue is while they were out playing one noticed the barn (I kept them in the barn in their brooder for the first 4 1/2 weeks of their life) and ran full speed to where their brooder used to be. Naturally the rest followed and now they refuse to go back to the coop. I tried to heard them for half an hour before giving up because the rain has started up again.

Will they go back to their big girl coop since the brooder has already been dismantled? Will I have to lock them back in the coop and start all over?

 

[Ridgerunner]

They do frustrating things sometimes, don’t they. If they don’t go to their new coop at dark tonight they will probably be at the old brooder location. Once it is dark enough to catch them easily carry them back to the new coop and start over. You can try letting them roam the run with the new coop and see if they go back in the coop. Their behavior will tell you how far back you have to go in starting over.

I do that all the time, move them to my grow-out coop from the brooder. My brooder is in the main coop. They stay locked in the grow-out coop for about a week, then I let them in a small run. When they start going in the grow-out coop at night instead of staying in the run I let them roam with the big flock. I’ve never had your problem but each flock is different.

 

[FreckledFox]

They do frustrating things sometimes, don’t they. If they don’t go to their new coop at dark tonight they will probably be at the old brooder location. Once it is dark enough to catch them easily carry them back to the new coop and start over. You can try letting them roam the run with the new coop and see if they go back in the coop. Their behavior will tell you how far back you have to go in starting over...

Ugh, indeed! Very frustrating at times. Their first few nights in their new coop the refused to roost and slept on the wet sand in a pile. I even put a heat lamp on half the roost even though they didn't need it anymore. I have a thermostat in the coop so I could make sure it wasn't too warm. They eventually moved their "chicken pile" under the lamp but still chose to remain on the floor. They still won't roost in the coop but they'll use the roost and swing in the run during the day.

Thank you for your reply