9 week old chickens won’t go into coop

[Alzang]

Im a first time chicken mom. My chickens were in the house from 6 days to 7 weeks. I built a run outside of my bedroom. I enter the run from my bedroom slider. They’ve been outside for 2 weeks. During that time they went into the coop at night twice. The rest of the time the huddle at the slider staring at me! Then I have to catch them and put in the coop. They hate it. What am I doing wrong?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

They are creatures of habit. They want to sleep where they always have no matter how inappropriate that space may be.
You must lock them into the coop for several days 24/7 so they get habituated to sleeping there and they will then put themselves to bed.

 

[Warwickchickenhill]

Our had done the same thing put a battery powered light in the coop in the evening it worked for us

 

[Al Capon]

Put a light in there, they don't want to enter a dark room at night, might be monsters in there...

 

[Alzang]

They are creatures of habit. They want to sleep where they always have no matter how inappropriate that space may be.
You must lock them into the coop for several days 24/7 so they get habituated to sleeping there and they will then put themselves to bed.

That seems a little drastic. Should I put a light in the coop or leave them in the dark?

 

[Alzang]

Put a light in there, they don't want to enter a dark room at night, might be monsters in there...

I guess I was afraid of putting a clip on light in there. Don’t want to start a fire

 

[imnukensc]

What am I doing wrong?

You built the run right outside your bedroom door with an entrance/exit from/to the run.

 

[Alzang]

My yard is only 12’ by 30’. I fenced off the end of the yard which includes my bedroom slider. There was no other place to fence off. Either the end that includes my dining room slider or my bedroom slider.

 

[Al Capon]

I guess I was afraid of putting a clip on light in there. Don’t want to start a fire

It doesn't have to be much, a good battery powered light will work. They will gravitate towards the light once it starts getting dark. When they're on the roost, turn off the light. Usually takes less than a week of training before they get it..

 

[rosemarythyme]

That seems a little drastic. Should I put a light in the coop or leave them in the dark?

This isn't drastic at all, unless you're saying the coop is too small to lock them in? Is there any natural light source (i.e. windows, skylights)? How is the ventilation?

A dark or stuffy coop is not appealing to chickens, which may be why they're not using it. Photos of the setup would help with troubleshooting.