bringing in chicks at night

[GrayAcres]

Our 5 hens are 9 months old and we just finished their pen. (They have been living inside on our back porch.) I was confident about leaving them out all the time until I started reading the posts. Now I'm worried our pen won't stand against the racoons that live in the yard. My question is this: I am not opposed to bringing them in every night to the porch for safety. Will they learn to "follow" me in and out between the porch (their only home for 9 months) and the new pen (their new daytime abode)? Or will have I have to continue to carry them one by one?

 

[teach1rusl]

So their pen does not have a housing area??? If their housing area is going to be your back porch, it's easy to train them to come running at the sound of a scratch cannister being shook. However, how will they lay their eggs during the day if they're shut in a pen? Are there nest boxes in the pen? Is the pen covered? I think I'm not seeing the whole picture here...

Can you describe your situation better?

 

[GrayAcres]

We were planning to keep them outside all of the time but have since decided that the area is not "raccoon proof" enough. There is a house for nesting and shelter from the weather inside a large fenced area. Instead of building another coop for night time safety we are going to bring them back into the porch at night. Currently we carry them but somewhere I had read they could be trained to follow us. Shaking the canister will probably work well. They LOVE scratch and treats! Thanks for the help.