hi i am new to this we were adopted by some neighborhood chickens and they are staying we built a nice coop how do we convince them to get into it hawks are circling daily
Chickens are notorious fraidy cats about something new. Try tossing something yummy in several days in a row. Once they get used to going inside it will be easier to coax them in. The other options is to catch them and lock them inside for a couple of days. Once they learn that the coop is home they should go back to it every night with no coaxing. It's just getting them in there.
The first night I transitioned mine into a new, larger coop you would have thought I was ripping their wings off. They were pitiful!! It took a couple of nights before they decided death wasn't imminent. Silly chickens.
That is exactly how I got started back with chickens.. A rooster and three hens adopted us.. Just would not go away. So, once I realized they were laying eggs in my tractor shed, I put a fence around the shed and fixed them some nest boxes and a roost. Now I have about 80 chickens.. So be careful. They are addictive! And
Oh and I agree with CityGirl, that's is the best way to do it.