Chickens freaking out first week in coop

[Hippie Chickie ૐ]

Hi, I have 3, 6 week old chickens that I just put outside in a temporary coop (almost done building the actual coop+run), and every night just before the sun is about to go down, they all freak out. They chirp loud and persistently, they fly to the top of the run and
Flap around. I have a hell of a time getting them all in the coop at night. What am I doing wrong!? They have been out for about 5-6 days

 

[Sara Ranch]

I have a 3 pack (cockerels) that just moved into the Roo Barn, in their own room. They did the same thing. First night - shell shocked. Second night - flying, crying, climbing the hardware cloth...so hard to close up the barn and leave them in there. They finally huddled in the corner. Third night - tonight - they walked in on their own. I had to hand carry them into their room. They fussed/cried a little but not very much.

For me - I finally realized that the guys weren't roosting in their previous home. When I first brought them home, they just huddled in a corner. I was putting them on the roost when I put them in the room. MY mistake. Tonight, I put some pieces of scrap wood in the corner, and they went straight to that.

The loner (another adopted cockerel) - last night was his first night in the Roo Barn, in his room. He did the same thing. Freaked out. Climbed the walls, screamed, shouted. I had taken him into the Roo Barn second to last. Tonight, I took him in first, placed him on the roost. Then I brought in all of the other boys that share the barn. He was much calmer tonight, then last night.

1. Is there anything you can do to make the temp coop seem like the first "home"?
2. Can you spend some time with them, in the daylight, in/near the temp coop so they can see you aren't abandoning them?
3. I let the 3 pack walk out on their own this morning. That seemed to help. (The other guys ALL get carried to and from the barn. They have to go into a "run" for part of the day.)

I don't do food or water in the Roo Barn.

 

[Hippie Chickie ૐ]

I have a 3 pack (cockerels) that just moved into the Roo Barn, in their own room. They did the same thing. First night - shell shocked. Second night - flying, crying, climbing the hardware cloth...so hard to close up the barn and leave them in there. They finally huddled in the corner. Third night - tonight - they walked in on their own. I had to hand carry them into their room. They fussed/cried a little but not very much.

For me - I finally realized that the guys weren't roosting in their previous home. When I first brought them home, they just huddled in a corner. I was putting them on the roost when I put them in the room. MY mistake. Tonight, I put some pieces of scrap wood in the corner, and they went straight to that.

The loner (another adopted cockerel) - last night was his first night in the Roo Barn, in his room. He did the same thing. Freaked out. Climbed the walls, screamed, shouted. I had taken him into the Roo Barn second to last. Tonight, I took him in first, placed him on the roost. Then I brought in all of the other boys that share the barn. He was much calmer tonight, then last night.

1. Is there anything you can do to make the temp coop seem like the first "home"?
2. Can you spend some time with them, in the daylight, in/near the temp coop so they can see you aren't abandoning them?
3. I let the 3 pack walk out on their own this morning. That seemed to help. (The other guys ALL get carried to and from the barn. They have to go into a "run" for part of the day.)

I don't do food or water in the Roo Barn.

The temporary one IS their first home lol I just put it outside and boarded the walls with plywood. I open the door every morning and they all run into the run. But I havnt changed the inside of the temp coop at all. Only thing new is that they are outside. I sit next to the run everyday and hangout with them (I can't go in the run cuz It's only 4x4x3 ft tall) but there is also a small light hung up in the run as well

 

[Hippie Chickie ૐ]

They also continued to freak out even after I have to put them in at night (one by one by hand), for about 15-20 more minutes. They are not roosting anymore like they used to as well

 

[Sara Ranch]

New place...will take some time.

The Brat Pack wouldn't stay on the roost their first few nights in the Roo Barn. Eventually, they settled in.

1. Will you be able to let them walk out on their own in the morning?
2. Can you let them hang out near the new coop and the temp coop?

One of the other things I had done - I do this for all new adoptees - is bring them to the new place and let them hang out in/near it, as they please. And I talk to them and let them know they will be coming to sleep there.

Hang in there...it will get better. Chickens don't like change. Some resist it more than others.

 

[Merax]

I am going through something similar and I think it just takes time. The different reactions from different breeds is also interesting. My original ISA Browns, I put them in the coop the first night, they went in by themselves the next night although I had to put them on perches for the first 5 or so nights.
My new batch of White Leghorns? Two of them are insolent escape artists who got completely out of the run the first night and refused to stay in the coop - even walking out in pitch black darkness and escaping again. I've taken to herding them into the coop just before dark and closing the coop door so they can't get out. I figure they'll get the message sooner or later.

 

[Chickassan]

Try moving your little light inside the coop and turning it off once everyone is inside. The crying flapping craziness is normal when you move them outside, heartbreaking but normal. You're almost a week in though so it should be over soon.

 

[Sara Ranch]

This is the first time I've seen the pic of the coop.

Do you ever turn the light off? Chickens are reported to be night blind. I found for my chickens that the light off means less fussing. A lot less fussing. (I've had to keep some chickens in the bathroom. Emergency cases. I left the light on cuz that is what i would want. Turns out, turning out the light made them settle down real fast!)

The chicken coop and the Roo Barn do NOT have lights on at night. So all they get is what naturally comes in. When it's dark, they are ALL quiet!

 

[OCeggs23]

If you had them in a brooder with a heat lamp, they probably are freaking out about the darkness. When they are raised being used to constant light, the darkness (combined with the new living quarters) really freaks them out. You can put a dim light in the coop to help them acclimate when the sun goes down. Then remove it later in the evening when they are settled in. It will take some time, but they'll get the hang of it.

If this was the case and if you plan to raise more chicks in the future, you might want to check out using a heating pad for heat instead of a heat lamp. There's a bunch of threads on here using a "Mama Heating Pad" or MHP. The heating pad provides the warmth without the light so the chicks are used to a regular sunrise/sundown routine from early on. Then they will transition to the coop more easily.

 

[Sara Ranch]

My duckies are afraid of the dark. I have a light on a timer for them. Every week or so, I adjust the time the light comes on and goes off. My goal is to get them ok with the dark. The chickens were exposed to that before they went to the coop.

OCeggs23 suggestion is a good one!