Chickens still sleeping on the ground

[Ukyou]

When we first got our chicks they spent the first 8 weeks in my daughter's room. When we put them outside my daughter was worried about the coop not being cozy enough so we had a medium dog igloo inside the coop and they slept there. The plan was once they were sleeping on the roosts, I would remove it. However, they are 6 months old and all are laying, yet every night they go into the coop and into the dog igloo.
My main issue with the igloo is that when they go to the back of it, I cannot reach them. which is a pain when I want to clip there wings.
Should I just pull it out and hide it so that they will roost. I don't want to stress the babies out. I just expected them to expand out to the rest of the coop by now.

 

[Judy]

I'd remove the igloo. Normally I'd say I'd train them to roost, put them there every night, but since you can't reach them in there, I don't see what choice you have. Well, I guess you could leave it there and close off the opening but I think that would be more stressful than finding it gone. Out of sight, out of mind.

 

[chinovalleychicky]

My husband and I were new to this issue and to chickens. The first 4 weeks they were in their new digs, they would huddle in the corner of the coop - during rain, snow, etc. etc. so we'd scoop them up every night and purch them while they were half asleep. This magically stopped one weekend and, while we missed our tucking the birds in at night, were relieved to know they will go to bed by themselves and have the benefit of their cozy digs for protection.