Chickens won't come in at night

[ScrltOTara]

We have 7 8 week old chicks. We cut a hole in the side of the shed and built their henhouse in there. The entrance is about chest hight, with a two level ladder to get in.

They won't go in at night. There is a light inside, so they can "see". However, they just huddle up in a corner and cry until we pick them up and put them in.

My question is - is the henhouse too high for them? Should we build one closer to the ground so they don't have as far to climb? We have a roost at the same level as the entrance, and they have no problem climbing the ladder to get to the roost during the day.

We have food inside and out (and water). Should we only feed them inside?

We are new to chickens, so any advice is very helpful! Thank you,
Tara

 

[annek]

try throwing some treats in their coop at night to get them to go in. They are creatures of habit, eventually if you keep putting them in, they will go in there on their own. Can you post a picture so we can see how it is set up.

 

[fshinggrl]

We locked ours inside for 2 days before releasing them so that they were well acquainted with 'home.' Good luck!

 

[ScrltOTara]

Here are the two good photos I have from when it was first built.

 

[allison finch]

That is a pretty long way to climb.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

I think it to high for young chicks, they don't look up till they can fly

 

[ScrltOTara]

I've seen high ones like that before, so we thought it would be ok. So we're thinking of rebuilding it inside lower to the ground. We'll have to move our firewood, though...

 

[ScrltOTara]

See the perch at the same height? They're up there all the time.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

do you wait till full dark to lock them up, or they will need some coxing for a little wile till they get the hang of it, some of the little ones are kind of dense

 

[ScrltOTara]

We've been waiting until it's almost dark - around 9PM and then we pick each one up (yes, our white Sultan is DENSE as all getout - poor thing) and put them in the coop.

We've been doing this for 2 weeks or so now. We even got a small solar light to hang above the center of the ladder, where it splits, so they can see, since they are so very blind as well in the dark.