Chickens won't come out into run

[Birch66724]

I have 7, 7 week old chicks, that I moved outside to their coop a week ago. They won't come down from the coop section into the run!
It does have a ranp, but they all know how to use it. ie I throw food on the ramp, they run down, eat the food, and run back up.
The weather has been nice, above 70F, cloudy.
Is this a problem? Or do they just need longer than a week to adjust?
Any suggestions are appreciated! Thanks
-Birch66724

 

[SFPeggy]

Hi - I posted a similar question a couple of weeks ago. (One of my frustrations with backyardchickens.com is that it's very hard to find specific topics or threads.)
Anyway -- My chicks are about 10 weeks now and they hang out in the henhouse a lot (some people call that the coop) and much less time in the run. But in San Francisco it's been 50 degrees and windy, so I figure they are staying out of the wind. They have a nice roost in the run, but they use it rarely. They also spend a couple of hours in the garden every day, so they do get out.
That's to say, sorry, I don't have an answer. Just that my chicks/pullets are doing the same thing: I have five of them. They DO come down into the run; they just spend a lot of time upstairs. (up ramp) I finally decided just to not worry about it, till they start laying and then if they are crowding the henhouse that will be another story. Good luck!

 

[Birch66724]

Okay thank you. I suppose I am worrying too much about it!

 

[True Patriot]

Is their feeder in the coop? Maybe move to the run.

 

[Birch66724]

Yes, their food and water is in the coop

 

[sourland]

Fowl of all sorts dislike change and take time to adjust to changes in their environment. This is not an uncommon behavior in prey species.

 

[True Patriot]

Try placing the feeder at the bottom of the ramp to coax them down. Food is a great motivator.

 

[SFPeggy]

Yep, mine have their food and water in the run.
When I first opened the ramp to give them access, they did come down very quickly. However, for 2 or 3 nights I had to go out (when it got dark) and lift a little pile of chickens upstairs, until they figured out how to go up on their own.