chicks couldnt find the new coop?

[thegibbys]

we finished our new bigger coop for our 6 wk old chickens yest. we moved them there yest evening and closed them up for the night. tonight they roamed the yard just as they do every evening, but they couldnt find the coop tonight, they seemed totally lost and confused, making a crying/distressed sound. they came in and out of the coop today during the day but couldnt find it at dusk. I even guided them toward the coop, that didnt seem to trigger them to go roost, I even picked them up one by one and put them on the ramp to enter the coop, they just sat there still seemingly confused. so I picked them up one by one and put them in the coop on the roost and they still seemed very confused and seemed almost to be crying. after about 2-3 minutes of listening to them "crying they rearranged in a totally different place in the coop right by the door(safe), I opened the door and pet each one and sshhhed them sweetly, they stopped and went to sleep.

just to answer any futher reply no I have never done that at bedtime before however, they have been well handled...........

 

[TigerLilly]

Whenever I add to my flock, I put them on lock-down in the coop/run for a couple of days. After that, I let them free range & just before dusk, go back out & make sure they've started making their way back to the coop. If not, they don't free range for a couple more days. The rest of the flock does, but not the newer ones. Not until I'm sure that after a few hours out they'll be able to figure out the way back.

 

[gryeyes]

When I change coops, I lock the chickens in the new coop for a couple of nights so it helps them get it locked into their brain. However, I did have to shoo a couple of chickens in the right direction for two nights in a row. After that, they got it all figured out.

The distressed sounds get me too.