Chicks Need Trained to Go Inside Coop At Night

[merrymutts]

ny suggestions ???

This current group ( 2 weeks old ) will pop in and out of the coop during the day but won't troop inside at night. So, I have to scoop them up and place them through the open door ...they will stay then but haven't yet seemed to "get it" on their own.

 

[Doc7]

I’ve always raised in the coop but I recently experienced this while raising a second batch of chicks 5 weeks apart. The 5 week olds are hesitant to follow the 2 year old hens in their coop after having had their own luxury coop.

I threw them in the coop 2 hours after sunset each night. After 5 nights of that, I locked them in there with the hens 10 minutes before sunset. One night of that, they learned the hens didn’t kill them, and last night they went in behind the hens just fine.

 

[MrLeeHo]

I recently put 4 chicks out to the coop and had similar issues. Had to scoop them up for maybe 2-3 nights, the 4th night i led them up the ramp and inside with some meal worms. The 5th night i went outside after sunset and they were in bed. Havent had to “help” them get tucked in since. I think it just takes them a few nights to learn the behavior.

 

[Incubator Madness]

ny suggestions ???

This current group ( 2 weeks old ) will pop in and out of the coop during the day but won't troop inside at night. So, I have to scoop them up and place them through the open door ...they will stay then but haven't yet seemed to "get it" on their own.

Have you been letting them come in and out of the coop since hatch? Then they are trained to wait on you to lift them up and put them inside. However they will eventually do it on their own. Once one gets it, the rest will eventually follow.

 

[superdeluxe]

ny suggestions ???

This current group ( 2 weeks old ) will pop in and out of the coop during the day but won't troop inside at night. So, I have to scoop them up and place them through the open door ...they will stay then but haven't yet seemed to "get it" on their own.

For the first 1-2 weeks, we pretty much locked our ladies in the coop/run. Then for another week or so, we only allowed them out of the Coop/Run about an hour before dusk. When were confident that they knew where home was. We free ranged them full time.

 

[merrymutts]

I have since moved the larger chicks into another pen but the Littles.... they still want to be outside the coop at night. However....now , instead of gathering them up and placing them into the coop at night....I go into their pen….clap my hands and say : Shoo-shoo-shoo....go to bed " and they will scamper up the board ramp and go into the coop for the night.

Sigh....am I their Mama ???? Or will they eventually do this on their own ?

PS: They now have some baby guinea "cousins" rooming with them.....

 

[Chickens-are-cool]

I recently put 4 chicks out to the coop and had similar issues. Had to scoop them up for maybe 2-3 nights, the 4th night i led them up the ramp and inside with some meal worms. The 5th night i went outside after sunset and they were in bed. Havent had to “help” them get tucked in since. I think it just takes them a few nights to learn the behavior.

Hey! This is interesting to me because I have been putting my 6 chicks to bed for 2 weeks and they still haven’t figured it out! Do you think it is because they don’t know how to go by themselves because I always pick them up and put them in? Do I need to lead them with treats like you did? Thank you!

 

[MrLeeHo]

Hey! This is interesting to me because I have been putting my 6 chicks to bed for 2 weeks and they still haven’t figured it out! Do you think it is because they don’t know how to go by themselves because I always pick them up and put them in? Do I need to lead them with treats like you did? Thank you!

Im not sure, this was my first go at it. How steep is the ramp? I also think having a feeder in the coop encourages the idea that inside is home. Also, the last night i went up when they were inside was a bit later than usual so maybe wait later than u usually would scoop them and see if the go in.

do they ever go inside the coop during the day at all? Im thinking a feeder inside may be what helps.

 

[Chickens-are-cool]

Im not sure, this was my first go at it. How steep is the ramp? I also think having a feeder in the coop encourages the idea that inside is home. Also, the last night i went up when they were inside was a bit later than usual so maybe wait later than u usually would scoop them and see if the go in.

do they ever go inside the coop during the day at all? Im thinking a feeder inside may be what helps.

The ramp is not very steep, my old flock would walk right up it with no issues. I tried waiting later tonight but they just go to sleep perched on their roost in the run area and I went and put them to bed in the pitch dark. I will put the feeder up there in the morning so that maybe they will learn how to go up the ladder to get to the food and that will encourage them to go up there at night too. Thank you for the idea!