Chicks won’t put themselves to bed!

[BigBlueHen53]

Let us know how it goes.

 

[Msav]

I had the same problem (45 chickens) day 1 - 3 I had to put the chickens in the coop myself. Found a thread on backyard chickens that suggested a light inside the coop. Day 3 with light inside the coop all chickens put themselves into the coop. Same for days 4 - 5 and still going strong. I recommend a light in the coop.
I put a shop light on a smart plug and set the smart plug to come on at 7pm and off at 9pm. worked perfectly.

 

[Msav]

to add to this,
I only had a light in front of the chicken door. my chickens were only roosting on that side. they were all trying to roost in one spot. the ones that did not fit slept on the floor. today I added 2 more lights so that the entire coop is now lit.
they just put themselves back in the coop early (15mins after sunset) and they are all spread out on all the roosts. only about 5 out of the 45 are on the floor.

 

[gtaus]

They love the run and go in/out during the day, but huddle together outside at dusk. We have had to go out there every night and put them in. What to do??

You need to train them to go into the coop at night. But they will learn. Later, if you add new chicks to your flock, they will follow the older hens into the coop. The young chicks just need to learn what to do.

They also don’t go on the roost, the huddle on the floor

As for sleeping on the floor, don't worry. They'll outgrow that over time.

Yes. Just give them time and don't worry about it. Instincts will take over and they will look for a higher perch for sleeping at night.

Since then we put bedding in the coop and food/water in the run.

I live in northern Minnesota. If your coop is big enough, and if you have easy access to inside your coop, I recommend you put the food and water inside the coop and leave it there all the time. If you don't have a heated waterer of some kind, I highly recommend you get a metal water fount and metal base heater that automatically turns on/off depending on the temps. Keeping food and water inside the coop keeps it all out of the weather and the metal base heater will work even better.

FYI, the metal base heater advertises ice free water down to about +10F. I can testify that my waterer, inside my coop and sheltered from the cold blowing wind outside, has kept the water ice free down to -40F. Of course, when I get those extremely cold temps, I am checking my water a couple times a day to ensure that the heater is still working, and the hens have fresh water. Fresh water is the key to good health for your chickens, especially in the winter, when outside pans of water will be a block of ice in no time.

I have never regretted getting the metal fount and base heater, although it was a big investment upfront. But you invest a lot of time and effort into your backyard flock, and fresh water is probably the most important thing you need to ensure your chickens have access to, especially on those cold winter nights here in Minnesota.

Good job on putting your 2X4's flat for the roosts. The hens will be able to comfortably sit on those boards and tuck their feet into their bodies to keep warm. That helps prevent frostbite in the winter from exposed toes and feet.

I put a shop light on a smart plug and set the smart plug to come on at 7pm and off at 9pm. worked perfectly.

I have never put lights in my coop. But I do have 2 windows which provide natural light. I am glad to hear that automatic lights work for you, but I would caution the OP that chickens cannot see in the dark and if a light is suddenly turned off when it's dark, they might not be able to find their way to a perch.

My chickens go into their coop about 15 minutes before sunset. That gives them plenty of time to fight for their spot on the roosting bar. I go out to the coop at sunset, or a little latter, to check that all the hens are in the coop and then I lock them up for the night.

I know the OP stated they have an automatic pop door, which is great, but in the wintertime, I would just make sure all the birds made it inside the coop, and none were left outside in the cold.

I am really old school. I don't have automatic lights or automatic pop doors. If they work for other people, I am glad. I just prefer to check on the birds myself and that has worked for me.

 

[Grandpa Bud]

We moved our 7 five week old chicks out to the coop on Sunday. We are having unusually warm weather here in MN and they weren’t going under the heater in the dog pen anyway. Since there is no shade yet, the coop heats up during the day - it’s way too hot to lock them in. They love the run and go in/out during the day, but huddle together outside at dusk. We have had to go out there every night and put them in. What to do?? Thanks!

I have a night light on a timer that turns on at 9:0 pm till 10:00 they head right in.

 

[gtaus]

I have a night light on a timer that turns on at 9:0 pm till 10:00 they head right in.

Welcome to the BYC forums! Hope to hear more from you in the future.

It is always helpful to add your geographic location to your member icon. For example, depending on where you live, 9:00 pm might already be dead dark and that is not what I think you meant. Also, time of year makes a big difference on when a person might want that light to turn on/off.

Since I don't use lights, I am wondering how long before sundown you turn on the lights and when do you have them shut off? Do you have to reset the timer every few weeks depending on your changing sunset times?

 

[msmcand]

We moved our 7 five week old chicks out to the coop on Sunday. We are having unusually warm weather here in MN and they weren’t going under the heater in the dog pen anyway. Since there is no shade yet, the coop heats up during the day - it’s way too hot to lock them in. They love the run and go in/out during the day, but huddle together outside at dusk. We have had to go out there every night and put them in. What to do?? Thanks!

it hasn't failed me yet , I wait until 8 weeks old and bought a couple of those folding gate dog playpens from Amazon, let them stay in the coop a few days and a hen or two always bond. then let free during the day, and of course they huddle at roosting time. I use another row of the folding gate to corral them up onto the coop where there's surrogate mom is yapping for them.

 

[cktap62]

We were away one overnight last week and turned off the auto door. The next night they put themselves to bed and have been doing so all week! Still not using the roost bars but hopefully when they get bigger. Thank you all for your input! I love having this forum to ask questions.

 

[Vivhall3]

We moved our 7 five week old chicks out to the coop on Sunday. We are having unusually warm weather here in MN and they weren’t going under the heater in the dog pen anyway. Since there is no shade yet, the coop heats up during the day - it’s way too hot to lock them in. They love the run and go in/out during the day, but huddle together outside at dusk. We have had to go out there every night and put them in. What to do?? Thanks!

I have always had to pick up each chick individually and put it on the ramp and shoo it into the coop every night at bedtime. After a few days they usually get it except for one or two who continue to try to sleep outside. After a week they all are going in pretty regularly.