Coop Change- Help! Behavior?

[chickity-chick]

Hi all! I was not sure where to post this. So I put it here because I guess its a behavior question. I have 4 8 week old chickens. They were living in a different coop but a few days ago i got the Eglu cube for them. I have been manually shoving them in for the past 4 nights and they just don't seem to get that thats their new home. I really want them to go in them selves again. I have their old coop blocked off so they cant get into it at all. I have read that everyone says to lock them into the coop for 3-4 days in order for them to realize that that is their home. But I am worries for 2 reasons. The first and main reason is light. The Eglu has no light that shines in at all- It is very dark so I feel like that would inhibit them from finding food and water and also be stressful for them. My idea would be to take out the port to the nesting box where you are meant to get eggs and cover it in a clear hard covering to let some light shine in but that still will not have it be very bright. My other hesitation is food and water- I know I would have to leave it in for them but I don't know where would be best- the nest box is not big enough for all of them to be able to eat or drink at the same time and if I put it on the roosting bars it will be very dark and hard for them to find maybe? I never wanted them to be in that coop longer than the night time hours so light wouldn't be an issue. I would appreciate the help on this one- I really need them to recognize that as their home and stop trying to perch on the roof and other various things to sleep at night instead. Thank you!

 

[aart]

Try putting a battery operated puck light in the coop and hour before dark,
it will lure them inside,
then you can turn it off when you lock of after dark.

Agrees, too hot and small to lock them in for days in your climate.

Do you have a run attached to this eglu or do they free range?

 

[limaro]

I've never changed from one coop to another, but whenever I introduce new chicks or pullets it always takes them at least a week or more of "lessons" before they catch on to putting themselves to bed.
I've never locked them in for 24/7 either, for the same reasons as you.
I start out putting them inside the coop at bed time for at least 3 nights. Then for another 3 or 4, I scatter treats along the ladder to the coop and get them to do the climbing themselves. I've even set them on the ladder half way up and blocked their ability to back up so they have no where to go but up. It always takes longer than you want, but eventually they catch on!

My latest batch of babies is 4 weeks old, so I'll be going through this again soon. I wish you luck and patience!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Definitely don't lock them in, your coop is way too small and dark to allow for that method. You'll need to lure them in with treats + light or manually put them in each night until they get the hint.

 

[chickity-chick]

Try putting a battery operated puck light in the coop and hour before dark,
it will lure them inside,
then you can turn it off when you lock of after dark.

Agrees, too hot and small to lock them in for days in your climate.

Do you have a run attached to this eglu or do they free range?

They have a run- its temporary until I can dig up bushes and extend it to make it bigger- in the end its going to be 9X12 walk in- with the eglu and its 3X6 low run and opposite that it will be connected to the walk in a tunnel that will lead to the other side of my yard which is on a hill which eventually I want to block in and create another 100 or so square feet extra for them so total I will end up with roughly 226 square feet. But its going to take me a while- its just that I was only supposed to have 4 chickens- then some easer eggers showed up at the feed store and I couldnt help my self and got 3 more! I only allowed my sel to do this because at the time I thought 2 of my 4 were roosters so I though I was going to have to give them up and I wanted more than 2 chickens. Turned out they were all hens Oh well! I love them all and they are all going to stay.
As for the eglu concern and square footage with that many hens- the eglu attachment run which is the 3X6 plus the eglu which is the 3X3 on top is going to all be their "coop" Im going to cover the sides of the small run and lock them into that every night so that there is more room to sleep- for bad weather I plan on using a tarp on a lot of the run for shade and rain cover and some sides of it too to protect from cold winds.
I hope that my 7 hens will be happy with this arrangement! Im really wanting them to enjoy life and be happy above all!

Oh! and no free ranging sadly because where they are kept in my yard has a pool and lots of poisonous plants like holly, hostas, hydrangeas, and Irisis. I worry that they will fall into the pool or eat some of the many dangerous plants.

 

[aart]

Turned out they were all hens

Should be easy to sell a few then then

for bad weather I plan on using a tarp on a lot of the run for shade and rain cover

Make sure you don't lose ventilation with the tarp.