Coop training and nighttime lockup

[DraftXJumper]

Hello all! We are getting ready to put our girls into their new coop and run. My question is, when it comes to coop training, do you have to lock them in the coop only for those few days? Or does locking them in the coop and run work as well (i.e., no free range time)? Also, do most people lock their girls up at night in the coop even if they have a good, predator resistant run? TIA!

 

[formerchickenlass]

I would keep them just in coop, not coop and run (unless there's a concern that it's too hot for them to stay in the coop all day right now in your area).

I lock mine in the coop at night, even with the run. To me, it's an extra layer of protection. And I don't see any harm in them spending a couple hours in the coop in the morning before I wake up.

 

[BYChickenAl]

I would keep them just in coop, not coop and run (unless there's a concern that it's too hot for them to stay in the coop all day right now in your area).

I lock mine in the coop at night, even with the run. To me, it's an extra layer of protection. And I don't see any harm in them spending a couple hours in the coop in the morning before I wake up.

Agree. I started this past spring and all my girls automatically go back into the coop by 8pm. At this point of hot summer days in the midwest, I wouldn't lock them up in a hot coop for any amount of time.

 

[DraftXJumper]

Agree. I started this past spring and all my girls automatically go back into the coop by 8pm. At this point of hot summer days in the midwest, I wouldn't lock them up in a hot coop for any amount of time.

Any opinion on what I should do then for coop training? After a few weeks of spending time in their run and/or free ranging during the day and having me put them in the coop at night, will they just start to get it? I wouldn't want to lock them up in the coop during hot days either.

 

[driver]

I'm no expert, but here is my experience over the last 10 days or so. I put five 6-week old pullets in the new run/coop. I lock them in the coop every night and let them out in the run all day. For the first week, I had to catch every one individually to put them away for the night. In the last 3 days, at 8:00 or so, they're still trying to settle in on the ground in the run, but after I catch the first one or two, some of the others are getting the hint and climbing up into the coop all by themselves. They also have been using the roosts for the last 5 days or so. They have figured out that the coop is a safe place to go when I put the old hen in their run for a supervised visit before integrating. I think they will be "coop trained" pretty soon.