Coop Training

[Ridgerunner]

Can I let them just sleep on the roof once the door is fixed

If you consider it predator safe they can sleep out there.

and it cools down?

What is your overnight temperature when they are out there? It doesn't matter what the heat of the day is, how hot is it when they are up there in the dark?

 

[Unswydd]

If you consider it predator safe they can sleep out there.


What is your overnight temperature when they are out there? It doesn't matter what the heat of the day is, how hot is it when they are up there in the dark?

Thanks for your response. It's much cooler at night. I'd say in the low 70's and even in the 60's. Which is unusual for this time of year. It's cool enough I leave my windows open at night at home.
Yeah, the run is like Fort Knox except for the door. There are gaps. I don't think a coon could get in but a possum maybe.

 

[rosemarythyme]

It's hot and with such little ventilation I dare not lock them in. The run is bullet proof except for the door. I had help with making the door and it's not what I expected. I am going to have to take it down and redo it myself. Can I let them just sleep on the roof once the door is fixed and it cools down?
Edited to add: the south facing front is open so there is better ventilation there. Could I put a fan in front of that and lock them in? I'm in Central Illinois with high humidity and heat storms lately too.

As long as you feel they're "safe enough" I'd let them sleep in the run at this time, until ventilation is addressed.

Not sure if you should just stick a fan in front of a vent... that still doesn't really address the ventilation issue (air needs to flow in and out) and what happens if the fan suddenly conks out and the birds are locked in?

 

[Unswydd]

Right. I will fix the ventilation this week. The coop was an emergency build with what I could find around the farm. Scraps of this and that. It's solid but yes, ventilation does need to be better. I will go back out tonight to check on them. I don't live there I'm about 5 miles away so I can't just walk outside to make sure they're in. It's not an issue for me. Wish I did live there. It's vacant now and I'm hoping to talk my brother into letting me move in. That would be great.
Thanks for all the help.

 

[ChicksofHeaven]

Same question. I acquired three chicks from a guy on FB marketplace. They seem to be about 5 weeks old, so maybe they are too young to figure out how to put themselves to bed? For reference... I have an all-in-one coop from TSC with a "hen house" which includes nests - a small "Run" below where I keep food and water (it's on a grassy area, that they've nearly scratched bare) - and I have a good-sized run for them during the day - they seem to cling to the small run but venture out to the bigger one regularly.
I've been going out at dusk, to put them in and usually find them in the small, contained run but sometimes partying out in the big run. They don't like me handling them, but I'm gentle. I try to hold them gently before putting them in the hen house, so they start to trust me. An additional problem is I'm not an early riser - so they are currently on my schedule -- I don't get out there at first light -- but they are typically on the roost when I get to them - so they have figured that out. I'm wondering if the 8am rousing is keeping them up too late? (I'm starting to wake earlier, but before long it will be dark later in AM and dark earlier in the PM so it should even out)
I read somewhere to keep them in the coop for 2-3 days and they'll figure out bedtime, but I'm not sure if "coop" references the "hen house" or the "lower run" with the access to the hen house.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Same question. I acquired three chicks from a guy on FB marketplace. They seem to be about 5 weeks old, so maybe they are too young to figure out how to put themselves to bed?

They're not. However if you have a ramp which seems to be implied below, they need to be trained to use it if they're not using it on their own. They also need to be homed to the coop to treat it as home.

For reference... I have an all-in-one coop from TSC with a "hen house" which includes nests - a small "Run" below

An additional problem is I'm not an early riser - so they are currently on my schedule -- I don't get out there at first light -- but they are typically on the roost when I get to them - so they have figured that out. I'm wondering if the 8am rousing is keeping them up too late?

Do you mean keeping them inside too late? As long as temperatures aren't so high that they must have water access all the time, no, chickens do not need to be out at break of dawn.

I read somewhere to keep them in the coop for 2-3 days and they'll figure out bedtime, but I'm not sure if "coop" references the "hen house" or the "lower run" with the access to the hen house.

Coop is the enclosed portion, what you referred to as hen house. If this is a prefab it's likely not big enough inside nor anywhere near ventilated enough to safely lock them in the coop only, but they may be fine locked in coop w/ mini run access.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Same question. I acquired three chicks from a guy on FB marketplace. They seem to be about 5 weeks old, so maybe they are too young to figure out how to put themselves to bed? For reference... I have an all-in-one coop from TSC with a "hen house" which includes nests - a small "Run" below where I keep food and water (it's on a grassy area, that they've nearly scratched bare) - and I have a good-sized run for them during the day - they seem to cling to the small run but venture out to the bigger one regularly.
I've been going out at dusk, to put them in and usually find them in the small, contained run but sometimes partying out in the big run. They don't like me handling them, but I'm gentle. I try to hold them gently before putting them in the hen house, so they start to trust me. An additional problem is I'm not an early riser - so they are currently on my schedule -- I don't get out there at first light -- but they are typically on the roost when I get to them - so they have figured that out. I'm wondering if the 8am rousing is keeping them up too late? (I'm starting to wake earlier, but before long it will be dark later in AM and dark earlier in the PM so it should even out)
I read somewhere to keep them in the coop for 2-3 days and they'll figure out bedtime, but I'm not sure if "coop" references the "hen house" or the "lower run" with the access to the hen house.

What @rosemarythyme commented above. Chicks are never too young to know how to roost; it is an instinct burned in their brain that they need to do, and yet some choose to sleep on the ground anyways until they reach a certain age. It is like how chickens do not play-fight with each other, contrary to popular belief. From the moment chicks hatch, they know they must be in a pecking order, so no play-fighting allowed.

I am curious to what you mean by your eight PM rousing is keeping them up too late. Chickens choose their own times to wake up, which is usually at 5:00 in the morning, given the fact they can see infrared and ultraviolet rays coming from the sun that we cannot.

 

[BuckeyeFoodie]

I would start locking them in shortly before nightfall for a fee weeks, to see if they start getting the routine.

Luckily for me I have older gilrs and a really good cock bird to teach the younger birds the way of things.