Entering Coop at Night

[aart]

I could get one of those. There is no electricity at the coop so I was thinking about getting one or two of those and putting them in so if I needed to check on something out there and it was dark I would have a light. Does the coop need to be well lit in the evening for them to come in?

Just need the light until they get in the habit of going in at dusk,
it can take awhile.

I use a headlight for night chores.

 

[GaDawgChic]

Just need the light until they get in the habit of going in at dusk,
it can take awhile.

I use a headlight for night chores.

Ok great! I will look into getting one today. Thank you for your help. Do you mind taking a look at the picture with the ramp in it and giving me your opinion on the spacing of the steps? Do you think they are too far apart?

 

[aart]

Do you mind taking a look at the picture with the ramp in it and giving me your opinion on the spacing of the steps? Do you think they are too far apart?

I like to put a concrete block (16" high) under the low end of ramp,
it reduces the angle and protects the end of ramp from rotting faster.
Could start with block on side at 8" high.

Cleats I like to have at 4-6" spacing.

 

[rosemarythyme]

There is a ramp and I actually told my husband this morning that I think I put the steps too far apart for them and need to add some in between. Going to try and do that today.

They do not go in and out of the coop during the day. They stay in the run all day.

The coop does not have a lot of light at sunset, but it's also not super dark in there either.

Angle of ramp doesn't look too bad, more cleats may be needed, or I've seen everything from textured paint to sandpaper to grip strips as additions to help them use it. I actually do steps (cinder blocks) which could be a possibility in this set up as the pop door isn't too high from the ground...

I'd see about grabbing a couple of treats and seeing if you can lure them up and down the ramp to get them to use it properly.

Personally I'd add a window just for light (plexiglass would do) but it's also possible the chicks aren't going in because it's darker in there plus they don't want to use the ramp. A battery operated light (stick on light, or a rechargable lantern) is very cheap and easy to use to try and lure them in until they get the hang of it.

 

[GaDawgChic]

I like to put a concrete block (16" high) under the low end of ramp,
it reduces the angle and protects the end of ramp from rotting faster.
Could start with block on side at 8" high.

Cleats I like to have at 4-6" spacing.

I have a log I can put under the board and try that. The cleats are 6" apart. Thanks for your input.

Angle of ramp doesn't look too bad, more cleats may be needed, or I've seen everything from textured paint to sandpaper to grip strips as additions to help them use it. I actually do steps (cinder blocks) which could be a possibility in this set up as the pop door isn't too high from the ground...

I'd see about grabbing a couple of treats and seeing if you can lure them up and down the ramp to get them to use it properly.

Personally I'd add a window just for light (plexiglass would do) but it's also possible the chicks aren't going in because it's darker in there plus they don't want to use the ramp. A battery operated light (stick on light, or a rechargable lantern) is very cheap and easy to use to try and lure them in until they get the hang of it.

I was thinking about the grip strips maybe. I have other cleats that I made and I could add those too. Might see if the grip strips work. I've never thought about doing steps rather than a ramp. That's a whole new possibility there that might just be better than the ramp altogether. It would certainly add more open space in the run.

I did see them actually on the ramp today so that was encouraging. They seem to not really be comfortable coming up any further than halfway. I really think it's because their feet don't feel secure for them.

I planned on trying the treats and a rechargeable lantern tonight. I made it a point to actually look into the coop during the middle of the day today and it was kinda dark in there for the middle of the day. They are in a pretty shaded area of our yard that gets direct sunlight at certain times of the day but not the entire day. We are having the trees trimmed and that big limb that runs over the coop and run removed in June. That might help a bit with the sunlight coming in as well. It gets so hot here during the Summer and the humidity is brutal. It's not uncommon for our heat index to be in the 100's days during the Summer months. It has already been in the 80's here. I wanted to make sure they were in an area where they could have plenty of shade because of that. We went to eat dinner and while we were gone quite the rainstorm came up. It was a gullywasher! I was so hoping they would have gone inside but it seems that they just went underneath the coop. They were in the run when we got home eating and scratching around and didn't seem to be wet so I'm guessing they were ok and not traumatized by anything. I went ahead and just put them in the coop again tonight. It was already about the same time I have been putting them inside every night anyway so I figured they had enough new experiences for the day today. Ha!! They didn't seem to mind me picking them up and putting them in tonight or I at least didn't have as hard a time getting them to come over to me. I will try the treats and lantern tomorrow for sure.

Thank you so much for all of your help and guidance. I really do appreciate all of your comments.

 

[Cryss]

They don’t know where they live. Put them inside the coop with food and water. Don’t let them into the run for two weeks. They will begin to feel secure in side. When you finally open the coop they will be nervous about going out but let them do so at their own pace. The first night you might need to help them find the way inside again, but if they continue to not go inside lock them in for another week. They just need to learn where they live. (Don’t forget to remove food n water from the coop once they aren’t locked in anymore.) Works every time I’ve done this.

 

[calboy147]

How long does it take for chicks to learn to go into the coop on their own at night? We are first-time chicken owners so this is all new for us. My four girls are 6 weeks old. They were in the coop only for a little over a week before we finished securing the run. We finished the run 3 days ago and I have been going out at dusk each night to pick them up and put them in the coop for the night. I'm just wondering if I'm doing something wrong or if this is just a normal thing and will take them a bit of time to figure it out on their own. Their run is fully enclosed, but I am still super cautious about predators and don't want to leave the pop door (I think that is what the small door is called that they can go in and out of) open at night. Any advice or suggestions anyone could give are much appreciated!

I put mine in left them in for two days and they figured it out immediately

 

[rosemarythyme]

I've never thought about doing steps rather than a ramp. That's a whole new possibility there that might just be better than the ramp altogether. It would certainly add more open space in the run.

Here's how my steps are set up. Not sure how many you would need, if you did a similar set up. My chicks were wandering up and down these at 3 weeks (the bricks are like a mini step for little ones).

I made it a point to actually look into the coop during the middle of the day today and it was kinda dark in there for the middle of the day. They are in a pretty shaded area of our yard that gets direct sunlight at certain times of the day but not the entire day. We are having the trees trimmed and that big limb that runs over the coop and run removed in June. That might help a bit with the sunlight coming in as well. It gets so hot here during the Summer and the humidity is brutal. It's not uncommon for our heat index to be in the 100's days during the Summer months. It has already been in the 80's here. I wanted to make sure they were in an area where they could have plenty of shade because of that.

Regulating temperatures and ventilation will be extremely important with your high temps. A 2-in-1 fix would be adding a lot more ventilation - in your climate it's not unusual to see coops with one wall as all open wire mesh, or a lot of top hinged panels that can be opened up to provide ventilation while protecting the coop from rain. Is the run roofed? Doesn't look like it, but if it is you could open up a lot of the coop wall facing into the run.

We went to eat dinner and while we were gone quite the rainstorm came up. It was a gullywasher! I was so hoping they would have gone inside but it seems that they just went underneath the coop.

Good enough. My chicks usually stayed outside (unroofed run) even when it was raining, as long as it wasn't a hard rain it's no issue.

 

[GaDawgChic]

A huge Thank You to all of you, especially @aart and @rosemarythyme

I am happy to report I put the log under the end of the ramp so it wasn’t as steep and I put the battery operated lantern in the coop tonight and the girls finally went in on their own just a few minutes ago!!! They were peeping and looking for me but I stayed inside and watched through the window to see if they would figure it out on their own. It was such a cute little parade going into the coop. I just really love all of the help that is given on this page. Thank you again!

 

[aart]

They were peeping and looking for me but I stayed inside

They may really start peeping once you close the pop door an turn off the light
Use the light for a few more nights then try it without.