First Time Raising Chickens

Aunt Goaty

In the Brooder
Oct 18, 2017
10
9
24
Bowdon, Georgia
So my daughter (15 yo) choose to raise chickens for her Ag class at school. We were given an incubator and a dozen eggs by a friend, and we have since managed to hatch them. Out of 12 eggs, we wound up with 5 chicks. They are now almost 7 weeks old.

Last Saturday, we bought a coop for them and placed them in it. They have figured out how to get OUT of the enclosed part and down into the run section...but they have NOT figured out how to get back IN. Every evening we have to go out and make sure they are put back inside so we can close them up for the night. The only reason I have been doing this is because it's turned off cold this week. The night time temps have been in the 40-50 degree (F) range.

I guess my question is do I need to worry about doing this every night? Or will they figure it out on their own? Or should I just let them be until the weather turns to freezing temps?

Thanks for any input!
 
Hello again Aunt Goaty, I said G’Day on your introduction thread.

Yep, keep popping them in each evening and they will get the hang of it.

One thing to keep in mind though is the ‘darkness’ inside the coop. If the coop is a lot darker than outside, when the time does come for the chickens to go to roost, it might be too dark inside for them, especially newbies to the whole thing.

If you believe that the coop might be too dark, you could provide some temporary supplemental lighting in the form of a solar power light until they get the hang of things.
 
Welcome to chick-mamahood. It's always something. I have been watching my broody hen teach her chicks what you have been trying to teach yours. She gets fed up with her chicks sometimes when they don't do as she tells them. I've seen her come back out of the coop to try to show a chick that can't seem to "get it" how to go in. Once she must have said "the heck with it" because I found a chick all by its lonesome under the coop as it was getting dark. I scooped it up and shoved it inside.

Now that your chicks have figured out how to go inside at night, you can place them on the roosting bar and they will learn that lesson in a few nights.

The trick is to place the chicks as close together as they'll fit. This makes them feel more secure. It also helps to make a "shhing" sound to comfort them and quiet them. If you rest your hand lightly on each head, exerting a slight downward pressure, that gets them into sleep mode.
 
my chicks used to huddle too but really if you spread their food everywhere they will start to explore but if you dont want to do that im sure they will figure it out
 

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