Get Into That Coop!

[Tambo26]

Tonite will be my third night with little sleep. Ironically this will also be the third night my three Buff Orpington children will be outside. Tonite I waited until after dark to go out and see if they had gone into the coop, but nooo! They were all neatly piled at the end of the chicken ramp, like they were going to sleep there. I got into the coop and tried to coax them in that way (with a light)... noooo! I had to go out to the run and pick each one up and put them on the ramp.... and then I had to actually pick them up from where I put them on the ramp and put them into the coop. Will they figure it out? Is there anything I should be doing?

I love these chickens. They have totally different personalities and they are all three so loving! A chicken... loving? Honestly... I never would have guessed.

 

[Leia's Chickens]

You should have lights in the coop that go on at a certain time so the chickens know when to go in. Like when it starts to get dark the lights should go on and the chickens should go to the lights in the coop. That's what our chickens do at least. I hope i'm making sense.. lol

 

[mrchicken]

You should prevent your chickens from going to the run for a few days so they would know where "home" is.

 

[Katydid2011]

I think what you're experiencing is fairly common. The coop still feels like a strange place to them. Once they begin to feel safe inside and recognize the coop as home, they'll turn in all by themselves before it gets dark outside. It won't be long.

 

[Katydid2011]

Quote:
X2!

 

[lceh]

We're dealing with the same issue, but this is our third year with youngsters so we're finally figuring out what to do. Just before twilight, when they're not sleepy yet but it's time to think about locking them up, sprinkle some treats or feed up the ramp and a little pile of it in the house. They'll follow the feed into the house, and (hopefully) after a few sessions be conditioned to go in at twilight.

Good luck!

 

[earnhardtlvr]

Kinda like that movie about the baseball field..."build it and they will come!" LOL Turn the light on and they will go inside!

All joking aside. We just put our 28 girlies in the coop & run last sunday. The first few days we had to "wrangle chickens" to get them to go inside. We left the light on in the coop for a little bit and let them go in and get settled and then turned their night light on. They r very much schedule oriented. I let them out around 8 - 8:15 and they go to bed around 8:15-8:30. After about 3-4 days they were going inside on their own and we only had to chicken wrangle 3-4 girlies. Last night we were watching a show on tv and were late (8:40pm) going out and they had somehow managed to wedge the door open far enough to let themselves inside the coop!

There were only 2 that had to go in. Tonight we walked back around 8:15 and they were already crowded around the door waiting for us to open it!

So the moral to my story is u have to put them on a routine and after a few days they will know what to do. ANother thing, I have an enclosed run, the food and water r in the run, along with their kiddie pool with sand to dust bathe and a flock block to peck at. There is nothing in their coop except for a fan on hot days. I close the door to the coop once I let them out inless there is a chane of a storm if I'm not going to b there. They r starting to learn that the coop is where they sleep at night and the run is where they live and play during the day. It has only taken us a week to get them to figure this out. Just keep working with ur chickies! They will learn fairly fast!

 

[Doopy]

A sure-fire method of training young chicks to go home at dark is as follows:

When you decide that it's time for them to graduate from the brooder to the coop put them into the coop and do not open the pop door for one week. They do not have to go out immediately. After all they have been cooped up (no pun intended) in the brooder for weeks and they are fine with it. Young chickens imprint easily just like puppies and they will fell safer inside the coop than anywhere else after a week of imprinting. Every evening at dark they will scamper into the coop like clockwork.

 

[True Grit]

Quote:
This is the method I used, thanks to byc. Worked like a charm!

 

[jtr]

Quote:
agree also they will figure it out when they get older mine wouldnt go out for a week then they wouldnt go in for 2 weeks so i had to go put them in at night and put a cover on the chicken door so they wouldnt go back out but now they are 9 weeks and go in and out by themselves they go in at dark and go to sleep at first light they wake up and go outside for the day yours will get the hang of it just takes time