Getting chicken in coop at night

[juniper rain]

Any advice on how to get chickens to go into their coop at night? Ours don't seem to want to just yet. We have a raised coop, with a ramp that goes up to a small door. They have a long fenced in run. At night, the pile together underneath the coop by the fence. Last night, something(thinking raccoon), reached in and killed 2 trying to pull them out. I would like them to be trained to return to the coop at night. Is this possible? Thanks in advance.

 

[TheChips]

Have you tried chicken worm treats? When my chickens don't want to go inside, I tap the lid of the box and they all come running, I throw some in and while they're eating them, I close them up and poof! Problem solved

 

[TheChips]

You should also put chicken wire by the area the raccoon was. That way if you do have a few days where you can't seem to get them inside, they can still be safe

 

[LBKS]

I would take them some treats out before they have bedded down for the night and scatter it in the coop so they learn to go inside the coop when it starts getting dark. Especially things they may have to scratch around for a while -- they are more likely to stay in the coop and bed down. Once they are all inside, you can close them in the first week or so just to get them all used to it. After that they should keep returning, especially if you occasionally still throw treats in at dusk.

 

[marcid]

Someone on this forum suggested using a battery powered light in the coop, and it worked for me! Around dusk or sooner, I just put a little battery powered flashlight in there and they got curious and came walking in. I was shocked! Totally worked. I did it a few more nights just to form the habit and then I stopped. They've been putting themselves to bed ever since.

I left it on for just 30-40 minutes after they went in the coop so they could get settled, then I turned it off.

Good luck. Mine were doing the same thing as yours. Sitting in a pile in the corner of the run looking all confused. The light did the trick.

 

[topdog24]

You should not have to treat them to get them to go in the coop, this should be a natural occuring activity and with the right training and incentives you can make it happen with very little time and work.

1st, The habit of gathering is instilled from birth so they will continue to do so if not trained differently, roosts should be provided from the very first so they become a familiar sight, do not provide things for them to sit on like blocks, upside down containers and such objects, all new chicks need to be started at roosting from a few days old even if you have to put them on the roost by hand, as they get older it will click and they will eventually catch on, they need a role model to teach them and sometime that is the human mother/ father when there is not a brood hen or other adult chicken for them to learn from.


2nd, Take their water and feed from the run, they know there is water and feed in the coop, they will migrate to and from the run to the coop to feed and get water during the day.this should be done from day one, only put water and feed in run once they are going to roost in the coop every night for at least 7 consecutive nights, you may sprinkle a little feed on the ramp, no treats, treats are used as a reward for doing something right.

3rd,Only give them some scratch when you let them out in the morning, nothing during the day, do not give them a continual supply of food or water in the run for the first 2 weeks, supply enough water to last till the afternoon so they run out and go to the coop for water. Once all the chickens are in the coop, it is ok to give a small amount of treats, remember, you are conditioning a mind. I have 48 chickens of various breeds and ages, all of mine were trained as i have suggested and only after a bit of effort, they are always on the roosts by dusk dark.

The first photo is my first chicks at 5 weeks old in the coop for the first night, they are already trained to roost
The second is after they are 10 weeks and have been moved into the yard/run and moved into the coop deville house

.

 

[lazy gardener]

The only other comment i have to make, is that chicken wire is not coon proof. A coon can and will eventually tear chicken wire apart. Also, weasels can get through chicken wire. If you manually put the chicks in at dusk for a few nights, they will learn to put themselves to bed. The other ideas are also great, and show that there are as many ways to solve a chicken related problem as there are different chicken owners.

 

[ShockValue]

How long were they locked in their coop before you let them out?

 

[Sylviaanne]

How long were they locked in their coop before you let them out?

From what I read above, they should be trained in about 7 days.

 

[topdog24]

Any advice on how to get chickens to go into their coop at night? Ours don't seem to want to just yet. We have a raised coop, with a ramp that goes up to a small door. They have a long fenced in run. At night, the pile together underneath the coop by the fence. Last night, something(thinking raccoon), reached in and killed 2 trying to pull them out. I would like them to be trained to return to the coop at night. Is this possible? Thanks in advance.

Any advice on how to get chickens to go into their coop at night? Ours don't seem to want to just yet. We have a raised coop, with a ramp that goes up to a small door. They have a long fenced in run. At night, the pile together underneath the coop by the fence. Last night, something(thinking raccoon), reached in and killed 2 trying to pull them out. I would like them to be trained to return to the coop at night. Is this possible? Thanks in advance.

From what I read above, they should be trained in about 7 days.

From what I read above, they should be trained in about 7 days.