Getting chickens to go inside their coop at night.

[clifhngr9169]

Hi all, new member from Vermont. I have 9 "Easter egger" chickens that are about 10 weeks old. I'm pretty sure that 2 are roosters and 7 hens. The issue at hand is this: they huddle up in a group in a corner of their run at dusk and don't go back inside their illuminated coop. Does anyone know if they eventually will go inside on their own, or will i have to put them inside forever?

 

[Stingrayg4]

They will figure it out on their own eventually. If you want to speed the process up, leave them locked in the coop for two or three days, they'll learn that it's home pretty quickly that way.

-S

 

[uncle rico]

stingray is right, although we kept our pullets in the coop for about 2 mos (it was winter anyway) before we let them out. after that, they had no problem getting in the coop by nightfall.

 

[clifhngr9169]

Thanks for the reply. I do think they know what their home is as they have been in it for six weeks. So, would the best plan be to just continue putting them into the coop in each night in the hopes they will eventually figure it out, or would it be more advantageous to leave them out overnight in the hopes they will eventually find their way into the coop?

 

[Stingrayg4]

Keep putting them inside at night to protect them from predators. Sooner or later they'll get with the program.

-S

 

[Nostalchic]

A couple of thoughts... One consideration would be the access to the coop - is it easy to get in? I see pictures sometimes of small coop-over-the-run set-ups which have a very steep walk down to the run, which might be ok for going down but a little challenging for going up. Also, why is the coop lighted? I wonder if that confuses them... I know chickens WILL go into a lighted coop when it's an established behavior, but at this time of year it's not necessary to light it, and their instinctive drive to go in at dusk may be circumvented a little by having unnatural light while they're establishing a routine. If they like some particular treat, you can teach them to come for that when you call, and then use that to call them into the coop with treats in the evening. That's what I've done with new flocks in the past, seems to work. It sure would be a pain to have to put them in there every night, you want to get them self-sufficient asap, but unless you have a fortress, leaving them out is pretty risky and may establish a pattern you don't want.