getting chicks in for the night!

[northfortyfarm]

we just finished our coop and run. chickens are out in teh run all day now and soooo happy. but at night when when want to get them back in coop and lock them safely in for the night the chicks (2 1/2 months) won't go up ramp and into coop. we have tried everything. we added more rungs on ramp, strawberry bribes etc. ramp is a little steep. now we have to chase and catch each one every night--any ideas??? or do they just grow into knowing how to go in at night???

 

[BirdBrain]

Do they get down okay in the morning or do you have to shew them out? If you have to shew them out I would leave them there until they figure it out. May take a day or two or three. You could always make a leg hook out of a stick and a coat hanger. You could take a wire coat hanger and holding the hanging part, stretch it out by pulling on the middle of the flat bottom part. When it is straightened out in a long loop, bend over a section of about 2-3 inches so that it would fit around the leg of a chicken but not allow a foot to slip through. If you use the looped end--not the hanging end--there won't be anything to scratch or harm the chickens leg.

 

[northfortyfarm]

to reply--when i open their door in morning they all find their way out. some of course more slowly than others. they ppe and slide and fly to the ground. just won't go up. and don't go up at all during the day to go into coop--just hang out outside all day long.

 

[MayberrySaint]

Keep their food and water in the coop during the day. When they get hungry or thirsty enough, they will go in. As they get used to going in and out during the day, the night routine will be easier.

 

[cookinmom]

I found with mine that if I tried to get them in when it was already getting dark, they wouldn't go in. I went out about 1/2 an hour before dark, when sun was still coming into their house, and brought a dish of mashed egg or oatmeal. I would get in their house and call to them, and they got in with me, and I would close their door. Then they had snack, and I let myself out, after playing with them and talking to them for a little while. If it was darker in the house than outside though, it was awful having to catch them one by one, and stick them in through the chicken door, closing it after each chicken.

 

[devora]

I locked mine in the chicken house for a week before letting them out into the run. It worked like a charm...so far. I took treats to them after first letting them in the run and guided them into the house, then locked 'em in. Now they all go back in at night on their own.

Could you keep them in the chicken house for a day or so to remind them where home is?

Also, as was stated, food and water are in the house.

Good luck!