Getting chicks to go into coop at night

[Patoot]

Hi everyone. I've had chickens for 7yrs. Each time I've added to my flock, the new members learned to follow into the coop with the established chickens. However, I now have 5 chicks and they will not go in the darn coop. They have been with the older girls for almost a week now and they are together all day, but when the big girls go to bed, they don't follow. Instead they find other places within the run. One by one I have to put them into the coop and it's annoying and we all hate it. They flip out and now are afraid of me (ran to me before), and it's annoying to go hunting for each one and having to put them in one at a time, shutting the door after each one or they pop right back out. I have tried luring them with treats. No luck. I know normally you just keep them in their coop for a day or so to teach them that that's home, but it's too hot for that.

Any ideas? We're leaving for a vacation next Friday and I have 11 days to get them to learn to go to bed with the big girls or I don't know what I'll do. I can't ask my friend to go find all the chicks and step in chicken poop and navigate the whole process. HELP!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Is anyone giving them a hard time to where going into the coop is stressful?

 

[Pork Pie]

Maybe putting a flashlight in the coop would work?

 

[aart]

A week isn't long.
How old are chicks and how did you integrate them?
You've obviously done this before with success.
Maybe the coop is more crowded now than before?
Is there a separate roost for the youngsters?

I've had this problem before(PITA!!) and solved it with an extra roost, but still had to gather them up and put them inside at dusk for a week or two.
I devised this chick corral to make it easier to catch them.

This years junior flock must be brave and/or geniuses.
Second day/night they were going in and out of their coop on the long steep ramp and in at dusk all on their own. Once they were in with the flock, other half of coop and separate run, they still came back in at dusk on their own and within a week were roosting on the main roost instead of the 2 other options they had. I was amazed and very happy not to have to chase those little peepers around every night for weeks.

 

[Patoot]

Thanks guys. They are 11wks. I integrated them by first putting them in their own pen within the run so everyone could see each other, but the big girls couldn't get to them. Then when they seemed disinterested in a couple days later, I let the chicks out and watched for 2hrs. There was some pecking whenever they walked by a big one, one attempt to jump on one, and a little chasing, but nobody was getting hurt. After awhile, the big girls just ignored them and the little ones stuck together. However each night I still put the little ones in their own coop, but after getting advice here, was told that putting them together at night would be okay. At first I was getting up early to let them out right away, but then gradually let it go later to the normal time. I don't hear any squabbling, no one looks pecked, and the big girls are always waiting for me at the door. The babies are huddled together in the corner. So I think there is some fear going on, but no one is actually getting hurt.

I should add that they never figured out that they should go in their own coop either. I had them in a temporary coop with its own run. They would always huddle together and try to sleep in the run and I'd have to put them in one-by-one. So I don't think it's necessarily a fear/bully thing going on. They just don't quite seem to get it. I even put them on their roost and they would just huddle together to sleep instead.

I can try their own roost, but they didn't use their own in their own coop. Weirdos.

ETA: There are 2 big girls and 5 younger ones, so a total of 7 in a large coop.

 

[centrarchid]

A trick I stumbled upon involves using small rabbit cages that I can easily carry. Chicks are housed in it for a few days to imprint on it. A bungie cord is placed on it to hold door open when needed. The cage can be kept in coop with other birds making so chicks protected from aggression. Upon release from the cage the chick learn it location and keep it appearance in mind. When wanting to roost they go to the cage assuming they can see and reach it when time to roost.

As shown has hen that helps but works without hen. Interest in cage strong enough that they will go to it even when on bed of pickup truck parked in a new location.

 

[centrarchid]

Here is a little more detail involving getting hen with chicks to roosting a particular location in a field. Location is elevated cage sitting on top of a pen. I may be cheating a little with presence of rooster as it took only one day for birds to learn new location.

The matrix piece provide protection from sun and rain. Hen and brood go into cage on their own. They would not go up yet if cage not already there.

Chicks just shy of three weeks so roosting up a little earlier than average.

 

[Patoot]

Thanks everyone! I am making progress with a light in the coop. Tonight 4/5 were in the opening of the coop. The 5th was still in her usual spot high in some ivy bush. But this is HUGE progress. Even though they weren't totally inside and I had to sort of shimmy them in, they were right at the opening and it was very easy to put them away versus one by one. I'll keep you posted, but thank you so much! I didn't think of any of these ideas.