Getting older chickens in new coop and how long to keep them inside?

[speckledegg]

We have a nice new (to us) coop for our 2 older girls. Now, how would you go about getting them in the coop? They are so flighty and don't come easily to treats. Also, once I get them in there, should I leave them in for a couple of days? I'd feel horrible doing that. There is no run, I usually just let them lose in our fenced backyard. It's probably about 10 sq. feet inside. Ideas, thoughts, opinions? What has worked for you?

 

[Judy]

I'd pick them up off the roost around sunset and put them in there overnight, then probably let them loose in the morning. Many advise keeping them in a new coop for a few days to a week, but like you, I wouldn't want to do that. You might have to place them in there several times before they get the idea, though.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

When I bought my flock of Sussex we had them up in the front yard. They would free range in the yard during the day and at night they'd pile up in a corner of the porch. We'd have to catch them all and put them in the hutch...we did that for a month! They would simply never figure out where to at night. We couldn't lock 16 big birds up in a small hutch, so finally what we did was when we noticed them starting to pile up in the corner we'd slowly herd them over to the hutch and pretty soon they're going inside the hutch at night.

~ Aspen