Getting the chickens in

[Katelynschicks]

My boyfriend and I work 7-5 everyday. We let the chickens out the minute we get home and since the run is not finished they do not stay out all the time. Only when we are home. It has been getting tricky to get them to go back in at night when we have to head to bed. Is there a trick on getting them into a routine or anything so i dont have to pretty much chase them pick up one put in the coop and same for the rest. I only have 3 right now. We are new chicken people.

 

[Toddrick]

They will go up on their own at dusk once they get settled in. You might consider an automatic coop door if your run is not secured by hardware cloth, and covered.

 

[Sabrina24]

They should go in on their own around dusk. We have 2 that go in earlier than the others and the rest follow shortly after. I second the automatic door. We got one when we were having a mouse problem and have been happy with it. My husband wired it into the solar panel we have on the coop. Another idea - our chickens come running when we walk down towards the coop because they are hoping for treats. If we are wanting them in earlier than normal I just bring treats (veggie/bread scraps) or throw a handful of food or dried worms into the run and they usually all go running in.

 

[Katelynschicks]

we have wire poultry fence and we have built a door for coop that locks shut. But sometimes they don't go in they are still roaming the run. But hopefully I can put a top on the fence soon so they can go out any time.

 

[Toddrick]

we have wire poultry fence and we have built a door for coop that locks shut. But sometimes they don't go in they are still roaming the run. But hopefully I can put a top on the fence soon so they can go out any time.

I don't see anywhere in their run where they can get some shade from the sun, which is very important to say the least. If the fence is hardware cloth and buried then it is partially secure, but a fox or raccoon could climb it easy since it is short, so the cover would have to be pretty strong. Basically for a secure run people usually have a wood frame for the whole thing with hardware cloth on all sides (or much taller).

Your best bet may be an automatic door because you don't have to change much else. The predators don't come out until night, so the chickens will be protected by the closed coop, and not need the run to be secure. That's what I'm doing now.

 

[Katelynschicks]

I don't see anywhere in their run where they can get some shade from the sun, which is very important to say the least. If the fence is hardware cloth and buried then it is partially secure, but a fox or raccoon could climb it easy since it is short, so the cover would have to be pretty strong. Basically for a secure run people usually have a wood frame for the whole thing with hardware cloth on all sides (or much taller).

Your best bet may be an automatic door because you don't have to change much else. The predators don't come out until night, so the chickens will be protected by the closed coop, and not need the run to be secure. That's what I'm doing now.

They are only out when we are home. Because we are not finished with the run yet. Work 7-12 hour days hard to get anything done. But we let them out at 3ish and put them back in around 8. But the coop and run are right next to my house with lights around it. But its not finished yet.