Go to bed darn it! Silly girls- advice please?

[newchknmama]

Ok, so my 8 weekers have been in the coop for a week now. I only have 5 in there and so far their routine is to let them into the run for a big part of the day, late afternoon I let them outside to free range the backyard, then I usually go to work in the evenings so my kids put them (picture 3 kids chasing 5 birds til they catch them) into the run again, we have been waiting for them to go up to bed themselves but it isnt happening, tonight they were down there chattering away wanting out and not going to bed, so I have to crawl in there.. (it isnt tall enough to stand in and they hide under the run) and put them into the coop and shut them in.. What the heck can I do to get them to go up to bed on their own?

 

[newchknmama]

any ideas?

 

[BrattishTaz]

Bribe them.

I use a clear plastic jar filled with chick starter to refill their feed dishes. They have learned jar= yummies. I would carry the jar with me when it was time to lock them up for the night and put a small amout of the feed in the brooder/coop, they followed to food. Now they automatically run for the brooder when the see me coming in the evening. I add the command "go to bed" as they are going in. I used the same method when my adult birds were chicks and now they go to the coop any time I give the command.

 

[ChicksterJo]

I set mine on their roost when the sun has gone down considerably but it's not that dark yet. That way I can see what I'm doing

They'll stay noisy for a few minutes as they sort themselves out and find their most comfortable positions. They should be settled down just as it's getting dark. Seems like the younger they are the more likely they will put up a fight because they're looking for something to sleep under. When I had my 4 week olds sleep on their roost they would try to hide underneath each other, didn't work out too well because they started pushing each other off, but in the end they learned to sleep in a nice row. Try to keep putting them on their roost before dark, and this routine should teach them that that's where they should sleep.