Going to bed.....chickens are not the brightest bulbs....

[TheSheriffswife]

Quote:
Just a thought..because what I noticed is that mine no matter what I did to tempt them in, will not go in until they are darn good and ready..It's like a lightbulb turns on and their internal clock tells them it's time to go to their roost..
I have learned not to fight nature..I figure it's their instinct telling them based on I guess when dusk is coming that they go..So I wait, they single file in and then I shut the door..They have never not gone in. It's just when they are ready not me..
Treats do not work either..Mine love them, but they know and will not be tempted to be closed in any sooner than their internal clock

My plans I guess wait or have to be worked around keeping them safe and locking them up, since I took this responsibility on..Stinks sometimes but I can't go anywhere or stay out because that door has to be shut by dark and if I have plans to be out at that time I can't lock them in sooner..Believe me I have tried..

 

[eggcamefirst]

As soon as it starts getting dark (i.e. you would use your headlights if driving) the chicks start heading for the coop (about 8:30 or so right where I am). If I don't have the pull door up around that time (by 8:50 pm at the latest) they will not move from the ramp and will sit there until I gently "throw" them into the coop. I have tried to put them up earlier but they will not go, it has to be right before DARK (which will obviously change as the weeks roll on).....

 

[Pele]

I've had complete success with closing up the babies in the coop the first 3 nights they are in the coop. They get used to it and think of it as home. If you do this, your problem for a few days will be getting them OUTside the coop

. Ours stared at the ground for 45 minutes the first time we opened the pop-door. The only reason it wasn't longer was that one was accidentally pushed out by another.

 

[chickenbythesea]

mine have been in the coop since about day 3 and they stayed locked in there for 3.5 weeks... they just started coming out last weekend and tonight I even waited until dark and they still hadn't gone in. On the other hand, they did all rush up and made it pretty easy to get caught (almost like they wanted to be). So, maybe tomorrow will be better.. I hope so because my friends chickens put themselves in at 7:30... I would love it if mine did the same!!

 

[bertman]

Had a similar situation at our run/coop.

First night they slept outside in the run (it's secure) in a pile.

Second night we picked them up and put them in the coop. They piled up and slept.

After a few nights they began to 'coop up' on their own when it got dark.

Now we're trying to get them to use the roost. They still pile up in the corner at first. It's hilarious because there is a huge conversation going on about who gets to be stepping on whose head and who will be on top, etc. Then, later in the evening a few will separate and sleep with their heads hanging out the coop door.

Meanwhile, they use the roost occasionally during the day--when the mood hits them--but they still don't roost at night. They're almost 14 weeks old so I'm worried that they will want to sleep piled up in the nest boxes instead of using the roost for sleeping and the boxes for laying.

Oh well, one step at a time.

 

[kareninthesun]

I kept mine in the coop for a full week, and it didn't help. Catch and carry got old. They'd go down the ramp fine, just not up. Then it occured to me that they came down because I opened the chute door and called them out. So I did it backwards. Opened the access door for the roof, stuck my head inside where they could see me and called them. The older girls were curious, peeking in, which made the younger ones curious and wanting in on the fun. The four older ones came right up and in, followed by all but the two youngest. Then last night, ALL the younger ones were up on their own, and ALL the older ones stayed down, trying to convince me that since they were older, they could stay up longer. A crack up, because the older ones are usually the first to poop out for the day. Maybe with all the younger ones upstairs, they intimidated the older ones since they were all grouped by the entrance/exit. There's 8 younger, four about two months old.

 

[RedDrgn]

I don't know if it will pay off in the end because our chicks are still too young to be outside full time, but we take ours out for some "outside play time" a few times a week. We always make a point of having that outdoor time in an around the coop. We're hoping this will familiarize them with it and hopefully make their transition into it full time easy. Will have to wait and see.

 

[cluck shmucks]

The stories I read here just crack me up! I am new to the whole chicken thing, and am in the process of building a coop for our 5 and 7 week old chicks. (It's taking longer than I thought, go figure!). Well, they are ready to get out of the water trough they've been in--but not completely! We knew they were hopping on top of the feeders, so we set them in the middle so they couldn't jump out. Yesterday, I went down (in the basement still, lol!) to feed them, and they had been OUT and about in the room! We knew because there were fresh chicken poops all over the floor, apparently they had been exploring for quite a while.

What cracked me up was that whoever it was had hopped right back into the "coop" when they were tired--they were all cuddled down inside, safe and sound.

I thought, "well, I hope it's this easy to teach them to go to the coop at night!" My little lavender bantam roo hopped up on the edge of the trough as I was standing there, as if to say "Hi Mom, Look what I can do!"

Turkeys...