Having to manually put chicks in coop at night - HELP!

[MeowilynMonroe]

My chicks are about 2 months old and I just built a new addition to their old coop. Since then they have refused to put themselves to bed at night and want to roost on my back porch. I have to carry them to the coop and put them inside. It has been about a week.

I feed them and water them by the coop and I have purches, just like their old coop.

Is there anything I can do to change their behavior and encourage them to want to sleep in their coop and go to bed on their own?

 

[elsathecat]

Mine do the same thing but they roost on TOP of the coop. And they are 4 months old. I'm hoping they figure it out soon.

 

[RavenStorm]

Usually, if I change anything about the coop (move it to a different part of the yard, make a structural change, etc.) I have found it best to leave them locked in for a day or so. Remind them that this is home or something like that. With the weather heating up though, I wouldn't recommend that course of action for now. unless you have cooler weather.

 

[MeowilynMonroe]

Quote:
Thanks for the reply...I could try that but...

DO you know of anything else I could try?

I live in Hawai'i and I dont know if I would feel comfortable locking them in there.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I've found that some chickens will easily adjust to change while others are less adaptable. Some will start going into a new coop after a day or so of being confined to it. Others decide on their own roost and must be physically carried into the coop every blessed night.

Try moving them towards their coop earlier in the evening, an hour or so before sunset. Serve them an extra-special bedtime snack there, like corn or melon or something. Then lock them up so they'll have to roost there. Perhaps they'll soon associate the coop with Good Times & start to go there on their own.

 

[StormyMoon]

Mine didnt get this till they was about 3 and 1/2 months old...........I have 5 children, we would herd chickens to the coop.
Then when they was almost 4 months old they started doing this on their own.
You have to make sure same hour every day over and over again.....they do like things to be the same.

I keep their feeder and waterer in the coop but coop door stays open all day long if they want something they go back in as needed.

 

[NanoByte]

If u put food and water in the coop and lock them up for like a day a two, they will know it is their home.

 

[michickenwrangler]

My Black Stars and EE took about 3 weeks of physically putting them in the coop before they started to go on their own. Even then, only 1 did, then a few days later another one. Finally Twinkie and Blackbird got tired of being chased around with the broom every night and gave up and went in on their own.

Perservere! You ARE more persistent than the chickens.

 

[M@M@2four]

Quote:
Agreed! Just getting ready to say the same thing and you beat me to it!

Yes, food and water help them realize that is their house!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I think there are a couple of choices. You can physically put them in the coop at night, every night, until they decide to go in and sleep there on there own or you can lock them in for while until they get used to it being home. If you are uncomfortable with locking them in there all day (With Hawaii's maritime climate you day should not be as hot as many of us are now experiencing so with a properly ventilated coop they should be OK in there during the day, but you know your circumstances and what you are comfortable with and I don't) you can maybe lure them in with treats later in the day after it has cooled off and not have to chase them or move them from their roosts to the coop after dark.

Good luck!