HELP, my chicks still will NOT put themselves to bed!

[jaimemae]

Hi have 7 (9 week old) silkies. They are now outside in their own area with their own little house. EVERY night I find them piled on each other chirping unhappily in some corner of their yard and EVERY night I pick them all up and put them to bed. I have tried setting them outside the door and "helping" them walk in.......they are NOT getting the hint. I am not putting these chickens to bed every night for the rest of their lives! What can I do??
Thanks!

 

[cubbysan]

I chicken sat for my neighbor's chickens. Everynight when I went to close them in for the night, the little silkie was in the corner of the pen crying while the others had all gone to bed. He is about 12 weeks old and still very small. I don't think he has the ability to physically walk up the ramp. He has no problem getting down. Is your ramp very steep?

 

[chickydee64]

Hi have 7 (9 week old) silkies. They are now outside in their own area with their own little house. EVERY night I find them piled on each other chirping unhappily in some corner of their yard and EVERY night I pick them all up and put them to bed. I have tried setting them outside the door and "helping" them walk in.......they are NOT getting the hint. I am not putting these chickens to bed every night for the rest of their lives! What can I do??
Thanks!

HI, Did you lock them in the coop for a couple of days to start with?????????
That way they know where bed is.
Also, my 9 week olds are the very last to go up.
First the adults....then the teenagers......and finally,(when I am way to tire
The little devils give up and go in. Also, some folks use a treat thrown into the coop to give them the idea..........

 

[SobbaChickens]

When you first put them out in the run/coop did you keep them locked in the coop for a few days?

They don't see the coop as "home" so they don't understand that they should go in to roost. And now long have they been doing this? My girls spent about 5 days using a tiny pre-built coop and I had to put them in every night, they hated the thing. Finally we got the big coop finished and I never once had to put them to bed, they just did it.

 

[jaimemae]

Hi, I haven't locked them in there yet because it's been in the mid to high 80's where I am. Way to hot to be locked in their small house. They can def walk up the ramp. They play on it during the day......little boogers.

 

[DanasChicks]

Hi Jaimemae,

Silkies will not get the concept of the ladder as quickly as full sized birds. They do require a lot more training in my experience. It is a pain to place them in their bedding area each night and if they are not in any danger huddling in the corner, then let them huddle. Once they see the others going in and out of the area to sleep, they will in turn follow. If it's too cold at night, you will have more training to do.

I have some 12 week old pullets (not Silkies, other breeds) that do not want to coop with the others. It's much warmer out now, so I don't worry about them too much. If it were colder, I would be putting them to bed.

You may want to try to train them to go in their bedding area before it's dark so they can see well enough to really learn what it is you want them to do, because once it's dark, they can't see anyway, so you are just moving them and not training them at that point. I know it's frustrating, but hang in there.

I hope that helps.

 

[SobbaChickens]

Hi, I haven't locked them in there yet because it's been in the mid to high 80's where I am.  Way to hot to be locked in their small house.  They can def walk up the ramp.  They play on it during the day......little boogers. 

If you don't want to lock them in for a few days then there really isn't anything you can do differently. They will "get it" eventually. How many square ft is your coop?

 

[SobbaChickens]

You may want to try to train them to go in their bedding area before it's dark so they can see well enough to really learn what it is you want them to do, because once it's dark, they can't see anyway, so you are just moving them and not training them at that point. I know it's frustrating, but hang in there.

When my girls were in the small coop I gave them a flashlight, that really helped to calm them down.

 

[MrsBachbach]

Yes, try putting a light in the coop that comes on at dusk. That, along with your help for a few days, may help them find their way to the coop at dusk. They will tend to move to the more lighted area. It doesn't have to stay on all night. They will stay put once it goes out.