***HELP****Training them to go into the coop at night and use a ladder?

[mommabice]

Updated original post. Please help with my crazy non-coop pullets!

 

[mrsc1951]

I would take chicklover16's suggestion and put a light in the coop. I have a light on a timer that comes on about 7:50 (EDT) and stays on for about 20-25 minutes. That gives them time to all get inside and up on their perch and in the correct order. LOL. I am constantly adjusting the time due to lengthening days but it sure beats having to chase the chicks and put them in the coop.

 

[chickengirl73]

I love this thread...thank you so much for everyones concerns and responses. I am a new chick "mama" and these are things that I know I'm going to come across because this is just the type of thing that will happen to me too!

 

[leadwolf1]

I would put my chicks, one at a time, each night for about a week, and put each in the coop allowing them to 'climb' the ladder. I did not use an open ladder though. I used a board with ladder 'rungs'. It took about a week but once they got the hang of it, they went in by themselves every night

 

[mommabice]

I don't have the option to run a light out there.

As to this suggestion:

I would put my chicks, one at a time, each night for about a week, and put each in the coop allowing them to 'climb' the ladder. I did not use an open ladder though. I used a board with ladder 'rungs'. It took about a week but once they got the hang of it, they went in by themselves every night

I have tried to get them to climb it, one at a time, but they either fly off one side (usually) or they huddle down and won't move at all. They are messing with me.

I also use a board with "rungs" of wood going up the top for them to hop up.

The thing is, I *know* they can get up the ladder - I have seen the little suckers do it! They just won't go up at night.

 

[spartacus_63]

They are chickens & afraid of the dark.

 

[mommabice]

They are chickens & afraid of the dark.

Lol...which would make the coop a safer place right? So that the monsters (racoons) don't get them as they stupidly attempt to roost directly outside the coop?

 

[Daisy8s]

One thing we learned is that chickens have limited eyesight after dark...or maybe it's that they go into a trance when roosting, I don't know. Anyway, I'll never forget years ago my husband finding the birds accidentally locked outside their coop after dark. He picked each one up and gave it a gentle toss into the coop. Well, every single chicken plopped face down and did not move! They were almost frozen. So, he had to go and pick them up off their faces and place them on their roosts one by one and try to make their toes curl around the roost so they wouldn't fall off. I was laughing so hard I was crying.

All that to say that perhaps these young pullets are waiting till it's too dark before they go in and then they can't use the very same ladder they were roosting on earlier in the day. I think they're just young and need some time to figure everything out.

One hint: I only feed my birds treats inside their coop and I use a special "treat call" to lure them in. This is handy because then you can get them inside the coop before dusk if there's a reason you want to close them in earlier. Perhaps you could practice bringing the birds into the coop during the day for treats when they're using the ladder well. Bring them in the last time well before dusk when they can navigate the ladder easily. After a few nights of successfully roosting inside the coop at night they should figure out how to come inside on their own at dark.

 

[leadwolf1]

Mine didn't want to go in at night at first, either. We just kept putting them in the pop door at night and after about a week, they all were in the coop safe and cozy when we went up to put them in. It just took a little while.

As for a light, how about one of the battery operated tap lights? Just a little something to brighten their way into the coop. At night, all of a sudden, the popdoor looks like the mouth of a huge predator instead of a safe haven.

Good luck! They really will start going in by themselves, give them time...they are just babies

I don't have the option to run a light out there.

As to this suggestion:

I have tried to get them to climb it, one at a time, but they either fly off one side (usually) or they huddle down and won't move at all. They are messing with me.

I also use a board with "rungs" of wood going up the top for them to hop up.

The thing is, I *know* they can get up the ladder - I have seen the little suckers do it! They just won't go up at night.

 

[foxinachickenhouse]

As far as light goes, maybe an LED flashlight would be enough for them. We trained ours by going out a bit before dark and tossing some scratch in to the coop to lure them in. Then they can scratch around before bed and get comfy. Or you can just put them in one by one every night. Whatever you decide, after about a week they WILL get it.