Hi! I'm a newbie here who needs HELP! Our 8 ten week old chickens are "huddling" in their new coop a

[suzy6583]

We have 8 ten week old chickens......Last week we introduced them to the new coop ((it's now ready for them....woot woot Thank you Hubby!)) They love it and seem to be having FUN in their new digs!

However.......in the evening, they go inside their coop & huddle in one corner. Does anyone have any advice or experience with this happening? It's a little crazy as they have roosts but they haven't used them...at all. I even put in their old roost from their brooder thinking they would be used to that one but it was a no-go as well.

They don't act terribly scared as they huddle so that's a good thing. And in the morning, when I go and peek at them (!!!) before I open the door, they are all spread out and just fine. According to the baby monitor that I have been keeping in there during the first week, there doesn't appear to be any un-necessary chaos going on inside either at night. Which is good!

Would appreciate any advice on this subject! I don't want my chicks to be unhappy! And I don't know what to do

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Good luck!

 

[AmpersatChick]

Ours do that too. They are 8 weeks old and our first flock of chickens. We actually need to train them to go to their coop at night. Just before dark they start to pile up into a corner of the run. We place them in the coop and they pile up in there too, on the floor. They do the same thing as yours and in the morning they are spread out and roosting. Peaking out their vent windows and clamoring to be the first out of the hatch. Guessing it's normal.

 

[HomesteadDebi]

For the first couple of nights after I put my girls in their new coop, I would put them on the roosts. They caught on quickly!

 

[Choco Maran]

At eight weeks they are huddling for warmth or security. My are just eight weeks as well and they huddle in little groups as well. The coop is much bigger then their brooder. No need to worry. They will start using the roosts before long.

 

[suzy6583]

Thanks everyone for the ideas; I'll keep putting them on their roosts so they get the "hang of it"!

Since the coop is much larger than their brooder, it makes sense that they might be a little overwhelmed.

And here I was thinking they were afraid of the crickets @ night! That would be crazy!!

 

[Eggcessive]

Any time you introduce baby chicks to a new environment, even putting them outside in a run, they get freaked out about it. Huddling at night is something they may do for awhile. The braver ones will start to roost, then everyone will catch on eventually. Be sure to leave them in their coop for a week or so, so that they know where they are supposed to come back into to sleep.

 

[Rich386]

No need to worry they want the security of the flock. I think that we tend to forget that they have instincts that make them act in certain ways.

 

[Delight30]

We have 8 ten week old chickens......Last week we introduced them to the new coop ((it's now ready for them....woot woot Thank you Hubby!)) They love it and seem to be having FUN in their new digs!

However.......in the evening, they go inside their coop & huddle in one corner. Does anyone have any advice or experience with this happening? It's a little crazy as they have roosts but they haven't used them...at all. I even put in their old roost from their brooder thinking they would be used to that one but it was a no-go as well.

They don't act terribly scared as they huddle so that's a good thing. And in the morning, when I go and peek at them (!!!) before I open the door, they are all spread out and just fine. According to the baby monitor that I have been keeping in there during the first week, there doesn't appear to be any un-necessary chaos going on inside either at night. Which is good!

Would appreciate any advice on this subject! I don't want my chicks to be unhappy! And I don't know what to do

I was worried about the same thing with our girls. They did the same thing and after about 2 days all were on the roost at night. We didn't do anything, we just let them figure it out.