How do I get chickens to use their coop?

[doolittlej]

Hello,

We just recently moved into a new house with our three chickens, and now we have a new coop. It seems nicely sized for the three of them, and they are all happy to use it for laying their eggs. Yet, not matter what we have done, every night when I go out to check on them, they are always sitting on top of the AC unit. I figured this would be only temporary at first, and that as I moved them each evening back inside the coop, they would get the picture and soon prefer to be in there. Yet two weeks have gone by and there has been no change. What do I need to do to get them to use the coop?

Remember, it's the top of the AC unit, so I cant set to many types of obstructions on it, or I might block the vent,

 

[guineachicken]

You need to close them in the coop for a couple weeks... once they get used to eating & living in it for a while.. then you can open it for the day time.. and they should go in every night at dark... This has always worked for us... Good luck!!!!.

 

[Imp]

Welcome to BYC.

You could try locking them into the coop for a week or so. This is supposed to teach them that the coop is home.

Imp

Lol! I see guineachicken types 43 seconds faster than I.

 

[mickey328]

What time do you put them in? Ours don't go in other than to lay until just past dusk. If I go out too early, ours are still out, but if it's nearly dark, they're all inside and settled in and all I have to do is close the door. The first 2 nights in their new house, we had one that was leery of using the ramp, so we put a light in it. After those two nights, she realized she can trust the "stairs" and they all put themselves to bed nicely