hi all, i just moved my 8 week old chicks to the coop which i am quickly finding to be in an unfortunate location--on a hill that's hard to get to because of rock walls and garden beds and I am 7 months pregnant! Arghh! Anyhow, I let them roam free in our yard during the day, but when i want them back in the coop when i am leaving the house or putting them in for the night, i am having a hard time convincing them to do it. I have tried their food. I also tried to say "here chickie chickie" pretty consistently when i fed them in the brooder, but they don't come running now! Any good ideas?? I guess I should have worked on this more when they were younger. thanks! lisa
I heard that they need to stay in their coop for 2 or 3 weeks before free ranging them...that way they know where home is.
I can get my chickens in using food for the most part.... but I generally just leave them and they go back when it starts getting dark!
*Don't know if this will work for ya-- but my girl is really attracted to scratchy noises like some bugs make. You might try using a wisk broom or bristle broom to brush the over the chick's doorway to the coop, some other kind of brush??
do you think they will have a better sense of home by just staying in there for a few weeks? sort of like a dog would by smells? I think that is part of the problem is that they don't know where the heck their coop is. they came out of it this morning, came down the hill and flew off the rock wall, and never once ventured back up the hill. there is a way around the wall, but i think they don't know how to get to the coop that way because they really haven't explored that area. i tried to lure them up that way, but wasn't successful. they don't seem to be drawn to food or the sound of my voice--i seriously think they are a bit more fearful/skittish around people because I have 3 year old twins!--but maybe I can try worms or something. thanks for your responses and keep 'em coming!
When you told them to get back in the coop, did you remember to say PLEASE???? What works for me, is only let them out for little bits at a time at first, slowly increasing thier time out so they dont have enough time to get LOST before time to go in. If wanting them in during the day I rattle the metal trash can lid(it contains scratch) and they will all come. then put some scratch in the coop and you have them inside. Except for the one that lags behind because she was too busy bathing or catching a bug. Then you get a handfull of scratch for her, and she will come to you, you grab her and put her inside.
You need to lock them in for a few days. If you don't have a fenced run then keep them in the coop. I started my 4 week olds in the coop then graduated them out to the run during the day. At night we had to herd them in, for about a week. Then, like magic, they began to go in right at dark, all by themselves. I still turn on their light in the coop right before dark and am still leaving in on at night (they're almost 6 weeks old now)
My girls are fairly easy to herd, I guess. I get behind them and shoo them gently in the direction of the coop. If I can get one in, the others will follow, because they prefer to all be together. So if all else fails, I grab one and carry here in, calling for the others to follow. I'm managed to associate "come look!" or "look!" with food for them, so I can sometimes get them to come with those calls that sound a bit like clucking. But if they're having fun scratching up the garden, they don't care if I've got some delicacy like inchworms for them.