How to get chicks into coop at night?

[Melanie Midyett]

I have been trying to search my topic, there are just so many articles. I have been reading nonstop on this forum, I love it here. But have a question, my chicks are 3.5 weeks old now. I have them outside full time now. They are in a coop/run, with mama hen heating pad inside the coop, for night time warmth. My question is how do I get them to go inside the coop at night to lock them up? Every night my kids and I go out and have to catch them all and place them in the coop. They walk up and down the steps all day, go in and out of the coop part all day long. But for some reason as the sun sets and it gets darker they don't go up the stairs. So I know they can easily get up and down the steps, so that isn't the issue. Not sure if they eventually will learn this, or if there is a trick to teach them. Any tips are greatly appreciated, coming from one tired momma from chasing/catching her babies every night.

 

[rIrs roost]

You can leave them in the coop for a week or so and they should start going back. They have to get use to sleeping in it.

 

[SoCalClucker]

Hmm, kids who don't want to go to bed... Can't be uncommon, right? ;-) In seriousness, how late are you waiting before herding them up? Mine seem to have a switch right around dusk, when the air gets a chill in it, they can't get into their "bed" fast enough. Also, is Mama Hen helping at all? Mine makes a soft growling noise that seems to mean "bedtime." She gets irritated when they won't come in but then they have learned prime real estate under her wings goes to the early bird, so they never linger too long! Maybe if all else fails, try training them with just a few grains of scratch every night so they go to bed with a full crop?

Now if that would only work on my human babies...

 

[biophiliac]

They are young enough you will probably have to supervise them going in at night and then train them to roost. So you don't have to chase them down give them a small amount of scratch or other threat[I meant treat , but threats ? maybe a last resort ] in the coop when you want them in and make a noise or shake the scratch can to call them. Just a small amount. Stragglers will miss out and learn to be quicker.

I wish I could make the soft growling noise... but then SCC says they don't always obey either.

 

[GC-Raptor]

Do you have a nightlight in coop so they can see. Because it's darker in coop at sunset than outside. Chickens have poor eyesight in dim light conditions, worse than humans.
SoCalClucker. She's using a heating pad, shaped to form a cave. No mother hen. GC

 

[dunnmom]

I second the treat idea to get them into the coop. Some babies just take longer to figure out the roosting situation. Some like to stay up later than others also.

 

[Melanie Midyett]

Thanks! We are going to attempt these suggestions. I took a small light out there now and put inside the coop, with the hopes as it starts getting darker they will flock to the light. Lol. I'll go out there soon with some treats as well to get any still out to get into the coop. I don't have a big hen, the heating pad cave thing is what I meant, sorry. Just babies here.

 

[barred2rock]

If leaving the light on doesn't work, I'd go with locking them down in their coop for a week. It teaches them where home is and how & where to roost.

If you have perches in both the coop and run, make sure the highest perch is in the coop. They tend to want to roost at the highest point they can reach. If necessary you can stagger perches, so they can reach the higher spots.

By the time I go down to put my girls away they're already in their roost spots. Once in awhile I'll have a straggler that wants to stay out later.