How to get my flock back inside after supervised time outside.

[LaurelC]

Night light.

So a light inside the coop will work on chicks? I legit do not know, I've never dealt with chickens that I ever had to lure back into their coop before, I've always been able to lure them into a secure run and let them do what they like from there.

 

[nuthatched]

So a light inside the coop will work on chicks? I legit do not know, I've never dealt with chickens that I ever had to lure back into their coop before, I've always been able to lure them into a secure run and let them do what they like from there.

Chickens are like moths. It'such less scary than a dark coop.

 

[LaurelC]

Chickens are like moths. It'such less scary than a dark coop.

That simplifies things greatly. I'll make our field trips happen an hour or so before sunset and leave a light on in the coop.

 

[NatJ]

In our case, the only "treats" they've been given so far are bits of grass I've dug up for them to dig around in. I assume I'll need to get some high value treats and work on getting them treat trained prior to letting them outside?

one has to let them out in order to work on recall, and I also need to get them back inside.

Maybe use wet chick starter as a treat. Most chickens like it very well, after the first few times they have it.

You can put chick starter and water in a dish, and call the chicks as you set the dish in their coop. You do not need to let them out to practice this at first, just call and they come from any place in their own coop to eat the wet mash.

Next week I plan to move the trailer out into our garden area, run an extension cord to it for the heat lamps, and set up some mobile electric netting(that I don't plan to electrify initially) to keep them contained.

I'd like to give them supervised access to the outdoors to allow them to become accustomed to being outside.

Part of the reason I brooded them in their coop was specifically so they'd view the coop as "home," no matter where on the farm it goes, I just don't know how much that will mean to them in a situation where there is so much new stuff going on and they're still total idiots.

When you move the coop, I would give it a few days in the new location before you let them out. This may not matter when they are adults, but I think it could make a difference the first few times. This helps them become familiar with the new location.

Does the coop have solid walls, or can they see out? If they can see out of the coop, they can look around and become familiar with the area before they are free to actually come out. If they cannot see out of the coop, maybe attach a dog kennel or something to the outside of the pop door, and let them have just that much "outside access" for a day or two, so they can step out and look around the outdoors but cannot go far enough to be difficult at bedtime.

I'd like to give them supervised access to the outdoors to allow them to become accustomed to being outside. My concern is that I am the scary wicked lady that they're terrified of, and I don't know how I'll be able to get them to come back into the coop when it's time. My thought is to give them an hour or 2 before dusk, and leave a light on inside the trailer so they will go towards the light, but I'm not confident they'll figure out how to use the door, or go towards the light inside the coop.

Being the "scary" lady can be useful, if you do it right.
If you walk toward them while they are outdoors, they will move away from you, and you can herd them.

If you come close quickly, they panic and run, and that does not work well. But often you can approach slowly, and get just close enough that they get uneasy and move a few steps further away from you without actually running. Then you can ease closer again, or you can back off and approach from a different direction. Sort of work around the edges of the group and ease them all in the correct direction. This is easier with adult chickens than chicks, because chicks are more prone to running in all situations, but I've done it with chicks too.

You can also set up the fenced area to make it easy to herd them back in: have the door of their coop be at one end or corner of the space, not in the middle. Since you are talking about movable fencing, you won't be stuck with the same arrangement forever. So you could start with a long rectangle, with the coop at one end. Then in the evening you walk from the far end toward the coop, and the chicks will all go away from you and into the coop. Later you can change the size and shape, but they will already have the basic idea figured out.

As they get older, you will probably seem less scary, but chickens can be herded as long as they will move enough to avoid getting stepped on. You just work closer to them if they are more tame, further out if they are more flighty. If any become so tame they just sit there, either nudge them with your foot or pick them up and carry to the right place (not likely to be a problem with your chicks any time soon, but I've had it happen with adult hens sometimes.)

 

[LaurelC]

Thanks @NatJ

I moved them last week, and set up a roll of the netting I use for my sheep (48" tall) which has large holes but is very visible and white, with a roll of much smaller 20" tall electric netting that's dark green with small holes, stretched around/against the taller netting.

Night 1 about 2/3 of the chicks came outside, and I ended up needing to catch about half of them to get them to go to bed. Night 2, everyone came outside and I still had to catch 10-15, but not all the same group.

The weather has been pretty bad though so I haven't had them out since, as I'm trying to keep an eye on them initially. We've had a few squeeze out between the finer net holes, and one flew directly out of the back of the coop through a hole in the fence and they've all needed help getting back inside. I'm hoping/planning to just leave the chicken door open next time so they become more comfortable going in and out of that versus the big human doors in the back of the coop.

 

[NatJ]

Thanks @NatJ

I moved them last week, and set up a roll of the netting I use for my sheep (48" tall) which has large holes but is very visible and white, with a roll of much smaller 20" tall electric netting that's dark green with small holes, stretched around/against the taller netting.

Night 1 about 2/3 of the chicks came outside, and I ended up needing to catch about half of them to get them to go to bed. Night 2, everyone came outside and I still had to catch 10-15, but not all the same group.

The weather has been pretty bad though so I haven't had them out since, as I'm trying to keep an eye on them initially. We've had a few squeeze out between the finer net holes, and one flew directly out of the back of the coop through a hole in the fence and they've all needed help getting back inside. I'm hoping/planning to just leave the chicken door open next time so they become more comfortable going in and out of that versus the big human doors in the back of the coop.

Yes, there is definitely a learning curve, and different coops have different details that matter.

It sounds like you're on the right track (or at least, on one of many "right tracks," because there are probably many ways that would work.)

 

[BigBlueHen53]

My feeling (and experience) is that if you're having to lure, chase or otherwise round up your chickens, you're trying to put them to bed too early. Ours go into the coop just around dark, by themselves. When they're comfortably roosted, we just go lock the coop door. In the case of young'uns who still want to sleep on the floor, we may go in and put them on the roost for two or three nights after it's dark enough that they'll stay put because it's too dark for them to see to do otherwise. After that they usually roost on their own.

 

[LaurelC]

Our problem was that after we removed the cardboard layer from the coop to transform it from brooder mode to coop mode, they were happy to huddle up under the trailer instead of going up and into it, especially since the slatted floor allowed light from the (for a few days still on at night) heat lamp to hit the ground).

It only took a few nights of rounding them up to go to bed before they got the hang of it and now they put themselves to bed before the automatic door closes without issue. With the exception of a couple of birds, since I removed the last of the cardboard floor/bedding from the coop, they no longer turn into a cuddle puddle on the floor.

I kept the netting around the coop til I was getting reliable returns to the coop at night, now they're truly free ranging in our garden area and happy as clams.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Success! Congrats!

 

[Farmgirl283420]

We have ~50 chicks that are 4 weeks old today. Up til now, they've spent their lives inside their permanent mobile coop, converted to brooder mode inside our unheated pole barn. Next week I plan to move the trailer out into our garden area, run an extension cord to it for the heat lamps, and set up some mobile electric netting(that I don't plan to electrify initially) to keep them contained.

I'd like to give them supervised access to the outdoors to allow them to become accustomed to being outside. My concern is that I am the scary wicked lady that they're terrified of, and I don't know how I'll be able to get them to come back into the coop when it's time. My thought is to give them an hour or 2 before dusk, and leave a light on inside the trailer so they will go towards the light, but I'm not confident they'll figure out how to use the door, or go towards the light inside the coop.

What's the play here? Do I just wait til they fall asleep outside and pick them up and put them into the coop one at a time? I'm sure I'm overthinking this, but I try to go into new situations with a plan.

You could train them to come for treats! That’s how I get my chickens back inside. Sometimes a few won’t come so I’ll have to pick them up but most do! Good luck! I hope you can figure something out!