how to get the chicks to go into the coop?

[me?chickens?]

I thought roosting was a natural instinct for chickens. I just got started with this chicken hobby. I have a small coop and just started getting a few eggs from my pullets. They go into the coop to lay, but at night they stay out of the coop and just stay in the run or pen area. They just scratch a spot in the dirt and the four of them just kind of snuggle up for the night. The coop has roosts for them (dowel rods) and previous owners of the property had chickens that roosted there. Even the other day when we had a rain shower, those girls just squawked and fussed, but didn't go into the coop. This seems like weird behavior. Any suggestions?

 

[Braclin]

I'd try locking them in the coop at night for a week or two. That should do the trick.

 

[rdport]

I did not understand...did you get them as chicks or were they older?
Last year we had some that would not roost. I think it was because I did not put something in the pen for them to hop up on when they were little. So I would go out to the coop and put them on the roost at night in the dark...They would fall off and I would put them back up...it took about a week before I had them going upon the roost.
This year, I put a log in the pen and the little chicks would get up on it and roost ...so cute. No problem when we moved them into the coop...right up where they were suppose to go.
Good luck.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

me?chickens? :

I thought roosting was a natural instinct for chickens. I just got started with this chicken hobby. I have a small coop and just started getting a few eggs from my pullets. They go into the coop to lay, but at night they stay out of the coop and just stay in the run or pen area. They just scratch a spot in the dirt and the four of them just kind of snuggle up for the night. The coop has roosts for them (dowel rods) and previous owners of the property had chickens that roosted there. Even the other day when we had a rain shower, those girls just squawked and fussed, but didn't go into the coop. This seems like weird behavior. Any suggestions?

Hello and

That's acutally a pretty common problem. If you did not keep the chickens confined to the coop for about a week when they first moved in, they may be confused as to where "bed" is. It's not too late to try that, but an alternative is to plug in a night light inside the coop. They'll migrate towards the light at dusk and should straighten out their sleeping-in-the-run habit. Treats to entice them inside has been know to work as well.

Good luck and let us know what works for your girls!​

 

[cutlass1972]

just collect them after dark and put them in the coop. you will be surprised how quickly they will start doing it on their own.

my chickens don't go in when it rains either. if it sprinkles they go looking for bugs, if it rains hard they go UNDER the coop.