How to get them to 'bed' at night

[aart]

The coop is 8x8 they have plenty of room and ventilation and they are only 8 weeks old, we will be butchering half of them when they are older. It is not A frame, it has a floor and plenty of perches for roosting space. They are only inside from dawn to dusk, they free range in an area that is fenced during the day that is 50 x 60'.

Last night something quite amazing happened, I put the torch inside as one person suggested above, and at dusk 11 of them just gradually walked inside and started roosting. The others settled near the door and I just walked over and lifted them in, no struggle at all. Tonight same thing happened, they all went in and I removed the torch when they were inside and they just stayed roosting happily.
Thank you for the advice, the coop is secure, 1/2 inch hardware cloth all around where it isn't wood.

Sounds good.

Sorry, 'chickshaw' made me think of a small mobile coop/tractor.
Would love to see your coop if you care to post pics.

The light inside can be like magic, glad it worked for you!

 

[lazy gardener]

Windows/ventilation in your coop? Glad your problem is solved!!!!

 

[TexasTransplant]

It is based on the coop plans by Justin Rhodes he has free plans on his site, and I will link it below, but we made several alterations to the design: His coop is 6' x 6' we made ours 8' x 8' and where he used 1 inch hardware cloth we used 1/2 inch. Also, we used wood and siding instead of the corrugated plastic for more security, it does add to the weight but we put on large sturdy wheels.

We redesigned how the roof fits because originally it had quite a large gap that I wasn't comfortable with. We added more perch space higher up and we haven't put in nest boxes as they will be moving out of this coop into their permanent home soon. This coop will be mostly used in spring for broilers for around 8-10 weeks each year, the permanent coop is going to be on a more traditional style of build.
Here is a link where you can see Justin's design and plans: http://abundantpermaculture.com/mobile-chicken-coop/

 

[aart]

It is based on the coop plans by Justin Rhodes he has free plans on his site, and I will link it below, but we made several alterations to the design: His coop is 6' x 6' we made ours 8' x 8' and where he used 1 inch hardware cloth we used 1/2 inch. Also, we used wood and siding instead of the corrugated plastic for more security, it does add to the weight but we put on large sturdy wheels.

We redesigned how the roof fits because originally it had quite a large gap that I wasn't comfortable with. We added more perch space higher up and we haven't put in nest boxes as they will be moving out of this coop into their permanent home soon. This coop will be mostly used in spring for broilers for around 8-10 weeks each year, the permanent coop is going to be on a more traditional style of build.
Here is a link where you can see Justin's design and plans: http://abundantpermaculture.com/mobile-chicken-coop/

Ah, yes...nice design....thanks.
Do you move it by hand?

 

[TexasTransplant]

Yes, we live on a couple of acres, but I right now we only move it around the part of the property that is fenced near the house, so it doesn't get to go very far and is easy to move. To be honest I am not really liking it as much as I thought I would as a permanent coop, that is why we are building a new one that is going to be for the 8 chickens we keep. It won't go to waste as it will be good to use for broilers each spring.

I think it is a good solution for people with larger amounts of land than we have, and who want to plant crops or veggies into the ground, the poop is supposed to fall through the wire floor and fertilize where ever it is moved to, but I would prefer to use bedding and clean the coop out then put it all in my compost pile, we grow in raised beds and don't plant into the ground because up in the Texas hill country the soil is thin and rocky. Also, because we used 1/2 inch hardware cloth the poop isn't all falling through, just some of it, so I have to hose the coop out and scrub it with a broom then move it to a dry spot. So it has ended up not really being very labor saving after all with my set up LOL

 

[aart]

Yes, we live on a couple of acres, but I right now we only move it around the part of the property that is fenced near the house, so it doesn't get to go very far and is easy to move. To be honest I am not really liking it as much as I thought I would as a permanent coop, that is why we are building a new one that is going to be for the 8 chickens we keep. It won't go to waste as it will be good to use for broilers each spring.

I think it is a good solution for people with larger amounts of land than we have, and who want to plant crops or veggies into the ground, the poop is supposed to fall through the wire floor and fertilize where ever it is moved to, but I would prefer to use bedding and clean the coop out then put it all in my compost pile, we grow in raised beds and don't plant into the ground because up in the Texas hill country the soil is thin and rocky. Also, because we used 1/2 inch hardware cloth the poop isn't all falling through, just some of it, so I have to hose the coop out and scrub it with a broom then move it to a dry spot. So it has ended up not really being very labor saving after all with my set up LOL

Yeah, the 1/2" mesh floors really don't cut it, at least after the baby poops stage is over...tho bigger mesh(1x2) might work if pasturing birds during day.

 

[lazy gardener]

Impressive design, however it is far from predator proof. Electronet would help a lot with day time predation, but not with the smaller preds in HIS design. Snakes, rats, weasels. And I have concern about ground preds snagging birds toes on roosts in HIS design at night. I think that a lot of people who start out with any type of tractor graduate to stationary coop before very long.