How to get them to go into 2 coops?

[ChickenThunderdome]

So we have two coops. I'm not going to discuss the size because I could show a 400sqft coop and say I have 2 bantams and someone on here would wave their finger at me saying it should be bigger and there should be a spa and tennis court LOL.

That out of the way, we have two coops for 20 chickens. At week 5 they were put into the run and have since stayed in one coop. HOWEVER they are now quite a bit bigger at 9 weeks old and it's almost like seeing clowns pop out of a tiny car, I'm unsure how they do it comfortably as the coops have space for a maximum of 10-12 chickens comfortably. They all stay in the one coop even though there's a brand new/never used(other than when they go in to explore it for treats) coop.

How can we encourage them to split up and go into both coops at night so they are more comfortable? Is this something they will figure out on their own or are we doomed to fail at this task?

Getting a bigger single coop is not an option as their run is bolted in place permanently and the coops we have weigh over 500lb each. We will be downsizing the flock when we determine how many roosters we have.(So far I'm only seeing one)

Thanks

 

[Futuregreenefarm]

I hope someone can help you with advice. I know how you feel though. I have 12 six-week-old chicks (half grown) still trying to sleep in one nesting box cuz momma left then before they learned to roost lol. What a mess! I feel ya for sure.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I think you already know the set up is too small from the sounds of it, because yes it's important to know just how much space they have available. Regardless if they're overcrowded, if they consider themselves one flock it's natural for them to all want to roost together at night.

Are you willing to downsize the flock over all so they can fit in one coop? Only other option I can think of is to split the group (and run) in half and keep them as 2 separate flocks, so each group can only go into one designated coop.

 

[Bamas-Chicks]

You can try to lock some of them in the other coop overnight or a few days and they will start to associate it as their new home. That would be the best advice I could give you.

 

[aart]

Only other option I can think of is to split the group (and run) in half and keep them as 2 separate flocks, so each group can only go into one designated coop.

Ditto Dat^^^