i need some advice on sleeping arrangements please

[the3ofus+oursixchicks]

my 4 wyandottes are WELL ready to sleep in the coop. the problem is the tub they slept in while smaller (but they still sleep in it) is what they go to when its time for bed. i sit it on the poarch most mornings when i let them out. they come up on the poarch and get in it and ready for bed they are. we went out to eat last night and got back around their bed time. i had put them in the pen with the tub in there also. they were wanting out of the pen really BAD. I let them out they ran around front ran up on the poarch and got in the tub( i brought it from the pen and put it there because i knew thats what they wanted. they are used to it being on the poarch so they associate going to bed with the poarch and the tub. how can i break them from this. they really need to be out of it. they still like to lay down together. i hate to break them i mean they cant sleep in that tub much longer they are 3 months old. help!!!

 

[silkiechicken]

Time for tough love.

Throw them in the coop, take away the tub. They will get tired of pacing and sit down. Put them up on the perch one by one. If they hop down, put them back up. Repeat. May take a few days, a week, or longer depending on how stubborn they are. Just don't give in.

 

[mnferalkitty]

Time for tough love.

Throw them in the coop, take away the tub. They will get tired of pacing and sit down. Put them up on the perch one by one. If they hop down, put them back up. Repeat. May take a few days, a week, or longer depending on how stubborn they are. Just don't give in.

I agree also give them a special treat at night only in the coop I use a handful of scratch and that is the only time they get it

 

[Indigosands]

Well, I'm not a tough love kinda person... so what I did was put their box with their shavings inside the coop under the roosts and set their lamp up in the rafters fixed over the roosts and the box so they could see the box and the roosts. Let them have the box for about 4-5 days so they began to associate going into the coop with bed and home. When a couple of them started trying out the roosts, I took away the box. Then about another week later, I changed the heat lamp to a night light and they were completely transitioned.

 

[the3ofus+oursixchicks]

Well, I'm not a tough love kinda person... so what I did was put their box with their shavings inside the coop under the roosts and set their lamp up in the rafters fixed over the roosts and the box so they could see the box and the roosts. Let them have the box for about 4-5 days so they began to associate going into the coop with bed and home. When a couple of them started trying out the roosts, I took away the box. Then about another week later, I changed the heat lamp to a night light and they were completely transitioned.

i like this idea better. they are to sweet for tough love. sorry no harm intended although that is good advice for some its not me either. i will try that.

 

[cary 1973]

i did the same thing i put there nursery inside the coop and they were very happy then after about a week they went to the roost board and cuddled on board then follwoign week they started to roost i let them go at there own pace.

 

[the3ofus+oursixchicks]

i have to bigger hens. one of them wants to be mean to the little ones. well they arent real little anymore. what can i do about petunia chasing them if i leave them in the coop. i let my big ones sleep on a roost inside the pen but not in the coop. so when i put the smaller ones in the coop they will all be together the next morning. i know petunia will be mean to them some. is this something i just need to let them work out their self? the little ones are scare to death of petunia. we have the pen divided so i have been putting the smaller ones and their tub just inside their part of the pen. i know i am eventually going to have to make them all be in the whole pen together. what should i do? they free range most of the time unless we arent here.

 

[the3ofus+oursixchicks]

this is my babies getting ready for bed in their tub.

 

[peepmommy]

They are definitely old enough to let the birds establish their own pecking order. As far as the box thing. Just put it in the coop, close all of the birds in for a week, and by the end of the week, pecking order is established and bedtime routine is established. If they don't want to roost, no biggie. They will get it eventually, but give them some time to be birds! Good luck!

 

[the3ofus+oursixchicks]

i have been setting the tub in the pen at night. it is so hot here in alabama right now. yes they are def ready. they act like they kinda want to roost they do sit on the tub but they always one by one end up in it all loved up together. this is hard .