Hi everyone - brand new here & I searched but couldn't find what I needed. We are super excited to have backyard chickens! We got six approx 15-week old pullets last Friday, 2 cuckoo marans and 4 black australorps. Our set-up is a 4'x4' coop and 4'x12' run area that is completely enclosed with 1/2 inch hardware cloth (including buried cloth a few inches underneath). We bought the coop and part of the run used, and we expanded the run to give more space, cleaned it and fixed it all up everything so it is in great shape. Because it is totally enclosed, the coop doesn't close up - the door is always open. We do not have electricity out there. The ramp is a 45 degree angle with rungs every 3 inches. We were excited for this design because we want our chickens to be able to go in and out of the coop on their own so we can go camping for 2-3 nights and our inexperienced chicken sitter would have minimal responsibility, and also because mornings during the school year are very hectic for us.
So we are recognizing that we are only on day 5, and maybe we just need more time. But our issue is that they will literally not go in or out of the coop on their own. We had one who was going up and down on her own (during the day) 3 days ago, but won't now at all, and just one who finally went up last night by herself. We have waited and waited for them at night to go up, and they are totally content making a pile on the ground in the dark, and then we have to carry them up. We have waited and waited for them to come down in the morning, and by noon we were worried they were going to dehydrate (it's hot here) so brought them down ourselves. We have put treats in the coop in the evenings, on the ramp, left their food and water in the run area. They just won't go where they are "supposed" to go. (A side issue, 4 of them sleep in a heap on the floor of the coop instead of roosting. We figure this is a problem to solve after we get them moving in and out of the coop.)
We have a short camping trip coming up, and we are obviously super nervous about leaving. I have also been off work for a bit so I've had more time in the mornings, but gearing up to go back -- which means hectic mornings are coming. So I guess my questions, directly asked, are:
1) What are your tried and true methods for getting chickens to move in and out of the coop independently? Do we just need more time or are we doing something wrong?
2) Should we be trying to reschedule our upcoming trip (this would make us very sad but we accept responsibility for our chickens)? We have someone to come check on them, but this person is not experienced with chickens, and really the goal for that person was just to check their water and food and make sure the area is still secure.
Yes, I acknowledge we were probably naive thinking this would be easy. We thought by getting slightly older birds instead of chicks we would be ahead of the game.
Thanks in advance.
So we are recognizing that we are only on day 5, and maybe we just need more time. But our issue is that they will literally not go in or out of the coop on their own. We had one who was going up and down on her own (during the day) 3 days ago, but won't now at all, and just one who finally went up last night by herself. We have waited and waited for them at night to go up, and they are totally content making a pile on the ground in the dark, and then we have to carry them up. We have waited and waited for them to come down in the morning, and by noon we were worried they were going to dehydrate (it's hot here) so brought them down ourselves. We have put treats in the coop in the evenings, on the ramp, left their food and water in the run area. They just won't go where they are "supposed" to go. (A side issue, 4 of them sleep in a heap on the floor of the coop instead of roosting. We figure this is a problem to solve after we get them moving in and out of the coop.)
We have a short camping trip coming up, and we are obviously super nervous about leaving. I have also been off work for a bit so I've had more time in the mornings, but gearing up to go back -- which means hectic mornings are coming. So I guess my questions, directly asked, are:
1) What are your tried and true methods for getting chickens to move in and out of the coop independently? Do we just need more time or are we doing something wrong?
2) Should we be trying to reschedule our upcoming trip (this would make us very sad but we accept responsibility for our chickens)? We have someone to come check on them, but this person is not experienced with chickens, and really the goal for that person was just to check their water and food and make sure the area is still secure.
Yes, I acknowledge we were probably naive thinking this would be easy. We thought by getting slightly older birds instead of chicks we would be ahead of the game.
Thanks in advance.
