issues with going in at night.

[Tinman0ut]

So I have 12 chicks ranging from 3-5 weeks old (soon to be 4-6 weeks old) and at night they gather underneath the ramp into the coop rather than going in. I leave the light on for them, I build a more shallow ramp, and I tried locking them in the coop for 24 hrs. I'm in need of suggestions on how to get them to put themselves up at night. Or is it normal to have to catch your chicks every night after sun down?

 

[Acre4Me]

Do you have other chickens or just these?

my younger chickens stay outlater than the older ones.

 

[Tinman0ut]

just these... but sun down was an hour ago...

 

[rosemarythyme]

Try locking them in longer, if it's safe to do so (if it's too hot, don't). I've never had issue with convincing chicks to "go home" at dusk.

 

[Tinman0ut]

if we get a few days below 90 I'll try it. But I had to cut it short this last time because we had a 77 day followed by a 95 day (south east AZ)

 

[Tinman0ut]

left their food inside the coop on a whim... 4 of 12 went went in on their own before 8:30 tonight

 

[Ebony Rose]

Please don't get into the habit of leaving food in the coop. It encourages roaches, mice, ants and other opportunistic feeders that sooner or later you'll need to deal with.
What is the positioning of that nightlight in the coop, is the light prominently visible from their point of view?

 

[Tinman0ut]

I’m only doing it to get them more used to using the chicken ladder. The light source itself isn’t visible from outside the coop but the light is visible.

 

[Shezadandy]

For some reason chicks don't always make the connection with going DOWN the ramp and coming back up the ramp.

I grab mine and put them (one at a time, two if they're tame) at the base of the ramp and scoot them along, making them walk up the ramp themselves.

Having a second set of hands to prevent backwash (chicks running back out) is helpful- or you can have a nice pile of mealworms or some other coveted treat waiting for them just inside the pop (chicken) door.

Usually they learn in a day or two (sometimes three)

 

[Tinman0ut]

For some reason chicks don't always make the connection with going DOWN the ramp and coming back up the ramp.

I grab mine and put them (one at a time, two if they're tame) at the base of the ramp and scoot them along, making them walk up the ramp themselves.

Having a second set of hands to prevent backwash (chicks running back out) is helpful- or you can have a nice pile of mealworms or some other coveted treat waiting for them just inside the pop (chicken) door.

Usually they learn in a day or two (sometimes three)

I’ve tried getting them with mealworms... they want nothing to do with them...