Living in the run

[Knittycat]

So, my chooks don't go into the coop at night. The only times I ever saw them go into the coop were to eat and drink and to get out of the heat. I kept their food and water in the coop for as long as I could, but I bought a new waterer and feeder and they're too large to keep in the coop.
So they rarely go in the coop anymore. Now that they've started laying, they're laying in the run, not the nests.
Should I start tossing them up into the coop at night again? What else can I do to entice them into the coop at night? I tried gently lighting the coop (just enough to make it brighter inside than outside during twilight) and they still didn't go in willingly. I'm at a loss. I really want them to lay in the nests! I've even got nest eggs in them, and still, no luck!


Edit: cuz I'm teh suxxorz at teh grammorz

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I had to physically place my newest batch of chicks into the coop (all 14 of them) every night for 2 weeks. Sometimes it doesn't take that long, sometimes it takes longer. I wouldn't leave them in the run, its only a matter of time before something figures out how to get to them. I would assume they just don't see the coop as home (but who knows what really goes on inside their crazy chickens heads), that's probably why they aren't laying in their nestboxes as well. Good luck, they can be nerve wracking sometimes, but stick with it and they'll be sleeping in their coop in no time. Good luck!

 

[DMRippy]

This may not be an option, but it worked for me... I tossed some grown girls in with my newer pullets and voila they use the nest box (so far only one is laying) and go in the coop at night. I also tossed my red birds in with my mature flock with a RIR roo and he took care of wrangling them up at night. They have only been doing this for about a month so they were pretty good size when the acquired this habit.

I tried a light with no luck. I tried to pen them in at night but we don't live at the farm yet so that we could not keep that up. Nothing I read on here would work in my situation. Then we started having trouble with the red pullets being aggressive feather picking and such so I thought they needed a rooster to keep them under control. I took two of his regular BR girls and that arrangement seemed to fix the problem very quickly. Had to put the BR's back with their rooster they whined too much for him and where even more aggressive than the red ones I removed

The joke was on me

But all is well (mostly) in my chicken kingdom

 

[Knittycat]

I tried tossing them in the coop at night a couple of months ago. No beans. I could try again, but catching those obnoxious birds is quite a chore! Especially now that they are full grown. They tend to 'hide' under the coop when I try it. Admittedly there's 3+ feet of clearance between the ground and the coop, but that means I have to get on my hands and knees. PITA.

 

[mtnhens4]

Do you have a roost outside in your run? Maybe if you take it down they will head inside to roost at night. My 4 chickens were roosting in the coop until we put a roost outside in the run, now they stay out all night:/ but since it's been so hot lately I guess they feel it's cooler outside. Our run is very secure, made with 1/2 inch hardwear cloth that's buried a ft. in the ground and covered with a corruagated polycarbonate roof. Come cooler weather we will remove the outside roost and close the girls up in the coop at night. We are new to chickens and live in a small city in western NC. I have seen a fox, oppsums and 1 dead rat but roaming dogs and feral cats are probably my biggest concerns. My hens have started laying eggs this week and all but 2 have been in the nesting boxes (we've gotten 6 so far). I have read on this forum that chickens will not lay where there are bugs or dampness, make sure these are not the issue, use a lot of DE and put them in the boxes every chance you get and hopefully they will get hint

 

[Knittycat]

Good advice all around, unfortunately, I've tried it all. The coop is cool and dry. There is no roost outside the run, and the run far buggier than the coop. In fact, no bugs to speak of in the coop.

 

[ButtersMama]

I had to go in the run and put each chicken in the manually for about a week. One day I was so surprised they were all in at dusk by themselves and every night after. I notice one goes in and hops up on the roost and they all follow. It is so cute. I think my chickens are especially smart!

Keep it up..they'll catch on.

 

[chi-rn]

I had a hard time getting my juveniles to take to the coop when I integrated... about 2 weeks of chasing 'em down from the rafters of the run. But they did catch on... I guess just patience. But, I'd want them inside the coop to protect from predators...

 

[Knittycat]

Well darn. It looks like I'm going to have to go back to crawling under the coop and tossing them in at night again. Hopefully I don't pull out any tail feathers!

 

[trooper]

I'd put a temp or perminant fence around the coop so that they can't get under it.The chickens will settle down some where within the run.Wait until they are settled in and they will be easy to catch.Put them in the coop and pin them in til the next morning.Then release them as usual.You may have to do this for awhile.If you wait tiil they settle in they are so much easier to catch.