Must I get them from the run to the coop at night?

[Heather J]

When we added my barred rocks to our run/coop I had to move some of them from the run into the coop a few nights, but I waited until it was nearly full dark so they were settled and sleeping and roosting on something in the run for the night. That way I just picked them up and put them inside--no chasing around at all, which only terrifies them and irritates you. I'm a big believer in shutting them in the coop for a couple of days (minimum) before letting them into the run, though, as there's no question of where home is.

 

[basicliving]

I'm also a big fan of leaving in the coop a couple of weeks before letting them go into the run. Mine went into the coop at 2 weeks old. I stapled a piece of chicken wire over the chicken door entrance, and then would open up the chicken door each morning and close it each night. I also opened and closed the coop windows. At the end of 2 weeks, they knew that the coop was "home" and they were used to the sights and sounds of outside. When I removed the chicken wire from the chicken door entrance, they popped right on out and when it started getting dark, they ran back inside, and then I would go out and lock the chicken door for the night.

If your coop is raised, you may consider running chicken wire around the bottom of it so the chickens can't get underneath. I didn't want to have to chase chickens from under it at night - or search for eggs under it when they started laying. I had a friend whose hens would lay under the coop and then get broody and not come out. If any of these things concern you, the chicken wire around the bottom of the coop will help with it.

Penny