My chickens don't like their new coop

[LisaB922]

Hello, new to this site so please forgive if this has been asked before. I have adult hens that had an old "make do" coop that they loved. I recently was able to get a new larger coop but they don't want to go in it, they go into the practically destroyed coop to continue to lay eggs. How can I get them to like the new coop and start laying eggs in there? I switched to pine shavings in the new coop, could that be the issue? In their old coop they had a thick layer of straw. Do I just need to get the old coop moved so they can't go in it to get them to go into the new coop???

 

[Zoomie]

Put your chickens in the new coop and Close The Door. Leave them in there for about a week or ten days. They need to sort of "impress" on a new coop. Once they understand that that is the new home, they should lay in there just fine. And welcome to BYC!

 

[Dayrel]

Yup. Chickens don't like change, so this isn't really surprising.

And welcome by BYC!

 

[lazy gardener]

Don't lock them in the new coop if it's too warm! You will have to close up the old coop so they can't get into it. If it's hot where you are, simply put some straw in the new coop, and if needed you can entice them into the new coop with some scratch grain. Make your "shut them in" decision based on the weather. But, you should coop them up every night, and delay letting them out in the morning as long as possible, based on the weather. Birds hate change. When ever my flock is out free ranging and the grow out coop is open... the one they all grew up in... some of them grew up in that coop 2 seasons ago... they run to that old coop and hang out in there. It's a cattle panel style with a loft, plus a deep litter bare soil bottom.

 

[LisaB922]

Thanks everyone for the tips. We are in the process of getting the old coop "out of site-out of mind" so they will go into the new coop. I do coop my flock every night so hopefully they will get used to it sooner than later.

 

[WhiteWyan]

One time I put pine shavings in my moms chickens coop. They always have straw. They were not happy! Didn't want to touch their feet to it!