My Coop

[Krystal754]

Hello!
I am a first time chicken owner and just got my coop setup. I originally wanted to build my own coop but we weren’t able to do that this year. So someone in my family gave me one that they had. My chicks are six weeks old and for Labor Day weekend we will be out of town so I wanted to get some suggestions on what everyone does when they’re out of town and leaving their babies alone. Right now I am having to put them in the henhouse each night and shut the door and open it the next morning. I was thinking of leaving it open while I was gone. And hoping they would learn on their own to get into the henhouse.
I was thinking of tarping the run just Incase it rains so their food will not get wet.

Should I be worried if they stay in the run all night?

 

[Mamatomany123]

They're still pretty young. Is it possi le to have someone come check on them and lock them up/let them out?

 

[Krystal754]

They're still pretty young. Is it possi le to have someone come check on them and lock them up/let them out?

i wish I did have someone. But everyone is going out of town. They should be about 8 weeks old by then

 

[Mamatomany123]

i wish I did have someone. But everyone is going out of town. They should be about 8 weeks old by then

I currently have 9 week olds. We left them for a night but they put themselves to bed by themselves. See if you can train them before you leave. The way I did it is once it starts to get dark I go out with a flashlight, shine it in to the coop, and tap onthe ramp while calling them. They figured it out in 2days.

 

[feather13]

What a nice coop and run you have! How many chicks do you have? Just two? I locked mine up in the coop every night for three nights when they were four weeks old and now they just go in on their own at night. I think it's fine for you to leave them when you're out of town, as long as you think the run is totally predator-proof. Would it be possible to ask a neighbor to just come take a look at them one day while you're gone?

 

[piminuse]

Hi, and welcome!

Do your chicks put themselves to bed at night, or do you need to usher them there? Coop training should be first on your list so that they know that coop=home=safe.

You'll also want to ensure that the structure is secure. This means that nothing can dig under or break in. Hardware cloth buried around the exterior of the coop, cinder blocks and large rocks are all used as deterrents from pesky predators.

We use a prefab coop similar to what you have for our new hatches/babies, and with proper precautions they should be fine for a day or two unattended as long as they have plenty of clean food/water and protection. BUT it is still worth it to post on something like nextdoor or FB to see if any friends/neighbors could just pop in once in the morning/evening to see if everything is OK.

Best of luck!

 

[Krystal754]

I currently have 9 week olds. We left them for a night but they put themselves to bed by themselves. See if you can train them before you leave. The way I did it is once it starts to get dark I go out with a flashlight, shine it in to the coop, and tap onthe ramp while calling them. They figured it out in 2days.

Yesss that’s the goal! I have been trying to train them. They are just stubborn, lol!

 

[Krystal754]

What a nice coop and run you have! How many chicks do you have? Just two? I locked mine up in the coop every night for three nights when they were four weeks old and now they just go in on their own at night. I think it's fine for you to leave them when you're out of town, as long as you think the run is totally predator-proof. Would it be possible to ask a neighbor to just come take a look at them one day while you're gone?

Thank you! I was so blessed to even get this coop. I am excited about this new adventure. We worked hard on predator proofing the coop. I have 6 chicks. And they all have such different personalities.

 

[RW1984]

What state do you live in?

 

[Panhandler80]

Mine were going into and out of the coop at appropriate times at 4.5 weeks old. One thing I did notice is that they would get in there at last light, but then when the sun set (their door from coop looks due west over a body of water), they would follow the sun out of the coop. Then once pitch black out, they would be piled up in a corner somewhere in the run.

To fix this, I started turning on a light inside the coop about an hour before sunset. They would get in the coop, and then never leave... the light being on the whole time. I did this for 3 or 4 nights. By the 4th or 5th night, I didn't turn the light on. They got in like they had been doing all along, and never left.

Maybe just give it shot while you are in town. If they don't take to it, try the light trick.