need help getting the chickens to go in

[DAFox]

Quote:
Is the ladder too tough for the Cochin? Could be too steep or too narrow. Have you tried putting her on the ladder and make her go the rest of the way?
Were the Cochin with the Americaunas before you got them? Des she hang out with them during the day? She might be getting picked on so she doesn't want to go in the coop.
Dale-Ann

 

[DAFox]

Quote:
Don't leave the feeder out all day with food. Give them a small portion in the morning and then feed them right before dusk and lock them in. Try that for a week and see. They will be hungry, but, don't worry -- they'll make up for it at supper.
Dale-Ann

 

[svalentine]

I had the very same problem. We moved them from the brooder box to the hen house out door run at about 5 wks old. At night they would do what we call the "huddle". But not in the hen house. The first 2 nights we had to catch 15 very fast and evasive chickens and put them in. Not fun. I left the food inside in hopes that would draw them in. We tried making it warm, dark, light. Anything to encourage them to go in on their own. Then we just waited them out a couple nights. The first 2 in would sit right down in the doorway and clog up the entrance so the rest couldn't get in. So they are all out on the ramp just sitting. So for a couple nights we scooped them in and out of the way. I'm talking about 10pm. So last night, halleluja, at 9pm, in the dark, they were all in the hen house huddling in the corner.
So sometimes you just have to wait till they're ready.
Can be frustrating, I know.

 

[txmel]

well as it stands right now 2 are going in and like the previous poster, they are sitting in the doorway so all the others are sitting on the ramp in front of the door. i moved the one hen from the group into the run and coop with the bigger chickens because the roosters in her group started crowing and will have go. so now i have a new problem of integrating the one cochin hen in with the others. i have sectioned off an area that the bigger chickens cant get in and pick on her but she can get in and out if she wants. this is day 2 and she is still spending a lot of time in her little hiding hole. she has food and water in with her. i'm hoping the separation wont be too long. she did fine in the coop at night but i did have to place her in the coop at dusk, and she took a while before she came out in the morning.

 

[caribayb]

Quote:
Is the ladder too tough for the Cochin? Could be too steep or too narrow. Have you tried putting her on the ladder and make her go the rest of the way?
Were the Cochin with the Americaunas before you got them? Des she hang out with them during the day? She might be getting picked on so she doesn't want to go in the coop.
Dale-Ann

Dale-Ann - The ladder is fine for her. It's about 8 feet long, not a steep slope at all, with branches screwed on at 6" intervals. She can get down it just fine, and went up on day one all by herself. She's bigger than the Americaunas, so I would think she'd have an easier time of it. They walk half way down and fly the rest of the way in the morning. They were all raised together, so she's been with the Americauanas since they were old enough to be out of the nest with their mama. Nobody is getting picked on that I can see, and while she is not as tight with them as they are each other, they all seem to be fine together during the day. None of them are being aggressive or even assertive with one another. Last night I did catch a glimpse of her roosting on an old bushel basket I've shoved branches across the top and under the handles. Until that, I thought she couldn't jump up that high. She knows how to roost, and knows how to use the ladder. There are pictures of my coop and hen house on my blog: http://cari-daway.blogspot.com/search/label/chicken coop construction