Need some advice

[Momma on a Mission]

My 5 week olds have been out in there coop for a week now. At first I would put them in there hen house that is off the ground with a ramp. Of a morning I would open the door and they all would come out by themselves. However, they will not go up the ramp at night to enter the hen house.

They are sleeping on the ground and I'm afraid they may get too cold or sick. Our little roo

goes up and down the ramp all day long but they will not go into the house?????

 

[thebanthams]

Dont know what the ramp looks like, maybe the ramp was tricky for them to get in. You will have to help them in and train them !!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You may have to put them in every night till they're older. Some young birds take a while to get the roosting instinct.

I wouldn't worry about 5 week olds being too cold this time of year, just predators.
Last week I had two 10 day old chicks jump out of the coop at dusk and run into the woods and I could only find one.
It was low 50s that night and I figured a goner between the cold and predators.
The next morning it was back running around like it was a warm summer day.

 

[Momma on a Mission]

I just added pics on my first post.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Can you lock them in the coop for a week or so without letting them in the run at all? Chickens are creatures of habit. If they get in the habit of sleeping in the coop, they will start going in the coop on their own at bedtime. Another option is to move them in each night until they get the message. Or lure them in the coop with food sometime before dark and lock them in there.

It is not at all unusual for chicks to seek a fairly low place to huddle together at night before they start to roost. It seems to be instinctive for them to find a low sort of hidden (at least to them) place to sleep.

I've had brooder raised chicks start to roost as young as 5 weeks, but more normally mine start around 10 to 12 weeks. Some people have them not roosting until they are much older than that. I find that chickens are seldom consistent in what they do. Each flock or sub-group within the flock has its own dynamics.

 

[Judy]

Unless there is a good source of natural light on the two sides that don't show, that may be the problem. It looks like there is good ventilation but it might not let enough light in.

 

[AV Brahmas]

Your chicken pen looks more like a ferret cage than what it is supposed to be. Nothing wrong with it for long term use but the entrance is pointed into a corner and the ramp is a multilevel maze. Your chicks will eventually figure it out but it may take until they can fly to the entrance. There is just going to be a longer learning curve with this arrangement.

Keep putting them in until they get it.