New Chickens STILL won't use the coop!

[Crackers78]

We just got five chickens that were new to our flock in July to roost in the coop with the "big girls" last month. They wanted to roost on the front porch railing which was fine for the summer. We are in Oregon so we figured once the rain and cold weather came they would find their way to the warm and dry coop. They didn't do it on their own so we carried them to the coop each night. It took about a week and a half of carrying them in there each night. Now they put themselves to bed which is much more pleasant for everyone. You just have to be more stubborn than the chickens!

 

[aart]

What do I do?

Tell us how old all these birds are.
Post pics of coop and run, inside and out.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yes, how old are the new ones? Are they laying yet? Age/maturity has a lot do with behaviors. My guess is that that is why you are seeing the problem. The young ones are still afraid of the adults. When they are going to bed is when mine are most brutal to each other. They might have a good reason to be afraid.

Regardless of age, my suggestions are going to be the same based on what you posted. They are getting along with the adults during the day. They may be intermingling quite a bit but mine tend to stay in sub-flocks most of the time until the younger ones mature. I have a lot more room than you do outside so they can avoid the adults. Your problem is not that the older ones are beating up on the bantams, they just don't want to go in the coop. The older ones can see to go to bed in there so light is not your problem. The younger ones just don't want to.

I do this all the time when I put chicks in my grow-out coop. I let them roam with the adults for a few weeks in the common area before I move them to the main coop at night. Mine are usually about 12 weeks old when I move them to the main coop. My main coop is 8' x 12', about the same as yours.

When I'm ready to move them in to the main coop I wait until dark when they are easier to catch and lock them in the main coop for the night. I don't bother putting them on the roosts when I do that, I let then figure out where to sleep. At that age mine are not going to sleep on the main roosts with the adults anyway. If they try to go to bed there they usually get pecked. They are going to look for a safer place to go to bed once they get used to going to bed in the coop. One of your bantams is a silkie that can't fly. How easily can it get up and down to and from the roosts? I let them figure out where to sleep. As long as it is not my nests and predator safe I don't care where it is.

When I do this I'm down there at first light to see how it is going, do I need to open the pop door so the young can get away from the adults. It takes me about once or twice before I am comfortable they won't get hurt if I leave them locked in there for a while. Your situation is different from mine. Your coop looks different from mine. I typically find my young ones on the roosts while the adults are on the floor. Occasionally some may be hiding under my nests which are pretty close to the coop floor. The young ones are avoiding the adults. To me that is normal. Your silkie can't fly and may not be able to get to the safety of the roosts. Some clutter that gives it a hiding point may help.

When I move them in the main coop I lock their old sleeping place so they cannot go back there. Sometimes they immediately go to bed in the main coop but often they go back to their old sleeping spot and try to sleep there, usually right outside the door. So I wait until dark when they are easy to catch and toss them onto the main coop floor and lock that door. If I'm consistent they usually catch on pretty quickly but occasionally I get some that are really hard to teach. Still they do get the message.

What you describe is not at all unusual to me. Just be consistent putting them in there at night and they will get the message. With that number of chickens in that big of a coop you probably won't have a lot of issues. Good luck on that.

 

[gardenerds]

So putting them in before its dark seemed to help?

 

[Dragongoddess]

So putting them in before its dark seemed to help?

I have found it’s easier to wrangle them after or as it is turning dark.
And the big ones are sleepy then so they do not peck the new ones, giving them a reason to dislike the coop.

 

[Ridgerunner]

So putting them in before its dark seemed to help?

No, after it is dark. They are easier to catch if it is dark. If it is dark in the coop the ones already in there aren't going to bother the young ones.