Granted, it’s only been 2 days, but they won’t go in their coop or out from under their coop. I had to catch and put them in the coop one by one last night. Are they just stressed from the move?
Hi, welcome to the forum from Louisiana, glad you joined.
Hopefully you are doing better, life has a way of messing up our schedules like that.
What you describe is not unusual at all. Chickens often don't like change. They can be adaptable but often that takes a bit of time. When I move mine to what I call my grow-out coop they usually never go in the coop on their own. They have to be trained. Your coop is elevated, I don't have this problem as much with a ground level coop but my grow-out coop is elevated.
Chickens are creatures of habit and you just messed up their routine. Many people have success by housing the chicks in the coop only for about a week before they let them out. That way the chicks learn that as home and are more willing to go in there at night to sleep. That doesn't work with mine, maybe because of how the coop and run are laid out. I have to train mine by physically locking them in the coop at night until they learn to put themselves to bed when it gets dark. I wait until it is dark when they are easier to catch and toss them in one at a time, like you did. My broods are usually in the range of 20 chicks. Typically about the second or third night a few start going in in their own and by the end of a week they are all going in. One time I only had to lock them in once and they all got the message, all went in the second night. Once! A couple of times I had to do that for three weeks before the last couple got the message. Each brood is different.
How dark is it in that coop as night falls? They need to be able to see to go to bed, some people have helped themselves by putting a weak light in there at dark, maybe a small LED bulb or a glow stick. Mine has all kinds of ventilation screening so lots of light, that still doesn't help me, but it may be something to consider.
My brooder raised chicks typically don't start to roost until they are 10 to 12 weeks old. I have had some start by 5 weeks, some wait longer, but 10 to 12 weeks is pretty common for mine. That may have something to do with the layout of the coop and roosts. Until they start roosting at night mine sleep in a group on the coop floor or on the ground. I don't care where mine sleep as long as it is not in my nests and is predator safe.
There are always exceptions and I don't really know what your coop looks like but this sounds like what I go through every time I move a batch outside, even if I house them in that grow-out coop a week before I let them out.
i can watch them for hours!
