New to chickens and have a question

[seabeecole27]

Hello everyone! New to raising chickens and have an issue I need some insight on. I have a small flock of 17 birds at 7-8 weeks old. I have barred rocks, buff orpingtons and black copper marans. They’re growing great but have recently moved them from their large brooder to their new outdoor coop and run. They would have gone into a coop much earlier but an illness put me behind about a month constructing their coop. 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?

 

[SandyRiverChick]

There was just another post like this and 3KillerBs made the good point that it's about security, it looks really safe under there where as the wide open run is scarey. I have a pile of cut up railroad ties in the middle of my run for the little's, placed in a way they can get under to hide from my bigs and/or any other thing they feel threatened by. Maybe a chair or 2 ? Nice looking coop!!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Chickens don't like change. Not uncommon to have to repeatedly introduce them to the "new digs". As they become more comfortable with their environment, they will range further. If they get a scare, the flock will keep closer to "home" for a bit before again extending the area in which they roam.

Also, how's your ventilation? They may simply be trying to keep cool. Chickens don't do heat well.

 

[Ridgerunner]

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.

 

[seabeecole27]

Thank you for all the replies and insight! The coop is still a work in process and doesn’t have windows yet…. Coming tomorrow lol. Is there a way to get them in the coop at night? I have to physically put them in it aswell lol. I love these birds though…..like I actually love them i can watch them for hours!

 

[rosemarythyme]

The coop is still a work in process and doesn’t have windows yet…. Coming tomorrow lol. Is there a way to get them in the coop at night? I

Have they gone into the coop at all to explore? Is there a ramp or steps? If there's a ramp, have they used it? Is there any natural light in there at all, like from vents? Are there vents? I don't see any but we only see a sliver of the coop in the photo.

Until there's windows, you can put in a battery operated light to try and encourage them to go inside. Otherwise, you'll need to lure them in (i.e. with treats) or at worst, manually put them in at night. My preferred method is to lock them in the coop to home them to it but that's only feasible if the coop is well lit and ventilated, and large enough to safely house the number of birds you have.

 

[seabeecole27]

How does one go about training them to free range? I was thinking of keeping them in their coop/run for a couple months then slowly opening the run door allowing them to venture out. I just want them to come back at dusk.

 

[Iluveggers]

Is the coop completely black, or are there holes for the windows? If there are just big holes, you definitely want to cover them with hardware cloth so nothing can get in. If there are no ways for light to get in, I would put a string of Christmas lights inside so they can see a bit.

When we moved our flock to the big coop (shed), we locked them in for a week (it was huge and they had lots of space compared to the brooder. We covered the doorway with hardware cloth and left the door open so they could get plenty of air during the hot days. Once we let them out, they knew what was home and every single chicken went in at dusk on their own to sleep where they knew was their sleeping place!

 

[seabeecole27]

I have the windows in now, still have to manually place them in the coop after dark. They have a light with roosting bars in the coop. Im going to keep them in the coop the next few days, as suggested, to home them to their coop. Hopefully it works. They’ve learned to exit the coop in the morning on their own now which is a proud moment for me lol quirky little animals.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How does one go about training them to free range?

I keep mine confined to the coop and run until I'm sure they know that is home and a good place to sleep, then I open the run gate. With your chicks I'd wait until you've trained them to go to bed in the coop at night, then give it another week just to be sure.

Two things can happen. They can go out of the gate and start free ranging, but that's fairly rare. What I practically always see is them very slowly build up courage to go out into that strange place. Eventually they do but they usually don't go far. As they get more comfortable outside they go further. I let them go at their pace.

As it is getting dark they want to return to the coop where they are used to sleeping. Getting back is usually an obsession, they really really want to get back. For the first few days you need to be around at that time. A few times I've had them get trapped with a fence between them and the coop, they are on the side of the run away from the gate as it gets dark. Usually all or most make it fine but sometimes a few forget about that gate 10 to 15 feet away that they have been using all day and just crowd up against the fence, trying to get through. The first night or two I might have to herd them to that gate. Even the mentally slow ones catch on after a couple of nights.

Some people like to wait until about an hour before dark to let them out. They won't go far in that hour, some may not even leave the run. I'm not sure if this is because they are nervous about them free ranging and want to observe them or they aren't comfortable the chicks or chickens really will try to get back to their coop. I don't find that necessary but it can make people feel better about it. Nothing wrong with people feeling better.