New to chickens! Pretty please we need some help!

[logefarm]

Hi all, thanks in advance for all the help. We've been using BYC as our bible for the last few weeks!
We have four 6-week old silkies we recently welcomed to our family. We just moved them outside from the breeder in to their coop/run and have run into some issues.
1. Cup waterers- they drink from them very well, but haven't figured out how to use the levers. Should I give them a second water source until they figure it out, or will that prevent them from trying?
2. Going upstairs- We have to physically put them in the coop at night, they don't like the ramp and don't seem to have any desire to go to the coop. When we open the door in the mornings they go down without any issues. Its a tiny coop with only room to roost (we have nesting boxes blocked off until they're ready to lay), so I don't think locking them in there for a few days is a great option
3. 24 hour food source?- We have a chick waterer in the coop for nighttime, but no food source, is that ok?
4. Roosting- All of them sleep on the floor, even though the roosts are easy to reach (maybe 6 inches off the floor of the coop). Is that ok?

Thank you!!

 

[junebuggena]

1. I'd have a second source of water for them at least until they figure out the level system.
2. Chickens have horrible night vision. They can't see in the dark. They will not voluntarily go into a dark coop. They are very young, so you do need to teach them to go into the coop in the evenings. Have a small solar or battery powered light inside the coop and turn it on about a half hour before sunset. As it gradually gets darker outside, they will naturally want to be where they can see more easily. Be sure that the ramp isn't too steep for them.
3. They don't need access to food 24/7 any more. Since they can't really see in the dark, they don't do much other than sleep at night. They wouldn't eat even if you did have food inside the coop, and it would attract pests.
4. Silkies don't typically use roosts. Due to their silkied feathers, they can only roost some place they can get to by jumping. And very young chicks don't usually roost at all. My whole flock slept in their 'chick' pile until they were about 16 weeks old. Give them some time and they may start using the low roosting bar.

 

[logefarm]

Thanks junebugga!
Does anyone have any tricks to teach the chicks how to activate the cup waterer levers? I've tried tapping the cups, holding treats over them, etc. For now since I'm home during the day I just fill the cups for them so they don't get dehydrated
We do have a light in our coop that goes on at dusk and stays on til 10ish. Hopefully they'll start thinking the coop is awesome some time soon.
Also, I've seen several older threads on sexing (or not sexing) Silkies, and was just wondering if anyone has any new thoughts. We're not expecting to know for several months, but is there behavior we should look for sooner than that? They're all chest bumping, but I understand that's normal for both boys and girls.
Thanks again BYCers!

 

[junebuggena]

Boys do tend to get bigger combs, earlier. If you have a chick with a very noticeable by 12 weeks old, it's most likely a cockerel. Even mature Silkie hens don't have much of comb. But they can be very slow to develop, so a male might not be obvious until he starts crowing.

 

[RonP]

You might have to lock them up in their coop for a week or so for them to learn where home and safety is.