Noisy girls at sunset

[Concordmommy]

My 9 week old pullets are like teenagers that have a curfew and know deep down that they need their sleep but are rebelling against it! Around teh time when they should be going into their henhouse they squawk and squawk--then I go out to encourage them to go up their ramp and they look to me like I'm their mommy..they'll go up the ramp and then back down again. I put some of them in just to see if that would encourage the rest to go in, and nope, they come right back down. If i end up putting them all in and closing up the coop, they sit there and cry at the door---some of them calm down but the others are squawking to get out again. Then they all calm down and go to sleep.

Should I be waiting longer until closer to absolute dark to see what they will do? They're so noisy, I'm afraid my neighbors will complain. It's about 8:00 when they do this, 8:15ish. I have a feeling they'll figure out the ramp eventually and all go in but it's just so darn noisy.

any advice? BTDT?

 

[GardeNerd]

I wish I had ideal advice. My girls are noisy when the jockey for the one favorite spot on the roost. Only once it is actually dark, everyone quiets and settles down. That is when I finally go out and close the door.

Good luck.

 

[gritsar]

Did you first introduce them to their coop by putting them in lockdown? It's the only way that I know of to train them to roost in the coop at night.
Keep them locked in for a few days, maybe a week. Then when you start to let them out again, do so just a few hours before sundown. Allow them out earlier and earlier in the day once they show you they are getting with the program.
It seems harsh to keep them confined, but it works and in the end you'll find it so much easier.
My chickens go into their coop around sunset, in time to grab a bite to eat and find their favorite places on the roosts. All that's left for me to do is go out and lock them in. They do this even if I'm not home at sundown.

 

[Concordmommy]

Yeah, they were in there a few days. I think maybe I'm expecting them to go in too early or something. I'm going to try to put a small dim light in there so they feel more comfortable about going in. I'll see if that helps tomorrow. I'll also wait a bit until dark to intervene if necessary. I just wish they weren't so noisy right before sundown.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I know what you mean. I have one hen that feels she has to squawk herself to sleep. I tell her to hush up in a sharp voice, sometimes it works, sometimes it don't.

 

[TheRidingLibrarian]

I've noticed that my 2 month olds (various breeds) do not want to go in until absolute dark. I usually feed my horse right around dusk and they have no interest in coming in. So I'll go in the house for a few minutes until it is totally dark, and by the time I get back they are all in and roosted. Our predators don't start coming out until a couple of hours after dusk, so I don't worry about the few minutes of total dark that the coop door is still open.

 

[Melissacoop]

My girls are three months old. They’ve been in their coop for two months. Up until last week they were putting themselves to bed by dark. We would just have to go out and secure them. Lately they come to the windows and doors and start squaking loudly and try to roost on everything they can’t fit on. If we ignore them they will just roost up for the night without going in their coop. We have had to carry them and put them inside their coop and lock them up. I don’t know why they changed going in on their own?