One week lock in, so they know it's home????

[Willow's Meadow]

Don't have chicks yet but I've heard so much about when you are transitioning them from the brooder to the coop you should lock them in the coop/run for a while till they know where home is. Is that true? Can someone please explain this? As far as I understand it's so they come back to the coop at night when they are free ranging and just so they know where home is. Do you lock them in the coop as well as letting them out in the run, or just the coop? Please Explain!!!!!

 

[gritsar]

It's simple. You lock them in the coop for a week until they get the idea that the coop is home. It takes repetition for chickens to learn things.
My chickens were older - about 5 months old - when we moved them to the coop. Before that they were living on our front porch. They were free ranging every day and then would line up at the screened door to be let back on the porch at night. It took two weeks of lockdown in the coop before they got the idea that the coop was their new home.

 

[dulcimer lady]

I'll be transitioning my chicks to outside in about 3 or 4 weeks. We have 6 chicks. They will have a small coop which is enclosed in a nice sized dog pen so they can get some space to walk around, etc. So are you saying that for the first week I should keep them all in the coop and not let them out in the pen at all? Seven full days?

 

[Willow's Meadow]

Quote:
hahahaa I'm not sure!! That's my same question!

 

[Imp]

I second what Gritsar said. I'd keep them locked up in the coop only for 2 weeks, maybe a little time in the run.
I would not free range chicks until they are a little bigger, unless you have a very secure yard and are able to supervise.
They should go back into the coop at night on their own. You may need to help them at first. Have Fun & Good luck

Imp

 

[hipeatall]

As long as you make sure they go into the actual secure from predators coop/house at night... I can't think of a single reason why you wouldn't let them out in the attached and enclosed pen area. Now, if you plan to let them out of that enclosed pen area to free range, that's when I say wait a few weeks before doing this... so they really get the "this is where we sleep every night" part down.

 

[hipeatall]

Quote:
agreed! make sure that yard is secure and safe from predators... I cover my chick yard with deer netting to keep out predators from above.

 

[Willow's Meadow]

Quote:
There's one problem with my coop though. I can't connect the run and the coop because there is a driveway(its gravel and dirt) it seperates the grass, field and woods from the coop. So I guess I'll just build the run in the grass and then I'll just let them out for few hours, let them back in for a while and let them back out and then at the evening I'll let them in the coop for the night. The driveway goes like around the coop and then goes back up to the house. Its actually a big nice red warm barn. Very fortunate to have it

 

[WoodlandWoman]

For free range without a run, I would lock them in the coop. For a coop with a run, I think you can do it either way. Just check on them at night and make sure they all get back inside to roost.

I don't lock mine in the coop, but I do close the run door, so they can't free range. Still, they often stay in the coop at first, peeking out the pop hole door into the run, until they feel brave enough to go out in the run. I keep food and water in the coop, extra water in the run.

Some coops might have more space for confinement than others. That would make a difference in how you wanted to do it. Other than that, I think it's probably just a personal choice. Even chickens that have been locked in the coop, should still be checked on at night when they're first allowed access to the run. They still need to get in the habit of going from the run to the coop at night, to roost.

 

[gritsar]

IMO, if you are going to allow them access to the run during the first week in their new digs, be prepared to physically move them into the coop at night.
Easier to just keep them locked in the coop during the first week. They'll get used to roosting in a certain spot (within the coop) and that's where they'll want to be at night.
Also IMO I'd want them in the coop at night, not sleeping in the run. The most secure run cannot possibly be as secure as a well built coop. Unless your coop is really tiny, 6 to 10 week old chicks should not be crowded. Adults birds is a different story. My adult LF birds don't like being locked in their coop past their usual out time, but they still have plenty of room to move around whether they like it or not.
I can't tell you how many threads I have read where someone is frustrated because their new chickens don't want to go from the run to the coop at night. Best to ingrain the coop as home on their little brains to start with.