POLL: How long before chicks learn to leave coop?

[ChickenThunderdome]

5 week old chicks spent first night in coop yesterday. Today they refused to leave the coop with the door open for 4 hours so I grabbed them and put them in the run.

I'm just wondering one average how many days does it usually take for chicks to realize the coop is home and to go up into it when it starts getting dark and to leave it when the door opens?

Everyone is different but I'm hoping to take the median as a decent guesstimate.

 

[chkva]

I usually leave mine in the coop for a few days up to a week with the door shut. I clean it out and change their food/water daily. I have two separate coops so one is for chicks and one is for my hens. It can take up to a week or two before they go in at night. I have one that makes me pick her up every night, she meets me halfway up the stairs at 830 pm which is lockdown time.

 

[danceswithronin]

It took my silkie flock, no joke, six months to figure out how to go into the coop at night. At first I was locking them in every night and manually returning them to the coop every night, at least for a few weeks (they went into the run at around six weeks old) until I realized what a waste of time it was. So I left them to their own devices and they eventually figured it out once the weather got cooler. I think because the summer temps were so high where I live last year they were just more comfortable sleeping in the open air in a cuddle puddle (silkies don't like to roost high anyway).

That being said, if you live in an area with predators that's probably not an option for you, but my chickens are behind a six-foot privacy fence AND a four-foot wrought iron fence reinforced with avian netting all the way around, so I felt pretty comfortable leaving them out until they got it on their own.

 

[TelfTheElf]

I normally leave a new flock in the run 1-2 weeks to 'home' and then let them out. Same you would do to a new flock of doves. That way they know their new home and know where to go at night.

 

[Angelicsatire]

Mine just figured it out after about two weeks. They still go in and out of the coop during the day, but i have finally switched their food and water to outside. I was really nervous about that but they figured it out pretty quickly.

 

[chkva]

I have 2 week old chicks outside in their booder and they run freely in their run during the day (completely predator proof about 800 SQ feet and is also inside hens run that's 1500 SQ feet). I lock them up every night, but there's a gap where the ramp and out opening are on the brooder... Those little fluff butts got out without me letting them out this morning I was like "Well guess you guys have life all figured out already!"

Then I looked at my hens and said "Y'all stayed inside your coop for days too scared and these chicken nuggets have the coop life already figured out!" The chicks even go in at dark when the hens go in their coop!

 

[Shadrach]

It depends on lots of different factors.
If they were hatched in the coop its home from day one.
If they were hatched by a hen then wherever mum says is home is home. Here it's been from day 3 to 5 weeks if mum hatched away from her tribes coop.
Coop design makes a difference. Chicks here often have difficulty with the ramps the coops have here. They know its home but can't work out how to climb the ramp to get back.

 

[ChickenThunderdome]

I am so proud of our chicks. They figured it out by day/evening 3. They now all come out of their coop at dawn and ALL back in at dusk. No stragglers, even the silkies make it up. SUCCESS!

 

[debid]

I put baby chicks in a grow-out coop with the pop door closed the first few days. When I open the door for run access, they stand in the doorway peeping excitedly for a while. It will be maybe 15 minutes before one steps out and hops right back. It's never taken longer than a day to commence exploring.

I have a different view, though. I am not going to hold their little wing and guide them out and in. I'd rather they figure things out in their own time because they don't venture out further than they can find their way back. Having everything all one level helps as well.

 

[chicklove14]

Maybe you can put treats outside the door to make them come out.