Chickadee888
In the Brooder
My first day with my 10-wk old pullets, I let them out of their enclosed run into my fenced-in yard, and then I tried to personally corral them back into the run when evening came. Turns out it's hard to catch a chicken, and they don't like being chased. Finally I got them all in...and by that time, my husband was nearly wetting his pants from laughing at watching me run after the chickens. There I was, thinking, "what on earth have I got myself into?!" I was amazed, though, that they just knew to hop up the ladder and into the coop to roost. Next afternoon, I let them out in the yard again, and by evening when I was about to go corral them, I noticed they had already put themselves to bed...hopped back into the enclosed run and up the ladder into the coop.
They just know, when the light gets low, that it's bedtime and they put themselves to bed. I understand now that this is just what chickens do. And, they like roosting high, so as I see your coop is higher than the run, they're very likely to want to naturally go up there. If it gets past dusk and they're still not in there, then I guess you ought to encourage them a few times. They'll eventually get the hang of it and want to go themselves.
Note, I ultimately had to modify my pre-fab coop a bit by adding a perch made out of a 2x2 (tho lots of BYCers like 2x4s it seems). The girls like that so much better than the silly too-small wooden dowels that came with the coop (and were placed too low down in the coop itself). I also added a base around the perimeter and stapled hardware cloth to that from underneath, so it's totally sealed (added stronger locks, too), and now I don't bother actually closing the door to the coop (and then don't have to worry about opening it in the morning, either). Good luck and have fun!
They just know, when the light gets low, that it's bedtime and they put themselves to bed. I understand now that this is just what chickens do. And, they like roosting high, so as I see your coop is higher than the run, they're very likely to want to naturally go up there. If it gets past dusk and they're still not in there, then I guess you ought to encourage them a few times. They'll eventually get the hang of it and want to go themselves.
Note, I ultimately had to modify my pre-fab coop a bit by adding a perch made out of a 2x2 (tho lots of BYCers like 2x4s it seems). The girls like that so much better than the silly too-small wooden dowels that came with the coop (and were placed too low down in the coop itself). I also added a base around the perimeter and stapled hardware cloth to that from underneath, so it's totally sealed (added stronger locks, too), and now I don't bother actually closing the door to the coop (and then don't have to worry about opening it in the morning, either). Good luck and have fun!
