Some of my Flock Keeps going back to their Old Coop.

[TheBeardedNerd]

I built a new coop for the flock but a few of them keep wanting to go back to the old coop.

I kept them in the new coop for a week before letting them out and they went back.

Then I kept them in there for 5 more days and let them out and they went right back to the old coop, haha.

Any suggestions?

 

[Mrs. K]

shut the old coop up so they can't get in?

 

[TheBeardedNerd]

I do and they just stand around it at night waiting for me to open it up, haha.

 

[pdirt]

I suppose it depends on how long the birds had spent in that coop. If they spent a year or more in the old coop, they may not forget it in a week or two. It might take longer. If you want to not just lock them up in the new coop for weeks on end, you might be spending a few weeks or months gathering up the stragglers each night. There's probably also some pecking order rearranging going on since moving to the new coop as well.

Also the trick of luring them all into the new coop near their bedtime with some treats might work, rather than stressing them out by picking them up.

You could also disassemble/destroy the old coop, but that's a bit extreme since it could be useful for quarantine/hospital/brooding/etc.