Teaching babies to roost inside at night?

[muell112]

Mine actually do sleep with the light on (I check them right before I go to bed). Mostly I think it helps them catch mosquitos that sneak in (a couple of them actively hunt before about 10pm). If it gets too hot at night (which it really hasn't too much here in Maine) I have a fan that I turn on in the window just to move air.

 

[siroiszoo]

Well, I got a box fan mounted up high to move air in the hen house (not pointed directly at the chicks) and a light bulb that puts out 40watts while only using 9 watts of energy. So it shouldn't produce too much heat. (The Houston, TX area has a high pressure parked over us again causing 100 degree temps by day and high 70's by night. UUUGGGGHHHH!!!!!)

Now, it's wait and see what happens.

 

[siroiszoo]

V I C T O R Y ! ! ! !

I just went out and all the babies were inside the hen house! YAY!

Thank you everyone!

 

[siroiszoo]

As I was watching how happy the light in the hen house made my babies, a 'light' went on in my head.

If dawned on me that the reason my babies were having such a hard time with this was not because of the breed but because of the time of year I received them.

You see, I always order early spring chicks. Hence, the temps drop at night causing me to keep a heat lamp in the hen house. Heat lamp = night light.

Since I ordered these chicks and received them during a heat wave and at the end of June, I never used a light. I was trying to keep things cool instead of warm. So the use of a light never occurred to me.

Duh!

Thank you for all the responses that got my brain working again.

I thank you and my chicks thank you!