Teaching chicks to go in coop at night...

[greenthumbmama]

I hope this post is in the right forum!!

My chicks are 7 weeks old and every night I go out and help them into the coop and shut the door. I read on here that I am, basically, the mother hen teaching her chicks what to do. But how long does it usually take to teach them that the coop is where they go "nighty-night"? I go out there after dark and find they are all huddled together in a corner of the run. I don't believe my chicks are afraid of their coop because they go in and out of it freely all day long. I read on here that they can get scared in their coops if something frightening has happened. I don't believe anything has happened to scare them.

Any insight is greatly appreciated!!

 

[Blue_Myst]

Try giving them a small snack at night and shut the door, then they'll associate the coop with 'bedtime snack'.

I've also heard that putting a light in the coop also works, since they'll go to the place with the most light when it starts to get dark.

Hope this helps

Another thought, too. How high are their roosts? How thick are they? Perhaps they don't like their roost choices and instead huddle outside.

 

[gritsar]

Chickens have to be trained to everything.
Lock them in the coop for a few days, with no access to a run/outside. This will give them the idea that the coop is where they should be come dark.

 

[greenthumbmama]

Quote:
I have a light in the coop I can turn on. For some reason I thought that if it was dark in there, they would know it's night time and their rhythms not messed up. Perhaps I'm wrong!

We have one long roost and many of them roost on it. It's about 1.5 to 2 in. in diameter and it's about 7-8 inches off the floor. We have another roost outside that my son made and they like the lower "branches" of it.

Should their food go in the coop at night too? I've just been putting the water in there when I lock them in at night.

 

[greenthumbmama]

Quote:
Well, when we first moved the chicks out to the coop, we kept them in there 24/7 for the first week and half. Should I have gone longer?

 

[Blue_Myst]

I'd put both their food and water in their coop 24/7, at least for a while. If they have all the food, water, and roosting space in the run that they could ever want, what gives them incentive to go inside?

Is your outside roost higher than the inside one? Perhaps they feel that the outside one offers 'more protection' by being higher of the ground.

 

[Judy]

A light in the coop from dusk til they went in did seem to encourage mine to go in; I stopped using it after a while -- after they were "trained," I guess. Bribery with treats after dusk was the easiest way for me to get them in.

They'll learn, really, just stay with it. They're all different. Remember they can't see well after dusk.

 

[Judy]

Food/water in the coop I think mostly depends on when you let them out in the morning. They won't eat or drink in the dark but will wake up at the crack of dawn, ready for both. I have them in the coop because I might not get out there til after 8.

 

[greenthumbmama]

Quote:
Ok. I moved the food and water to inside the coop. It was funny because when I went out there, they were all inside the coop hanging out.

 

[Quack Shack]

I use a red light in my coop light. It doesn't interfere with the laying hens or my ducks (alas, no more after this morning's fox invasion) and it adds a little night ambience. We are teaching a flock right now to go to the coop at night. Some have figured it out from watching the older hens but if past experience proves right, after about 4 weeks of doing it, wait until dusk and see if they aren't sitting there waiting for you with that, "Where ya been, Mom?" look. Good luck!