Teaching pullets and keets to go in at night: help!

[Storybook Farm]

So, I have two flocks. 1 is 5 mature hens and a rooster that we bought with their coop and transferred to our farm. These were our first chickens and they do great. They are given free range each afternoon, know their coop, and each night, they return to it flawlessly.

Then there are the teenagers. Liking chickens and having tick problems, we decided to enlarge our flocks and move them (all, eventually) to larger quarters where we also had electricity for winter needs. We fitted up a 12' x 18' old barn as a coop, and bought 10 guinea keets and 10 Barred Rock/RIR chicks as babies. For 10 weeks they were regulated by electric lights, and had perches at about 6 weeks (which the guineas love best), but were inside the whole time, and without the lights on, the building is pretty dark during the day. About 4 weeks ago, we engineered a small enclosed run for them. They have been able to go in and out at will.

Here's the problem: they don't come in at night! We have to turn on their electric light inside the coop to get them in. They are about ready for free range in terms of maturity, but I worry that they won't go back in if we start letting them range. Are there any tricks to teaching birds to go in to safety at night? Thoughts?

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Consistency, consistency, consistency. Keep turning on the light for them, at least they're going in when its on and you don't have to place them in the coop one-by-one! Eventually you'll go out to turn the light on and they'll already be in. Chickens are creatures of habit and your younger birds haven't developed the habit of getting inside before dark yet, but they will.

I wouldn't attempt to free range them until they get it figured out though.

Good luck