They like their new coop, except

[harrisville chicken]

I just finished building a bigger, roomier coop for my 4 hens. They seem to like it, except two of them (my banties) still want their old nesting box. I had the old one shut up tight today and put their plastic nest eggs in their new nest boxes, with some new soft bedding. All they could do is walk around their old coop (an A-frame "catawba" style), trying to get in. Finally I let them and they laid.

My question is, should I keep the old coop locked up—or should I try taking all the old bedding out and open the egg door (so it's no longer "private"), and maybe even putting a few bricks or stones where there used to be soft bedding?

They're all used to free ranging in my backyard, but I'm considering keeping them in their 4x8 run for a day (which may happen anyway, a big rain storm is coming tomorrow night.)

Any advice is welcomed.

 

[Imp]

Maybe you should shut them up in the new coop for a while so that they will learn that is now home.

Good luck

Imp

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

Yep, keep them in the new coop for a few days.

We all hate change...

 

[Kittymomma]

Mine free range during the day too, but when we finished the new coop and run I had to keep them there for two weeks.

I started out locking them in the new coop for a day and they went back to the old one. Next I locked them in for a week--back to the old coop again. One more week of being locked up and they finally figured it out. Silly chickens, the new coop is NICE and the old one was a dog run with an old rabbit hutch in it.

FYI--they went thru 50% more feed when they were confined so be prepared for that.