Transitioning from brooder to coop

[JusJuls]

Hi,
I've read all of the "transitioning from brooder to coop" threads, articles, etc. I can find...but I still have a question. When people recommend locking them in the coop for a couple days to a week, do they mean in the "coop" and don't let them out to free range at all, OR do they mean lock them in the house/roost/nesting box part (sorry don't know the official name, I'm a newby) and not let them down the ramp at all for a couple days?? We just finished our coop and made the transition a couple days ago. We added a higher roost, a sliding door, ventilation, (ramp isn't shown here). Locking them in the house part for days seems cruel and it's kind of small. I've let them have the whole coop...but I literally to SHOVE them up the ramp at sunset and close the door. At 6:00am we open the slider and they slowing mosey on down for breakfast. Am I doing it right? Will they eventually get it? (p.s. the coop is in the garage still...moving it out to the yard next weekend when they are all about 6-8 weeks old). Thank you all so much. Julie & my waHENee's

 

[viktoriacl]

They can be in the whole thing. They look fully feathered. They can go out now! They'll be fine

 

[write2caroline]

They don't see well at dusk so they may need to learn to go into the roosting area at night. I found using a battery powered night light helped in two ways. It helped them go to the light into the sleeping/roosting area and two mine were freaked out of the dark so it helped them transition better.

Caroline

 

[Ridgerunner]

Those are probably not roosting yet. Until they roost they like to sleep together in a group in what they consider a “safe” place. You may not see it as safe at all.

The normal reason to lock them in a coop at night is that a coop should have better predator protection than a run. If you are confident your run is predator proof, you don’t have to lock them in the coop.

The reason to lock them in the coop for a while is so they associate it as home and a safe place to sleep. That doesn’t always work, especially with elevated coops. Even after keeping mine in for more than a week mine usually want to spend their first night I let them in the run sleeping under that door. I pick them up after dark and put them inside. Sometimes they get that message the first time I do that but sometimes it takes over two weeks for all of them to catch on.

You don’t have to keep them in the coop for a few days but it generally helps them get acclimated to their new surroundings. But, yes, they will eventually get it if you are consistent about putting them in at night.

Yours are 8 weeks old and still pretty small. How does that coop compare in size to your brooder? If it is larger than the brooder they are used to, it’s not cruel to keep then in there. They are in heaven. If you think that coop is small for them at 8 weeks, how crowded is it going to be when they grow up?

 

[JusJuls]

"Thank you!! They have been putting themselves to bed & roosting for the last 2 nights, proud mama "