Transitioning to coop from brooder...what am I doing wrong???

[kestrel42]

Ok, I'm a newbie chicken owner, so maybe this is all normal, but I'm starting to get a little worried. I FINALLY got enough of the coop built last weekend to get the babies out of the tight brooder and into the coop. Of course, they were very frightened for the first couple of days but have settled in and seem comfortable now. I rigged the brooder lamp into the coop for the first several nights, just in case, but left it off last night and they seem fine without it now. Here are my concerns: they still haven't started to use the roosts in the coop-at all. They won't come out of the coop when I open the pop door, and if one falls out a little way they panic and scramble back up the ramp. I've tried moving some of the braver hens part way down the ramp, so they can see how the rungs work and practice, but they still won't come out and it's been days. I put interesting things on the ramp, and they want to peck them, they just don't want to move down the ramp! I've tried food, treats, slugs, weeds etc-no go. Maybe they need more time to figure things out?

OK, I admit I probably wasn't the best chick mom. I really wanted to give them some time outdoors during the day when they were younger and in the brooder, to avoid this difficult transition, but it simply wasn't possible. Since I got my chicks at the beginning of Feb, we've had TWO whole 24 hour periods without rain. And one of them was last weekend! We've had one day when the temp broke 60-and it was last weekend. We've had such a wet, cold spring that I just never could get the babies out of the basement brooder and into chicken training in the yard. So when they moved into the coop last weekend it was also their first time out of my basement. Though I tried, I could never rig up a perch in the brooder that they would use and that last week I had to take perches out for more room. So they don't have any real practice with perching either. Do they just need more time? Is there anything else I can do to help them learn to perch, use the ramp etc?? I've tried putting them on the roosts, and they just jump down.

 

[Buff Hooligans]

Kestrel, don't worry, they'll eventually succumb to their instincts and roost naturally. Just give them time. I'm not sure how old your chicks are, but they may still be in the "snuggle down with Mommy" stage and not the independent "I'm a grownup and can manage on my own" stage.

Enjoy all the stages they go through as they grow up.

 

[lleighmay]

Don't worry- they'll be fine. They're behavior is not due to a lack of "proper parenting" on your part

I've never taken mine out to play- they go from the brooder to the grow out pen. Chickens aren't big on change- mine freak out when I wear a baseball cap even though they see me umpteen times/day (when I give in and take it off they give me a "where did you come from" look). It takes them a while to get used to things, or to try new things. It won't be long before they're running up and down the ramp like they've been doing it all along. If you had older birds who were already doing this the babies would learn faster, but they'll figure it out anyway. As for roosting, it takes them a while to do that too. I've got a couple that still like to sleep on the floor and they're over a year old.

 

[zookeeper15133]

When I first move my chicks out, I show ( well, maybe shove) them how to go down the ramp in the morning. Then at dusk I go out and show them how to go up the ramp back into the box and close them in for the night. It takes 3 or 4 days of this and then they will do it by themselves! Make sure your ramp isn't too steep for the little ones. I have a 6' ramp for a 3' rise.

 

[hennyannie]

Last year a friend gave me 10 seventeen week old pullets, they huddled in the corner of the coop, refused to go outside and would not even think about roosting. It was a really long time before they started exploring. She had to put hers on the roost for about a week before they caught on, mine learned on their on but it took awhile.

 

[wsdareme]

LOL!! Your chickens sound just like mine! The fact that they don't want to leave the coop is a GOOD thing, because that means they know it's home and safe and they'll be very willing to go in every night.

Here is what we did to try to get our girls to go outside the first time we opened the pop door:

And, it didn't work, so we had to "put" them out the door one at a time:

You've been a good chicken mom and they'll adjust to being outdoor chickens in no time! Mine did!

 

[kestrel42]

Thanks everyone, I feel better now! My oldest chicks are 11.5 weeks, and my youngest is 9.5 weeks, so I can see that they still have plenty of time to learn how to do things. After spending every spare second (and over 40 hours alone last weekend) working on the coop/run I was so looking forward to seeing them outdoors! And that last week in the brooder box was so tight I felt like an animal abuser, so I started to wonder if I had hurt them developmentally...I'm just trying to be a good chick mom

 

[wsdareme]

Soooooo, how about posting some pictures for us to see all your hard work? We love pics of coops!!

 

[kemclaughlin]

LOL, I put a pan of chick grit in for mine and they nearly killed each other trying to be the farthest away from it. They were running and flying and jumping over each other to huddle in the corner. I finally started dumping the bigger ones in it.

 

[ChickLit]

Hi kestrel! Waving at you from down Salem way

The babies probably don't want to go out because of this awful weather!!! My big girls aren't too crazy about it either

I don't want to go out! LOL At least there's no record-breaking rain today, just a fine mist at my house. Oh, to see the sun again...

Like everyone above said, they'll figure it out...nature will take over! Just maybe keep working with them on the perches and the ramp once in awhile to help them along with the idea. I'm sure you've done fine with them.

When my big hens went out to the coop for the first time, a friend told me I would have to teach them to use the perches because they weren't familiar with them...but the very first night I went out to put them to bed, and there they were, all 6 of them settled happily on the highest perch! They figured it out all by themselves...I was such a proud mama