When will baby chicks go in coop at night

[3spoileddogs]

Hey yalls i have 16 day old chciks 3 -buff orpingtons. I have an in the city rool around coop for three hens.

When will they go in the nesting boxes?
Should i put then in the nesting boxes at night.
They know how to use the latter, when i place them in the coop and move the coop around my yard. They come running down the little ladder then and sit on it also.

I locked them up last night with their low warming light. But my husband said tonight to let nature takes it course, they will go up there. Is he right? Or do i have to train them?
Id appreciate some feed back
Thanks

 

[azygous]

You need to teach them. They don't automatically know to go inside at night.

When a broody hen raises chicks, she goes into the coop and the chicks follow. In the absence of a broody to teach your chicks, you are the teacher.

It helps to wait until you hear the chicks making the soft bedtime chirping and huddling together. Take them one at a time and put them into the coop. Make sure you put them in through the door they will be using when they learn to go in on their own.

Keep repeating each night until they begin to go inside on their own. It helps to have a little light ( a small flashlight will do) inside so they can see well enough to know where they are. You can take the light away after they get the idea.

 

[redsoxs]

I am not sure where you are located but at two weeks + 2 days your birds don't have a lot of feathers yet so "letting nature take its course" may not end well on even a cool night. If they stay in the coop pictured, make sure they are in it and closed up. They might not make it through the the night outside in the run if it is too cold for them. Let them roost on the floor of the coop with a good layer of pine shavings. Don't put them in the nesting boxes. You don't want to start that habit. They will poop in them and you don't want that once they start laying in those boxes at about 5 months. I assume there is a roosting pole in the coop? The will start using that soon. A few nights locked inside the coop and they will likely return to it as "home" at dusk. Good luck to you.

 

[3spoileddogs]

Thank you for your help, i live coastal. Wilmington, NC. We are very muggy and hot still here. I will place a little 15 watt night light in the coop and teach them. I really appreciate this.

 

[kajira]

If it stays above 70 at night, they should be fine as long as they are together for body heat.

I put mine outside around 4-5 weeks, once they have feathers to help protect better against the elements, since they don't have a mommy.

My daughter taught them how to use the roosting bars, and she'll eventually put the hens in the nesting boxes, with some wooden eggs, around 16-18 weeks, so they know where to go when the time comes.

Our first batch had to learn to use the nesting boxes, so alot of our eggs ended up on the ground until they learned to use them.

 

[tthekraut]

I'm starting to debate the same thing. I live right outside Vegas and my birds are 2 1/2 weeks and 2 weeks. I kinda want to start getting them ready to go out since the days are in the 90's and nights are in the mid 70's.

I am watching thier feathers. Some are coming in well but 2 runts don't have much in the way of feathers yet. I figure I will put them in at 4 or 5 weeks when the runts have enough feathers

 

[3spoileddogs]

We are still very hot and muggy here. Our weather will not go down, until late october- mid November.
So staying warm is no problem. I did change out the light to a low night light 15 watts. And i will hanf place them in their coop and allow them out the ladder in the early AM. They have mast red the ladder no problem. I still have to hand carry Ms. Lazy since her injury. But i will keep my eye on them. This is full of great information, i love ths site, better than any other site.