When will they get it!!!!!!!!!!!! UPDATE

[they'reHISchickens]

Is it pitch dark when you put them to bed? Teenage chicks are notorious for going to bed late into the night and liking sleeping under the stars.

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

catdaddyalbert - I do have a secure coop and pen area. I have no worries about them being visited by a hungry guest and night
and being in danger. I guess seeing that it is nice weather they could get away with that. I would worry about them a little more
in the winter when it is cold.

they'rehischickens - It is about 9pm when I put them to bed. Getting dark but not really dark yet. Do you think that if
I waited till like maybe 10pm when it is really dark here that they might find their way to the coop?

I don't mind putting them to bed at night, my only fear is that they will get used to me putting them to bed
and expect that things remain that way. I don't want to have year old chickens that still need me to physically
put them in the coop at night.

 

[Pele]

Oh my goodness, what a cute coop!

I second the motion of widening the ramp so that it isn't such a scary walk.

I would also (and most importantly) keep your girls cooped up (literally) for a few days in the coop. They need to learn that it is home, and the safest place to be. I did this with my babies the first time they went outside, and my problem became getting them interested in going outside of the coop! They eventually got enough courage, but now they religiously go inside when it gets dark.

hope that helps!

 

[Farm_Maven]

Mine went to bed on their own on the roost for the very first time tonite! And they are roughly 8 weeks old.

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

Thanks for all your great replies, I will get the ramp widened and see if that makes a difference.
I am hoping that it does.

farm_marven - I am encouraged to read that your chickens went to bed on their own tonight.
mine are 6 wks old, not too far behind yours.

 

[cmom]

Another thing you may want to try that I have done in the past with some of my chicks, is to give them some treats in the coop just before dark. Once mine realized they were going to get some treats they would go in at night expecting their treats I eventually slacked off on the treats at night until I stopped giving them the treats.

 

[earnhardtlvr]

Quote:
We let our girlies out around 8am and when we go out around 8:40pm all 28 have been inside and settled down on their own for about a week. They r 9, 10, & 11 weeks old. They have been in the coop for about 2 weeks. We did it wrong at first. When we put them out we actually put them in the run cuz we were so excited everything was done and wanted them to run around and have fun. Needless to say the first 5-6 nights were spent chicken wrangling! LOL I am so happy they go in the house by themselves now. All we have to do is shut the door to the coop at night. It will happen. Just give them time. I can't remember is someone suggested, but maybe putting a night light or solar powered light in the coop and maybe they will go to the light at night?? Good luck and let u know what happens!!

 

[cmom]

I have night lights in my coops.

 

[ThinkingChickens]

What about getting rid of the solar powered light for now. My girls have a very dark coop and they like it. They've put themselves to bed since the first day they were out, at six weeks.

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

I could try to take the light out of the coop, but I thought that the fact that the coop was
dark would make the chickens more scared of the coop.

They seem to relax a little more once I put the light in the coop.

I could take it away tonight and see what happens.

I am going to work on building a new ramp to the coop, I will
let you all know what happens.

Thanks for all the help.