When will they go in at night?

[kdavis228]

I have 26 4 week old and they won't go in at night. I have to put them up every night. What can I do?

 

[Strange_Screams]

They're young, they need someone to follow, I would keep them locked up for a little while. They will be a lot more independent in a few weeks.

 

[WalkingWolf]

Put food where you want them to go.

 

[kdavis228]

They have food in the coop and in the run, but every night at dark thirty I have to go put them in and on their roost!

 

[BoltonChicken]

Patience, patience, patience.

Chickens are born knowing what to do and will do it. Maybe not when you expect them to, but they will do it eventually.
Many on this forum say that chickens will start roosting reliably at 12 to 16 weeks. You have a long way to go.
Remember one fact: You can't force or teach or train a chicken to do ANYTHING.

 

[gritsar]

If it's not too hot in their coop, lock them in for a week, with no access at all to the outside. This will train their little brains.

 

[kdavis228]

It's just hard waiting!

 

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:
4 weeks is a tad early to expect them to roost, they are probably still in the cuddling stage. Like another poster said leave them in the coop for a week if it is not too hot. If you cannot do that then gradually reduce the amount of food in the run until they are hungry enough at bedtime to return to the coop. Also add some treats in the food in the coop, if they are hungry they will go in, make sure they have a place to cuddle in the coop until they start to roost.

 

[Marshchick]

I'm new to chickens myself, and we live in a cold climate so ours didn't even go out into their coop until they were 8 weeks. I'd let them out for a while during the day, and then for the 1st 2 weeks, it was a challenge getting them all in at night. It took about a week before they figured out the roost. We'd put a few up there now and then so the others could see what to do, but we let them figure it out. Now at night, they come in, eat and drinks and withing 20 minutes they are all on the roost.

Now they've been in their coop for 3 weeks or so and at night they just go in on their own when they are ready. We just keep an eye out to the coop when it's starting to get dark, and when we notice they're in we go lock the door. It's amazing how quickly they picked it up!

 

[Speed]

Mine are all about 16 weeks now but we have had them out in the coop since they were 8 weeks. The first week they were out we had to corral them all in, the second week was much easier and by the third week they were going in all on their own just before dark. It's like clock work now, 8:10 pm every night they are all in. At first they didn't use the roosts but now they do, they all huddle to one end (the same side) of 2 roosts. They look cramped up like that but they must be happy otherwise they would spread out more.