Why won't my chickens go into the coop at night???

[samandemsmommy]

I have about 25 chickens outside- all but 3 of them put themselves up every night in the coop when it gets dark. The three babies--they are about 6 weeks old- they huddle together in the yard and I have to go out every night, pick them up and put them in the coop myself. Why won't they follow everyone else?

 

[sourland]

If they are smaller than the rest of the flock, it is very likely that 'someone' is guarding the coop door and pecking at them if they enter.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

At 6 weeks they are still quite young so will need a little help to realise where home is on a night. When I move chicks out of the brooding shed into a coop they need some encouragement to go in on an evening. After a while they soon know what to do and get the hang of going in. Are your roosts high? Can they easily get into the coop? As they are still young they may still be needing the comfort and security of each other for a while longer. Have they just been with your older birds all the time or have you just added them?

 

[samandemsmommy]

It's so funny that the day I posted this question- that evening I went out to pick them up and take them to the coop and low and behold they had made it to the run...not into the coop- but it was a start! LOL... last night, I went out and they had actually walked into the coop on their own!

 

[cra-zchicknlady]

I'm having a similar problem. They only got into their new coop a week ago, and I'm still having to pick them up and put them inside at night. I think its because we built a raised coop to give them some extra shade and space during the day, and they want to bunk down underneath at night. Here's hoping they get the idea.