Won't share chicken coop

[horsefeathers09]

I have a chicken coop twice as big as I need for my 8 birds. The first group of three are 10 months old and later I added 5 more that are now 5 months old. They have been exposed to each other from the very beginning but were section off in the coop. They are all free range now, but the original 3 won't let them in the coop at night. So I have 5 birds crammed into a teeny coop built for two! It's hardly suitable for inclement weather, and I would like to use that teeny coop for something else - like chicken jail or a chicken hospital! They are all friendly to each other, and all the birds are all in and out of the large coop all day, except for night. What can I do?

 

[Imp]

Try moving them in at night, in the dark. It might take a few times for it to set in.

or

Take out the original chickens, and give the coop to the new chickens, Shake up the pecking order.

Keep an eye on things so they don't hurt one another.

Good luck,
Imp

 

[horsefeathers09]

ok, thank you, I'll give it a try.