Our problem was that after we removed the cardboard layer from the coop to transform it from brooder mode to coop mode, they were happy to huddle up under the trailer instead of going up and into it, especially since the slatted floor allowed light from the (for a few days still on at night)...
Thanks @NatJ
I moved them last week, and set up a roll of the netting I use for my sheep (48" tall) which has large holes but is very visible and white, with a roll of much smaller 20" tall electric netting that's dark green with small holes, stretched around/against the taller netting...
So a light inside the coop will work on chicks? I legit do not know, I've never dealt with chickens that I ever had to lure back into their coop before, I've always been able to lure them into a secure run and let them do what they like from there.
Same! And since we do not/will not have a run, I don't think that recall can be taught any more effectively than offering tasty snacks. Which, frankly, works like a charm for my sheep. They'll eat animal crackers out of my border collie's mouth, but we haven't gotten there yet with the chickens.
In our case, the only "treats" they've been given so far are bits of grass I've dug up for them to dig around in. I assume I'll need to get some high value treats and work on getting them treat trained prior to letting them outside?
Part of the reason I brooded them in their coop was...
We have ~50 chicks that are 4 weeks old today. Up til now, they've spent their lives inside their permanent mobile coop, converted to brooder mode inside our unheated pole barn. Next week I plan to move the trailer out into our garden area, run an extension cord to it for the heat lamps, and...