Getting chickens into coop at night.

[BigBlueHen53]

Hang in there, it will get better!

 

[HenpeckedBabble]

They may not go in if the coop is dark, it's scary because they can't see into the interior. Even a small night light could help, and once they're settled you can turn it off. They won't sleep if it's brightly lit all night. As Mrs. K said, young birds tend to stay up later than their older sisters, gotta get that one last bug before Lights Out, lol.

Thanks for your response. It really helped me transition my chicks from the brooder to the coop.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thanks for your response. It really helped me transition my chicks from the brooder to the coop.

Glad to have helped.

 

[ArizonaDream]

So I have 6 x 9 week old chickens in my coop. This is their second week in the coop. First week I kept them inside to get acclimated to their new home. A few days ago I set up the automatic door (opens and closes with daylight) Run chicken. However my chickens will not go inside at night. I have a fully enclosed predator and weather proof run but I want them to go inside for the extra security. My wife seems to think it’s because I installed a roosting bar in the run. This is where they go at night but I’ve seen plenty of runs with areas to roost.

Two nights in a row we’ve had to manually place them inside the coop and shut the door. What are some tips to training them to go inside and should I remove outside roost? I was going to order some solar lights off Amazon to try?

Thanks

I added a picture of my coop and run just prior to being finished. I also added a picture of the lights I was gonna try.

I have 4 of those lights in my coop, I turn them on before dusk and they light up the inside of the coop and illuminate the automatic door, the lights have multiple levels, I set them bright before dusk after everyone is in I turn off 3 of them and leave one on a dim setting as a night lite. Supposedly chickens can’t see well in the dark so I figured if they had a beacon it would help. It works pretty well but I seem to always have a couple of stragglers. I open and close my coop manually even with the automatic door just to make sure.

 

[FourintheRun]

My birds are all 10 week old buff orpingtons. They don't go back into the coop either they all just pule on top of one another in a secure dark corner of the run. The run is predator proof but I would think come fall and winter it will be cold if this is their set pattern. I too have a light on in the shed which is where their coop is. They could care less about following the light. Every night so far when it is dark and they are too sleep to run feom me I put them back through the door into their coop, but I don't want this to be my pattern either. I think I'm just going to try chucking meal worms up the ramp and into the coop to see if they follow the treats. Fingers crossed!

 

[FourintheRun]

I have just finished our new “coop shed” (4 x 6) for our 4 hens who are now 7 months old. We moved their covered run to attach to the coop, all is secure & predator proof. The previous small coop they have been using (and roosting on top of and laying inside of) is still in the run, because they seem to be scared of the new coop and run out as soon as we put them in. I put mealworms in the new coop, all over, up the ramps to the roosts and in the nice nesting boxes, so hope they sniff them out and look around! I guess lights inside will be my next addition. Any other suggestions?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I have just finished our new “coop shed” (4 x 6) for our 4 hens who are now 7 months old. We moved their covered run to attach to the coop, all is secure & predator proof. The previous small coop they have been using (and roosting on top of and laying inside of) is still in the run, because they seem to be scared of the new coop and run out as soon as we put them in. I put mealworms in the new coop, all over, up the ramps to the roosts and in the nice nesting boxes, so hope they sniff them out and look around! I guess lights inside will be my next addition. Any other suggestions?

Lock them in the new coop for a few days, remove the old entirely (or block it off). If you give them the option to go to the old one they have no reason to change.

 

[FourintheRun]

Lock them in the new coop for a few days, remove the old entirely (or block it off). If you give them the option to go to the old one they have no reason to change.

Thank you rosemarythyme, we shall do that. I’ll let you know how it goes.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Good luck! Hoping for success!

 

[FourintheRun]

Good luck! Hoping for success!

Thanks, and I like your scripture, BigBlueHen53.