The Coop Light "Trick" WORKS!

[castillo_de_luz]

Five pullets, second night as a chicken keeper. Night #1 I had to grab each girl and put her in the coop by hand, and I sat there until the auto-door closed. A little stressful for all of us.

So I did my internet sleuthing and read that putting a small light inside the coop before dusk will encourage them to go in on their own. So I grabbed a cheap plastic battery-powered tealight (warm, soft light) and popped it in there about an hour before the door shuts.

I waited... patiently... peeking at the coop cam every 10 minutes or so... hmmm, no movement.

AND THEN!

At around 5 minutes until door close time, suddenly one girl hopped up onto the ladder. Another followed. There was some jostling at the door, and a third started coming up too. They went inside, #4 followed, and #5 came barreling in after. There was a bit more jockeying for position (miss #5 got booted out entirely once -- guess we know how the pecking order is going) and then they were all in. No movement on the cam.

The door closed. Perfection.

Postscript:
Yes, I went out and quietly removed the light. They were all huddled up together and I probably woke them up, but they'll settle again I'm sure.

You're the only people who could possibly understand my elation that this little light did the trick. I don't know if I'll need to repeat it or not, but I am SO glad it worked!

 

[wrathsfarm]

That's awesome.. you may need to repeat for a few nights or so but they'll eventually start relating the dusk light as their trigger to head inside.

 

[castillo_de_luz]

That's awesome.. you may need to repeat for a few nights or so but they'll eventually start relating the dusk light as their trigger to head inside.

Thank you, I'll do it again tonight and hope it continues to work. I don't know why I was so skeptical, but I just didn't expect something so simple to actually be effective!

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Yep, for sure agree. It's been my process for 20years. I have electricity in my coop though so it's easy. I turn the light on when i let them out every morning. Then shut it off when I lock them up at night. The light get's them in there earlier than sundown so they are safe from predators who come out before sunset.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Like everything else with chickens, sometimes things work and sometimes they don't. I'm glad this worked for you and wish you continued success. It makes life so much easier when simple things work.

As I'm sure you know sunset is getting later every day in the northern hemisphere. They may go to bed earlier on cloudy days as opposed to bright sunny days. It is a complication but watch what time of day the sun is going down. You will be adjusting the timing on that door.

 

[castillo_de_luz]

Yep, for sure agree. It's been my process for 20years. I have electricity in my coop though so it's easy. I turn the light on when i let them out every morning. Then shut it off when I lock them up at night. The light get's them in there earlier than sundown so they are safe from predators who come out before sunset.

I wish I could run electrical out there. For now my manually placed little candle will have to suffice! It definitely is nice to see them go in before it's actually dark.

 

[castillo_de_luz]

Like everything else with chickens, sometimes things work and sometimes they don't. I'm glad this worked for you and wish you continued success. It makes life so much easier when simple things work.

As I'm sure you know sunset is getting later every day in the northern hemisphere. They may go to bed earlier on cloudy days as opposed to bright sunny days. It is a complication but watch what time of day the sun is going down. You will be adjusting the timing on that door.

For now, my auto door is set for light sensitivity. So in theory it responds to a predetermined % of light it detects and waits about 20 minutes before closing. So... if the girls are also going inside at around the same light % they'll hopefully make it in even on cloudy days.

It's only been 3 days though so, what do I know!

 

[SandyRiverChick]

run electrical

Extension cord maybe? Before we did wiring, I had a buried extension cord.

 

[Asizz]

My pullets are out for their 2nd night. They see me coming then chirp I think expecting to come back in the house. We were just talking at dinner about maybe adding one of those cheap battery operated under-cabinet push lights to help, both nights I’ve lifted them all in. (We have an Omlet Cube so no electricity.)