Training chickens to go back to the Coop

The Coop is finally done, minus a little staining on some trim that was added. The run is complete too and filled with sand. The only thing left to figure out was the best technique for getting chickens into the coop at night!

Turns out we didn’t need to do much other than have some patience. Lots of sources suggest start by keeping the chickens in their coop for several days or a couple of weeks to teach them the coop is home. We did this without knowing because the run wasn’t finished when the chicks went into the coop. Had to keep them inside for safety except when the kids and I took them out to roam.

The next part is not as simple. Some suggested giving them treats until they were motivated by the treats. This was a fail. For days I was chasing chickens and putting them up in the coop by hand. Not fun especially because the Mosquito Fiesta has only gotten worse. We thought about using a red laser to guide them up the stairs, but the laser was no where to be found.

Hubby Knows Best

The Hubby wanted to just leave them alone until they figured it out themselves. I was still worried about their safety in the run and was afraid they might stay out all night. Well, after about a week of chicken chasing I gave in and listened to the hubby. We waited and waited and around 8:45 pm everyone but the two Buffs had gone inside! It was easy to wrangle them and put them inside. The next night, everyone was inside by 9:00! Happy Dance!

The next night again it took until 8:45. I wished they would just go to bed a little earlier. Last night everyone was in bed by 8:30! I can live with that!

Getting chickens into the coop at night?

Patience is the key!