How do you Train Chickens to go into the Coop at Night?

Help! How do you train your chickens to go into the house at night? Our just all huddle together in one corner of the run. It is too HOT in the Summer to lock them up for a few days in the coop. Learning as we go!

[ShirleyCJohnson]

You published this a couple of years ago so you may be pretty experienced by now, but I'll add what I know... When the chicks are ready to come out of the brooder, they need to go to their chicken house and be in quarantine for 3-4 weeks before they are let loose in your yard or where ever. This helps them to remember WHERE home is and the quarantine time there will also help them to remember that night night time is in that location and they will start to head there as it starts to get darker. Hope this helps.

[leonardoprieto]

I Locked them into the coop at dusk, and let them out first thing in the morning. I did this for 3-4 days. By the 4th/5th day, they started to walk into the coop at dusk on their own.

[darksarcasmsvideodiaries]

When my chicks were 7-8 weeks, I locked them inside their coop for 48 hours with food and water. That seemed to bond them to the coop and then went in at night after that.

[KIXSTANZ]

you are absolutely right! I put a light in there and problem solved. Thanks from me and my birds.

[Tiki]

Mrs. Reaganite: An hour before dusk, take a coffee can with a little feed in it and some treats you know they will like, walk through them shaking the can and then sprinkle it in the caged area with the door and little ramp up to the nests. Once the chickens go in to eat it, you shut the door. Chickens are creatures of habit. Eventually, they will learn to go in there every evening for their snack and will figure out it is more comfy in their nests. They always did for us anyway.

[MatthewShermanHappy]

after a week of putting them in your coop at night they should learn, mine took about a week to figure out the game plan

[PurpleSwan]

If you start them off in their roosting quarters by keeping them enclosed there for 2 weeks before you let them leave it, they will return there each night. Obviously, the younger the chickens, the easier it is to do this but it can also be done effectively with older chickens, as well. Or, if they are older chickens, you can just gather them up each night and place them in their roosting quarters and close the door and let them out in the morning for a period of 2 weeks to teach them.

[stuartsheil]

Treats .. like a puppy .. call them put food in there like a reward 😎

[karenriggle]

my chickens were a bit older before I left them out in the run I set up a light on a timer that would come on half an hour before dark and go off half an hour after dark  I only had to help them 2or3 times they naturally will perch on perches 3to4 feet off the ground and shut outside door for protection at night open in the morning mine are free range chickens so I would also open and close the run .At dusk they would all head for the run and scratch around a bit the darker it got the closer to the light they would go until they are all in.

[onedazinn]

I like what Itsearlable said about new hatchlings, but if you have older pullets that are unfamiliar to new housing, you could possibly just place some treats leading up into the next box area to train them to go in. Be patient the first few nights and let them walk up pecking at the treats.  Like any other animal, consistancy is the key & they will associate the nest house with comfort & safety :)

[bucketrocks]

I am new to this (a few weeks now). The first night i helped them in. And then it dawned on me that a treat might help. So, i started giving them a midnite snack of table scraps, placed in their sleeping quarters, near their inside waterer. They liked the idea and so i've kept doing it. Oats, cheese, mealworms, lettuce, spaghetti, ham, banana, e cheese tortellini... whatever is handy. Not a full meal, just a treat. By the time i make it to the side of the coop, the last of the birds is going up the ramp and i'll shut 'em in for the night. Then i'll peak thru the side slide vent and wish the ladies a good nite and wish them well. I do keep a light on for them, so they can see at nite. Will swap to a 12vdc t10 LED in a powerade bottle from the overhead brooder W\ 60W AC real soon, is getting warmer here and don't want to roast 'em. You posted 6 years ago, but thought it might help others... Can't say if what i'm doing is good or bad from an animal husbandry perspective, but it is working and am confident they enjoy it.

[allie-]

I found out that putting them in the coop every night at the same time for about a week or two, I would repeat the words, Coop Up, and push them up the ramp into the coop, after that first week with a little pushing of the tail feathers, I would go out tell them to coop up and up the ramp they would go, some still manage to run away from the ramp but what one chicken does they all wanna do it. so just constancy and patience. Now I go out and they are already in the coop all I have to do is close the door.

[pjbridges]

Mine roost outside in the run during the hot months. They are safe in their run so I let them. They will move back to their house in the fall when it begins to cool. Funny though... They always lay their eggs in the house no matter where they roost.

[brandonpeart]

I've had chickens my whole life once they're old enough to go outside it can be a challenge but eventually they adjust to going into the coop if you put them in every night for a few days they usually go in after a week or so, but I mean all chickens are different

[pamt]

I did this tonight!! It WORKED!! We have been catching them and putting them up for their first 2 nights and that was a chore. Not able to keep them cooped up because we have a 2 yr old hen with them and in a Tiny pre fab coop is not feasible. (the 3 chicks are about 9 weeks). We put an led lantern in close to the door and about 10 mins later we went to check and they were in the coop!!! Thanks for the idea!! Really appreciate it!!!

[loreelolev]

Try putting the light on a timer so it will go off after they have all gone to bed.
It is also important to have food but most important to have water in their house as well. I do like the suggestion to have a smaller light or less bright, I would say use a florescent type shop light  it will save you money and not be to overwhelming for the chickens. To much light especially when they need rest can confuse them, so try a timer and florescent bulbs instead, your electric bill and chickens will thank you.

[ryanrichards]

Keep them in there for a couple of nights in a row until they get used to it. Once they are used to it, it turns into a natural instinct.

[sdhjirhgh]

I had a golden retriever that learn just by watching me do it. They would go into the woods were it was to thick for me and she would get every single one in. teach your dogs to do that they learn fast.

[MuhammadKenYT]

on my experience, why the chicken grouping in one spot at night are they are freezing, grouping close to each other gives them heat that toduced from their body. I used to install a 25-60watts light bulb (not the energy saver type) in their coop to help them warm up their body.

[countrygirlxo]

Omg this makes me so excited to get chickens 💕💕