Yes, move them at night in the dark. I recently 'changed around' some chickens and it took about a week of picking them up while asleep and putting them where I wanted them. One roo caught on quickly and sometimes a hen would join him but often he was alone and I'd have to move the other 5. And it has to be dark. The night I tried to move them while I could still see them they all flew off and I had to come back later. Now they all go into where I want them and I just close the coop for the night.
--- On Sun, 1/31/10, Jessica <t_methvin@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: Jessica <t_methvin@hotmail.com>
Subject: [CHICKENS-101] Re: nesting boxes
To: CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, January 31, 2010, 3:59 PM
I had a similar problem and I managed to fix it by going out a little after dark and picking up the young chickens that were sleeping in the boxes and putting them on the roosts by hand (making sure they were on a different roost then my older hens). Since I kept the overhead light off and the flashlight REALLY DIM and since I've heard chickens can't really see well in the dark the young chickens actually stayed on the roost where I put them.
I was amazed how short of time it took to get them to roost on their own... only a week or so.
Also you could go in just before dark and physically block the nesting boxes so the young ones can't sleep there...of course that means getting up at the crack of dawn and uncovering them so your poor hens can lay eggs in them when they wake.
Hope this helps!
I'm so EGG-cited (hahahaha I couldn't help it) because I got my first pullet egg yesterday! Yay me!
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