There's a special kind of chaos that only happens at dusk in a chicken yard. You've got the older hens marching in like they own the place, which, let's be honest, they do, and then you've got the teenagers. Two-month-old chicks who spent the whole day pretending they're part of the flock, only to stage a full-blown rebellion when the sun goes down. This reader's situation is frustrating, sure, but it's also hilarious in that way only chicken people understand. You love them. You also want to gently shove them into a coop and lock the door.
The good news is nothing here sounds broken. The chicks are eating with the big birds, drinking without drama, and sleeping peacefully beside them once they're inside. That's huge. That's the flock integration victory most of us dream about. The problem is strictly a timing issue, they don't want to go to bed when the grown-ups do. And honestly? That's pretty on-brand for a two-month-old anything. They're not scared. They're not being bullied. They're just being stubborn little cluckers who think they know better.
So what do you do? The physical placement method you're already using is actually the right move, even if it feels like you're herding tiny feathered toddlers into a bathtub. At this age, they don't have the instinct to follow the flock into the coop at dusk. That's something they learn by repetition. Every night you put them in, you're wiring that path into their tiny dinosaur brains. The fact that one of them voluntarily walked in on the second night? That's progress. That's a win. The others will catch up, probably just in time to make you forget this whole headache ever happened.
Our honest take? Give it another week of the same routine. Shove, block, repeat. They'll figure it out because chickens are creatures of habit, even the rebellious ones. And if they don't? Well, you've already proven you can catch them in the dark. That's a skill that pays dividends in the chicken world. Just keep your patience handy and your sense of humor closer, because nothing says "fowl play" quite like a teenager who refuses to come inside for bedtime.