Has anybody managed to deal with this?
Every time we clean out the coop and put new straw into it our four naughty red sex link hens will stop whatever they are doing and rush joyfully over to the new bedding and kick it all out of the coop, leaving not much more than a bare floor. There's a lip on their pop hole but that doesn't seem to stop them, and I can't increase the size of the lip much as it's not a big door.
Not allowing them access to the coop until bed time doesn't seem to have much effect - as soon as they are allowed access they start kicking it out. They will ignore all distractions in the way of treats - even their favorite mealworms. I could swear they're even working as a team now, with two inside the coop scratching the straw towards the door, one in the doorway, kicking it out and one just outside, spreading the straw around. It creates a horrible mess in their pen too!
Do you reckon I should just stop worrying about it - it makes it more difficult to clean and obviously I'd prefer something absorbent in the coop for the sake of mopping up all the damp they're traipsing in from outside.
The only other thing I can think is whether they'd behave if I changed their bedding to something else.
Suggestions much appreciated!
Every time we clean out the coop and put new straw into it our four naughty red sex link hens will stop whatever they are doing and rush joyfully over to the new bedding and kick it all out of the coop, leaving not much more than a bare floor. There's a lip on their pop hole but that doesn't seem to stop them, and I can't increase the size of the lip much as it's not a big door.
Not allowing them access to the coop until bed time doesn't seem to have much effect - as soon as they are allowed access they start kicking it out. They will ignore all distractions in the way of treats - even their favorite mealworms. I could swear they're even working as a team now, with two inside the coop scratching the straw towards the door, one in the doorway, kicking it out and one just outside, spreading the straw around. It creates a horrible mess in their pen too!
Do you reckon I should just stop worrying about it - it makes it more difficult to clean and obviously I'd prefer something absorbent in the coop for the sake of mopping up all the damp they're traipsing in from outside.
The only other thing I can think is whether they'd behave if I changed their bedding to something else.
Suggestions much appreciated!