chickens wont stay in pen all the time??

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rosesred

rosesred

Hatching
11 Years
Dec 23, 2008
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:rolleyes:helo im a newbie here,

don't know why but our chickens wont stay in their pen . most the time they spend it out in the yard or out in the yard ontop of or in some big wodden boxes made with shelves . they have now taken some of their straw and dragged it out of their pen also i seen.

why are they acting strangely? any suggestions?
 
Do you mean they come out of there coop ?

I have a coop with nesting boxes that I close them up in at night so preditors won't get them. Then i have a run that they can go out to during the day. It is secure so that they cannot be harmed while out there.

I also let them run in my yard to free range but only if IM out there as IM afraid a dog or pther preditor will get them.

welcome-byc.gif
welcome-byc.gif
 
yes they come out of their coop at nite and stay basically out there durring the nite and where i live here in Pa it is icy, cold as heck and rainy right now. i know there takeing the straw out because of the ice but don't know why they are staying out side more then inside. as for preditors they have been being raised with the help of our kind gentle black lab he kinda gaurds them , he is very gentle with them and nevr harms them to him i guess their not only good company but also babies or friends. so i don't think preditors is the problem. this one farmer told my husband they may be in mulett (how evr it's spelled it ..eheh) i just wanted t be sure that this behavior is normal of chickens this is our first time raising them so i been reading and learning many things .




thank you for the replies!
 
Well it is perfectly normal for chickens to be out of their coop during the day. They love scratching around outdoors. However, they should be locked in a predator proof coop at night to stop them roaming. They obviously have decided they want to be outdoors chickens so they are looking for high places outside to sleep at night. Don't let them-predators can & will get them Labrador or no Labrador. Make sure that they are confined & that nothing can get to them as they sleep.
Look at the coop sections of the forum for ideas & sizes of wire. You will be amazed at what predators can get through & once they discover you have birds (which sometimes takes awhile), they will get through if your birds aren't suitably protected.
Moulting is simply when they change their old feathers for new ones like when a dog sheds. They wont do this in winter because they need to keep warm & it doesn't affect anything except their egg production which stops to allow their energy to go into growing new feathers.
 
thank you very much , I will do that keep them in their coop at night . and yes they are doing that slepeing ontop of high wodden boxes so now i know why. ill make sure to tell my hubby so he can attach a door on the coop for them so we can lock them in at nite.



Once again Thankyou!
 
Quote:
ha! yep, that was going to be my response too. Would you like to stay in an enclosed area all day or attempt to be somewhere a bit more free. I, personally, would go for the latter.
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That being said, I understand why you'd want them confined. There's POOP EVERYWHERE in my backyard. Makes for an interesting snowman in this weather...
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If you want them to be confined, you'll need to put a top on their pen or clip their wings, or if they are heavy breeds and young, wait until they fatten up a bit and can't escape.

Good luck!
 
Hi everyone I'm new here and I have a question or a dilemma, our chickens are flying over the fence and over the coop into the backyard, they have eaten all the plants and have now started flying up onto the bird feeders and eating all that food also. We have around 40-45 chickens and they are free range and without the backyard they have about 1/2 acre or more to be in surrounded by woods. What can I do to keep them out of the yard and away from the bird feeders? Please help, thanks Juli
 
You might get more answers if you made a new thread. But all you can really do is fence the chickens in or fence in what ever you are trying to save. You can try cliping their primary flight feathers on one wing to see if that stops them from going over.
 

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