Was it a fluke?

[rosemarythyme]

I know they didn't all repeat the behavior, but it really is instinctual, so not a fluke.

My last batch of chicks at 15 days old were reliably returning to their brooder (with full run access during the day) at sunset, because that's where their heat source is. At 29 days old they homed themselves to the adult coop only 2 days after being locked out of the brooder (of course part of that is they're following the adults, but still, that was much faster than I anticipated!)

 

[fuzzi]

I've seen an article here somewhere in which a guy made a chicken tractor with exterior hardware cloth aprons around all four sides. The aprons were hinged to the frame, so that he could raise them to move the tractor, then lay them back down in the new location. I think he used landscape pins or similar to fix them in place. Just a thought.

I think @aart made a tractor with a HWC apron that could be repositioned during moves.

 

[LouiseG]

Thank you.

It's not as safe as I would like it. It's not wire dug in the ground all around it safe but it is double stakes for each corner and every foot along the ground safe plus bricks on the nesting box hatch safe. We move it around the yard every week or so. During the day they have 3 dogs and a barn cat that monitor the yard. At night the dogs will patrol if they hear something. If something wanted in could they get in? Probably but not without me being alerted when I'm home.

My run has about the same security as yours (dogs and stakes), but my coop is like Fort Knox - provided the door gets closed! I found where a raccoon had pulled up a stake on the run and got into it during the night, but couldn't get the coop door open. I was getting lax on closing the coop door, now I have an alarm on my phone that I adjust for 15 minutes before sunset each day, and I just go sit with them until they go in for the night and then shut them in. I also put out a live trap, just in case, where I would prefer any critter would go instead of into my run.

 

[BBQ2U]

My chicks are 3 weeks old give or take a few days. They are in an outdoor brooder with all day access to their run since it's been really warm this past week. They still have a heat plate up in their coop but for the most part I've seen the temps in the coop get to almost 90 during the day and in the mid 60's overnight. On a normal day I come home about 5ish and check on them (please read that as play and love on them) and as the sun goes does tuck them back up in their coop and close the coop up tight, but last night I had a late class. I had expected them to be in a huddle puddle in their run under the coop but to my shock they had all gotten themselves into the coop and were "sleeping". I'm new to having chicks so was that some sort of fluke or are they really that smart/instinctual?

They say they are related to dinosaurs? Not sure about that, but I am sure they've survived in the wild without any humans. The word Rooster actually is derived from two words, roosts here. The roosters has been given the instincts for breeding, finding food, finding safe places to lay their eggs, fending off predators, and finding a safe place to roost. If there is no roosters, there usually is a dominant hen who will fulfill many of these duties. They are creatures of habit.

 

[Mark Park]

Thank you.

It's not as safe as I would like it. It's not wire dug in the ground all around it safe but it is double stakes for each corner and every foot along the ground safe plus bricks on the nesting box hatch safe. We move it around the yard every week or so. During the day they have 3 dogs and a barn cat that monitor the yard. At night the dogs will patrol if they hear something. If something wanted in could they get in? Probably but not without me being alerted when I

Thank you.

It's not as safe as I would like it. It's not wire dug in the ground all around it safe but it is double stakes for each corner and every foot along the ground safe plus bricks on the nesting box hatch safe. We move it around the yard every week or so. During the day they have 3 dogs and a barn cat that monitor the yard. At night the dogs will patrol if they hear something. If something wanted in could they get in? Probably but not without me being alerted when I'm home.

There's an easier way to keep the predators out than digging in wire.

Just lay a 2 foot wide strip of chicken wire or some other mesh flat on top of the ground outside the run. Attach it firmly to the fence -- you can do this with zip ties or tie-wire. Now scatter some dirt and seed it to match the surrounding lawn or whatever else is growing around your fence. In time the grass will grow through the chicken wire and it will become invisible.

Any digging predator -- coyote, fox, jackal, feral dog, rat -- depending on where you are will attemot to dig down at the fence -- not 3 ft out. It will try in a few places, fail, and give up.

You can get rid of climbing predators -- cats, coyotes, whatever -- with a strand of electric fence wire. It should be about 6 inches away from the fance, near the top. You can install it on little wooden arms nailed to each post. Make sure to look all around your perimeter to make sure there isn't a wall, fence, tree that a climber can jump in from.

Airborne predators -- owls, hawks, etc. -- can also be foiled. Criss-cross a roll of fishing line in both directions and diagonally. Make sure it's nice and tight and strong enough to take a hit. Any bird of prey that swoops in will hit the fishing line and quickly change its plans. It 8s useful to remember that chickens are originally jungle birds that forage on the ground under a canopy of trees. Find some tin sheets, plywood, old tables, etc. or build somethings from scratch that your chickens can run under for cover if alarmed. These things also enrich the environment, give the roosters something to argue over, and otherwise make life in the chicken run more interesting Remember to check these places for eggs if you do this.

 

[Mark Park]

They say they are related to dinosaurs? Not sure about that, but I am sure they've survived in the wild without any humans. The word Rooster actually is derived from two words, roosts here. The roosters has been given the instincts for breeding, finding food, finding safe places to lay their eggs, fending off predators, and finding a safe place to roost. If there is no roosters, there usually is a dominant hen who will fulfill many of these duties. They are creatures of habit.

If you want proof that they are descended from dinosaurs, cut some beef, pork, or lamb liver into wormlike strips and watch them turn into little veloceraptors as they go into a feeding frenzy.

 

[RcoM]

Hey, all I have are silkies. I can't help it they aren't the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Ha ha ha ha! They cannot be dumber than Guinea Fowl. And my chickens are really smart! I have taught them all sorts of tricks. And they duck weave and cock eye at the sky like pro’s

 

[fuzzi]

Ha ha ha ha! They cannot be dumber than Guinea Fowl. And my chickens are really smart! I have taught them all sorts of tricks. And they duck weave and cock eye at the sky like pro’s

I have bantams. They're simple but I wouldn't call them dumb, just sometimes inexperienced.

I find it funny, but also intriguing when the treats are gone, they'll come up to me, making noises that sound just like queries, raising the pitch of their cheeps just as we humans do when asking questions. "Ba bah?"

Martha pecks gently on my skirt to get my attention.

 

[awagnon]

I have bantams. They're simple but I wouldn't call them dumb, just sometimes inexperienced.

I find it funny, but also intriguing when the treats are gone, they'll come up to me, making noises that sound just like queries, raising the pitch of their cheeps just as we humans do when asking questions. "Ba bah?"

Martha pecks gently on my skirt to get my attention.

View attachment 3744714

awwww She looks like my Willow! I am about to get her 2 little SS friends cause the other chickens shun and pick on her sometimes. SS are becoming my FAVES, right behind the Buff Orpies.