Hi! Just be careful - a lot of those cute little coops are concentration camps and make them really miserable! Think about your weather, your predators, and whether you can stand up in there with them! It is way more fun to visit and clean when you are able to stand up!
most of mine have learned early. However I got a pretty orpington hen as an adult and she still prefers to sleep on a shelf - I guess its harder to learn late in life. Even if I go in and put her on the perch with the others, she never learns to do it on her own. The rest learned as chicks.
I once had a lovely pet rooster when living in a condo in hawaii. Fortunately there was a lot of open space around us and the nice manager didn't mind as long as I didn't let him wake people up. My solution: He free ranged in the day time and went in a cat kennel in the car at night. Muffled...
If you will want to spend less time but still have happy chickens, you have to set it up so they have room to roam but are safe too, even when you are away for longer hours. I use an electric poultry fence so they have a 150 ft perimeter and then I don't feel bad if I am gone for most of the...
I had the same problem and now I have an electric poultry mesh with a solar charger. Every now and then one of those dogs hits it and goes yelping off into the distance. I have not lost a chicken to dogs since 2009. It is the dogs nature to kill and it is pet owners nature to want to let their...
Actually, Linoleum is still in use and is different from vinyl. It is made of linseed oil and various wood and cork flours. It is having a resurgence because of the concern for the environment - it is all biodegradable and is not made from petroleum like vinyl. Marmoleum is a brand name I've...
I did look at that one. Ran into reviews of seams lifting and a funny smell. Friends here have Pergo and like it, but I'm still trying for environmentally friendly.