Bodhisan
Songster
I ask this because a few nights ago, two of our hens, somehow, did not make it into the coop before the auto door shut. The timer is set to shut 30 minutes after dark, and all's been well since late winter a number of months ago. I get up rather early in the morning, and when I do get up (2:30-3:30 a.m.), I always look at the coop camera to check them out on their roost. I was shocked to see only one hen out of our three, along with three young production blues, sitting on the roost. I immediately went out, and it was raining, of course. But my two hens were huddled by the door, so my first thought was that of relief in that the were safe. My second thought was that once I opened the door, they would scramble to get in.
That was not the case. They just sat there.
My layout is an 8' x 10' coop with an attached covered 8'x10' run that is predator proof, and then I've got an attached 300 sq. ft. or-so extended run that is connected by the automatic pop door. I can get into that extended run, but it's only 4' high with bird netting, and I would have to half crawl - through scat and more scat - and the entry is the opposite end of the pop door. So I took a stick and gently prodded the hen closest to the door, and she begrudgingly and slowly moved...and sat in the doorway. I prodded her again, and she stepped down into the covered run, but really blocking the door. I couldn't get the other hen to go in - I would hold the stick in front of her, but she (twice) just stepped over it, moving away from the door - and quite slowly and zombie-like.
After 20 minutes of fighting this unproductive behavior, I finally had to make the decision to close the door and leave her out. When the sun started to rise, she was okay, and after 30 minutes of them all foraging, it all seemed to be forgotten.
Anyway - if chickens are that lethargic and nonreactive at night, it would be no wonder that a predator could take advantage with such a huge toll. Any knowledge about chicken behavior at night that might be similar - or dissimilar?
That was not the case. They just sat there.
My layout is an 8' x 10' coop with an attached covered 8'x10' run that is predator proof, and then I've got an attached 300 sq. ft. or-so extended run that is connected by the automatic pop door. I can get into that extended run, but it's only 4' high with bird netting, and I would have to half crawl - through scat and more scat - and the entry is the opposite end of the pop door. So I took a stick and gently prodded the hen closest to the door, and she begrudgingly and slowly moved...and sat in the doorway. I prodded her again, and she stepped down into the covered run, but really blocking the door. I couldn't get the other hen to go in - I would hold the stick in front of her, but she (twice) just stepped over it, moving away from the door - and quite slowly and zombie-like.
After 20 minutes of fighting this unproductive behavior, I finally had to make the decision to close the door and leave her out. When the sun started to rise, she was okay, and after 30 minutes of them all foraging, it all seemed to be forgotten.
Anyway - if chickens are that lethargic and nonreactive at night, it would be no wonder that a predator could take advantage with such a huge toll. Any knowledge about chicken behavior at night that might be similar - or dissimilar?
