Are Chickens smart enough to winterize?

[Lostdog]

This is my first winter having chickens and I use pine chips on the bottom of their coop.They kicked a nice pile of pine into one corner.It's not even the corner they slleep in,it's the complete opposite one.My dh and I figured maybe that corner is drafty and they are killing the draft.Would this make sense or are they just randomly tossing chips?

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

My moneys on randomly tossing chips.

Ours scratch around on the floor and usually they kick up bare spots so it piles up...... until they decide to look under it. Then it gets piled somewhere else.

Our hens are smart enough to stay inside when its really cold out but that's about all the credit I'd give them.

 

[patandchickens]

Mine create the same sorts of 'banks' of shavings. Partly just as a course of their normal activities (high-traffic areas get the shavings kicked outta them into low-traffic areas) and partly as a result of scratching around looking for bits of scratch or spilled food or 'lost' treats.

You can tell if there's a draft there. If the 'lick your finger and hold it up' method is insufficiently precise for you, hold a thin strip of kleenex or a lit candle (careful!) and see if you see a breeze. This won't tell you if that corner is just *colder*, of course.

I rake down the banks periodically so that none of the floor gets too thinly covered, also they like that b/c then they can play around scratching in it all over again

Have fun,

Pat