Are my pullets uniquely stupid .. or just typical dumb clucks?

[Hens_And_Chicks]

Yep - not real bright but very personable - they probably just need a little assistance getting re-oriented with their new living quarters.

Be a good chicken daddy and tuck them in each night

 

[joebryant]

They usually learn to walk down a ramp, but they prefer to fly up. Is your pop door to the run so high that they have to have a ramp? If the height is too much, try putting a landing platform midway between the pop door and the ground. Same for their getting on the roost inside the coop.
Using a plastic screen behind the landing platform, I forced mine to hop halfway up/down rather than flying out so far with the possibiliy of breaking their legs (or necks).
BTW, I had a ladder of 2x4's for them before the ramp, but I removed it because they would fly down.
EDIT: Shortly after this picture was taken, I cut off the plastic screen at the bottom and anchored it to the back of the landing platform; that left them the full 4x8 floor.
BTW #2, if chickens were any smarter, they wouldn't be as funny or as much fun.

 

[Patchesnposies]

We moved our babies out of the brooder and into a pen with a dog crate for shelter. After putting them into the crate for two nights, at dusk, they started to put themselves away in it at the same time. All we had to do was shut the door.

That being said, chickens are silly things, because now, well after they have moved into the coop and pen with the older birds (months) they still want to go back to their old pen and sleep in the kennel.

I guess once they have learned a thing-they are creatures of great habit.

 

[GregM]

Thanks, everyone, for your good advice. Seems to be working. About half of 'em figured things out last night. The others ought to follow suit soon (I hope ...)

 

[cmom]

I put my birds in their coop for a few nights. I started giving them scratch treats in the coop in the evenings. Also I have a 11 watt red sign light bulb in the coop that I just leave on. They all go in at night and no more nightly treats.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Can't remember who, but when I first came here someone told me that if they figure out the way to get out of the coop, they will know the way back in.

So that's what I did. I put them in the coop and left them there until they figure out how to get in and out.

 

[beginnerchick08]

when i did this i had to put each one in the coop at night and shut the doors. after they got use to going in and out and staying in at night i started leaving the doors open all the time.