Chicken bedtime, and other freaking weird quirks!

[PeppersPeeps]

So, my 4 ladies are 12+ weeks old and still look like ladies, so yay! But they are driving me nutty...

First: They want to sleep on the roost in their run instead of going in their coop. I’ve lowered the roost twice in case it was too high. I give them supervised “yard time” as soon as the sun goes down enough to not cook me... but maybe it’s too late in the day? It’s been super hot in Mass. But tonight I went out for dinner and was home around 8 and they were all in the coop. I’m so confused.

Second: I made them a feeder. I’m going to try to attach a pic, but it’s basically a pvc street bend in a plastic pretzel container from BJs. They eat from it when I put it in the run, but ignore it when it’s in the coop. I want to put the feeder in an extra nesting box in the coop (I have 4 boxes for 4 chickens, and the feeder fits perfectly in a nesting box) but they won’t go in the coop to eat from it. BUT, they did go in the coop to eat from their little chick feeder. Grrr

That’s about it for now. I love my ladies. I read everything on this site for months before I finally got chicks 2 months ago... Pepper is my dog BTW. She’s only interested in chicken cookies (aka poop). Dumb dog. My daughter in the pic, if it loads, says hi!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Welcome!
Roosting in the run is pretty common. They love fresh air. I imagine the heat also contributes to the behavior.
A friend of mine has a nice big coop, well appointed and looks like a chicken palace. All of her chickens have always slept on the roost in the attached run, year round. It gets well below 0F but they still want to be outside at night.
When they start laying, don't be surprised if they all use the same nest box. One box to every 4 or so birds is plenty.

 

[aart]

Yeppers, chickens are fickle, no doubt about it!

Pics of your coop and run would help give us clues to what might need to be changed.

Put the feeder where you want it, as long as they can reach it OK they will eat out of it when they get hungry enough, might take a little time tho.

 

[PeppersPeeps]

I hope I did the pictures the right way.

Here is a pic of my coop, run, feeder (outside), waterer, and some glamour shots of my ladies.

The waterers are these awesome bottle toppers for $2 each on Amazon. The little silver feeder has grit.

The coop came pre-made from our local Agway and is super sturdy. The run is a 5x10 kennel with a heavy gauge wire apron. I have no tools or building skills, so I needed everything as preassembled as possible.

 

[GrannyHeeney]

Loving the wee blonde Also loving how you put the pavers around the outside. 2 Easter Eggers, 2 Barred Rocks? You gonna be buried in eggs, heehee!

 

[PeppersPeeps]

Thanks!! Her name is Britney since she looks like a pop star with her backup band

Her and Sophie are supposed to be Ameraucanas, but are probably EE’s. The BR’s are Riff Raff and Mr. Kaplan (who we thought could be roo when she was little).

The pavers protect feet from getting stabbed by the skirt! I plan to put black lattice around the base of the coop to make it pretty, and I’m done! Now if the little buggers will just eat their food inside the coop again like they did with their starter chick feeder. All those nesting boxes are wasted space.

 

[aart]

Wish I could find those bottle drinkers locally.

What does inside of coop look like?
Is eave of roof ventilated?

Will that tarp roof hold up under snow load?
Is it supported underneath?

Those pavers may defeat the purpose of apron,
if animal starts digging at edge of paver it would end up under the apron.
Better to stake down apron mesh and let grass grow up thru it.

 

[PeppersPeeps]

The pavers stay. My mom, who is elderly, goes out to feed and watch the chickens, usually in slippers (no matter how many times I remind her to put on crocs). Before the pavers, the wire was dangerous. In retrospect, I should have had gravel or river stone delivered, but I didn’t.

And the coop has plenty of ventilation. Full row of vents, front and back. Always open. And the coop is under a shade tree.

I think I figured out the bedtime problem. My chickens put themselves to bed at 7:45, which was when I used to give them yard time. It’s been so hot lately, I had to wait till the sun was lower to be out with them. The last 2 nights they finally put themselves to bed.

I’m still working out the quirks with my feeder. It’s a prototype and I’ll keep moving it in and out of the coop till they get the hang of it.

BTW, I made the ladies a swing today. Spoiled brats!

 

[RNPAULIE69]

Those pavers may defeat the purpose of apron,
if animal starts digging at edge of paver it would end up under the apron.
Better to stake down apron mesh and let grass grow up thru it.

if the pavers were not there couldn't an animal just dig under the apron anyway? Just curious!

 

[aart]

if the pavers were not there couldn't an animal just dig under the apron anyway? Just curious!

Not if it's installed so it's flat to the ground, and the grass is allowed to grow back up thru it....then it becomes nearly invisible and the animal will start digging where the wall meets the ground.
Sometimes you need to mow the grass really short, or even take up the sod, and use some landscape staples to get the mesh to lay flat so the edge is not visible to a digging animal, or becomes a tripping hazard for humans.