Chicken Coop

[RS16017]

Well, the saga continues. It's been a week since I got an egg from my big Rode Island Red. She used to lay at tleast every other day. I manage about one egg a day from the Americana's since I built the new coop. They still refuse to roost in it. I find them clinging to the outside of the nest box every night and have to physically place them in the coop to shut the door. I even place a little battery operated light inside the coop to give them light to see by after dark. It's like that coop is jinxed or something. To think the only reason I built it was because I felt bad about them being cramped in the small coop they had before. This weekend I plan on installing some screened over windows in the coop. I'm still thinking about painting it a different color. I read somewhere that a chicken will peck anything red. Evidently red triggers something in them. Maybe this huge red box in their enclosure is causing some distress mentally.

 

[midget_farms]

Lock them inside the coop for 2 or 3 days - this resets their idea of "home".

The light is a good idea - I doubt the coop color bugs 'em at all.

The thing with chickens is this - the brain is about the size of a pea - so they dont have the capacity to deal with change - the little brain gets set a certain way & if one day its different they are lost. Its the same when it snows the first time in winter. They look out the door & dont see the ground anymore - so they wont go outside.

Just lock 'em in for a few & they will be all good with the new digs!