Trying to figure out if our chickens are insane or what.
Thier coop and run is basically the chicken version of Fort Knox, so we open the door for them in the early morning before dawn and close the door on them at dusk, sometimes well after dark. No light in the coop except occasionally a red heat lamp on the waterer to keep it from freezing when we have cold snaps. No really bright street lights, either, no lights from the house.
Why in the world are the girls still hanging outside in the dark? We got home late a few nights ago (it was completely dark at the time) and stepped out of the car and heard clucking! A couple of girls in the run, contemplating going to bed! Last night it had been dark for about an hour and we went out to close the door and had to move two chickens, Maggie and Cecilia.
Maggie was standing in the doorway stargazing and Cecilia was sitting beside her *on the FLOOR* like she thought she was a silkie or something half asleep! (BTW, they're all barred rocks)
They like thier coop. On windy days they often go in for twenty or thirty minutes at a time. Their food and water is inside the coop. Sometimes they go in for no apparent reason other than a change in scenery. I don't think they're avoiding the coop. And for the record, usually if we go into the coop after dark, most if not all of them will take that opportunity to hop off the roosts and grab a late night snack and drink. We can turn out the flashlight and they still snack in the dark until we leave. They get back up onto the roosts just fine--we checked. And no, they're not afraid of anything when we're not there. Often we watch them from an upstairs window playing or taking very leisurely dustbaths.
Are my chickens just nuts?
Thier coop and run is basically the chicken version of Fort Knox, so we open the door for them in the early morning before dawn and close the door on them at dusk, sometimes well after dark. No light in the coop except occasionally a red heat lamp on the waterer to keep it from freezing when we have cold snaps. No really bright street lights, either, no lights from the house.
Why in the world are the girls still hanging outside in the dark? We got home late a few nights ago (it was completely dark at the time) and stepped out of the car and heard clucking! A couple of girls in the run, contemplating going to bed! Last night it had been dark for about an hour and we went out to close the door and had to move two chickens, Maggie and Cecilia.
They like thier coop. On windy days they often go in for twenty or thirty minutes at a time. Their food and water is inside the coop. Sometimes they go in for no apparent reason other than a change in scenery. I don't think they're avoiding the coop. And for the record, usually if we go into the coop after dark, most if not all of them will take that opportunity to hop off the roosts and grab a late night snack and drink. We can turn out the flashlight and they still snack in the dark until we leave. They get back up onto the roosts just fine--we checked. And no, they're not afraid of anything when we're not there. Often we watch them from an upstairs window playing or taking very leisurely dustbaths.
Are my chickens just nuts?
