Chickens dig tunnels?!?

[BY Bob]

Okay, so speaking of daring escapes, I have to tell you what happened today!!! I had removed my buff cochin cockerel from the main coop because he was being too aggressive with the other chickens and I'm trying to rehome him. I was housing him temporarily in a smaller separate coop across the property and when I opened his coop to change his water, he came busting out and got loose in the yard. I wasn't too worried because we've got an acre of untended weeds so I figured he'd enjoy foraging for awhile while I did a few things in his coop, but no...he made a beeline straight for the big coop, circled the large run (30x 17 roughly) until he found the half a hole dug by the coop door and started burrowing furiously. In less than a minute, he was back inside the big coop, strutting around like he owned the place.



I had taken this picture of him a few days earlier...man is it ever appropriate..

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That's just awesome. Good for him.

 

[Hopperkiller]

I wish we had rocks, that would be so great. Around here it costs an arm and a leg for even a couple decent sized rocks. I'm hoping to get sand in my coops and run soon, that should hopefully fix some things.

I wish you had my rocks. 6 inches of black dirt then the rocks start. Cant drive a t post to the spade. Use pick and rock bar to plant i gallon trees and rosebushes. Cant give things away even if i load them..

 

[Coop de Grass]

Okay, so speaking of daring escapes, I have to tell you what happened today!!! I had removed my buff cochin cockerel from the main coop because he was being too aggressive with the other chickens and I'm trying to rehome him. I was housing him temporarily in a smaller separate coop across the property and when I opened his coop to change his water, he came busting out and got loose in the yard. I wasn't too worried because we've got an acre of untended weeds so I figured he'd enjoy foraging for awhile while I did a few things in his coop, but no...he made a beeline straight for the big coop, circled the large run (30x 17 roughly) until he found the half a hole dug by the coop door and started burrowing furiously. In less than a minute, he was back inside the big coop, strutting around like he owned the place.



I had taken this picture of him a few days earlier...man is it ever appropriate..

View attachment 1459639

 

[Cryss]

I have had to wrap a skirt of 1" chick wire on almost every fence on our big property. They can breach the perimeter if they can dig on both sides of the fence as well. Some runs we have placed retired telephone/utility poles along the fence lines. As the birds dig under the fence line, The cut sections of telephone poles drop deeper- eventually filling the holes with the section of poles. Lite birds go over- big birds go under!
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This has got to be one of the funniest chicken memes ever!

 

[HeiHeisMom]

Our Barreds are tunneling as well.
I keep filling in and recovering...then they worked together to Peck and scratch at the wood framing on the run...almost went all the way through.
In process of wiring across boards and across run (again) and re covering with more clay sand and dirt mixture that we'll cover with pine, more dirt and seed.
They are monster chickens!

 

[HomeGardenGirl]

I have had to wrap a skirt of 1" chick wire on almost every fence on our big property. They can breach the perimeter if they can dig on both sides of the fence as well. Some runs we have placed retired telephone/utility poles along the fence lines. As the birds dig under the fence line, The cut sections of telephone poles drop deeper- eventually filling the holes with the section of poles. Lite birds go over- big birds go under!
View attachment 1457768

The picture cracks me up as we have named our rooster "Sergeant Schultz"

 

[HuskerHens18]

Our Barreds are tunneling as well.
I keep filling in and recovering...then they worked together to Peck and scratch at the wood framing on the run...almost went all the way through.
In process of wiring across boards and across run (again) and re covering with more clay sand and dirt mixture that we'll cover with pine, more dirt and seed.
They are monster chickens!

Yeah my chickens have begun their next tunnel underneath the boards and shingles. I just had to rebury it

 

[TeenageRooster's Dad]

Digging seems to be a "compact chicken" game.. Brahmas, Austra, Rhodes.. not so much. Bantams otoh... esp in the Reds familyish... jeesus... feathery Bobcats...

Mrs Yvette destroyed my "let's seed the 2nd run with barley grass" utopia with her evil newborn before lunch time yesterday... but mostly my fault.. delusional that they wouldn't sneak in somehow...

 

[Grits&Eggs]

Not sure if this will help but we started a compost heap in the corner of the large run and built up a grass box against the wall on the second half of the yard - having the raised grass box has been awesome, they love to eat the rye grass sprouts that poke through and this puts them 3 foot away from the wall, I dare them to dig a 5 foot tunnel....

 

[Hopperkiller]

Not sure if this will help but we started a compost heap in the corner of the large run and built up a grass box against the wall on the second half of the yard - having the raised grass box has been awesome, they love to eat the rye grass sprouts that poke through and this puts them 3 foot away from the wall, I dare them to dig a 5 foot tunnel....

I would be careful about dares, they may rise (or tunnel) to the occasion!