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- #21
DonyaQuick
Songster
I feel so dumb. There is an extremely simple thing I could have been doing this whole time to help with training: taking out the roosting bar they always go to as an alternative sleeping spot. It's super easy to take out and put back in, so tonight I took it out about 30min before dark and then waited until it was dark and the coop light was off to check on things. Went out and saw no one was outside. Success! But then when I had a peek through the small window to count just in case...only 5 out of 6 chickens inside the coop. No Chungus to be seen anywhere, inside or out. Cue a massive adrenalin hit wondering if I somehow counted wrong after I closed the door earlier. But then I noticed one of the 5 was standing kind of funny and looked oddly puffy. Turns out she was sitting on Chungus, who had somehow managed to conceal every little bit of her wideness under that other bird except for an extra set of feet in the middle that were really hard to see. Still puzzled at how she managed that feat.
Anyway, I think I have a better tactic now. Despite the good scare, it involved no screaming/crying or playing the "just one more sip of water" game, and from what I could see through a distant window they all just marched up when it was dark enough. So for now I will just take the roosting bar up when I herd everybody back into the secure run and put it back either after dark or the following morning. Later on I may change things up to just add a bar to the daytime run extension so that when I move them all back to the secure area they don't have access to it anymore.
Anyway, I think I have a better tactic now. Despite the good scare, it involved no screaming/crying or playing the "just one more sip of water" game, and from what I could see through a distant window they all just marched up when it was dark enough. So for now I will just take the roosting bar up when I herd everybody back into the secure run and put it back either after dark or the following morning. Later on I may change things up to just add a bar to the daytime run extension so that when I move them all back to the secure area they don't have access to it anymore.
They're enclosed the whole time with a secure coop/run area and a covered/enclosed run extension, but only the coop is completely proofed against things like freezing rain blowing in at a 45-degree angle. If it was the summer I could just leave them out, but even then I worry they would get in the habit of not going in if I did that. Then I'd have all the same issues again next fall when it gets cold again.I’m not clear from your description - are they in an enclosed run, or it it just the coop in your yard so they have total access?
If they’re in an enclosed run, I would try some tough love (as long as they’re safe from predators overnight). Instead of putting them to bed, leave them to their own devices.