HI GUYS ive got 2 hens and a small coop with room for 2 - 3 hens inside the coop i have 2 sections of straw...so they can sleep in different corners.... the older girl seems to ALWAYS stay in the same corner...... but this young one seems to move around a bit. yes the older girl goes into the coop first..... the younger one, MOST of the time snuggles up real close to the older one. Looking very very uncomfortable. the older girl doesnt seem to mind 90% of the time but i have seen her peck the young one for being too close. 1 out of 10 .. the young one will sleep in the other corner where i want her to be. it isnt cold, its nearly summer here in australia... why does it snuggle up so close to the other girl?.........fear? thanks guys
Why do you want it to be in the other corner? Chickens are flock creatures. They stick together. They all will try to sleep in the same place and even lay in the same nests. When my barn is bursting at the seems with 50 hens they all cluster together on the same roost area. Chickens go into a trance like state in the dark. They roost in the highest places and in groups. There is protection in numbers.
My 2 hens sometimes sleep one on top of the other! lol! And one of them is always pecking at the other one-- one is a bully chicken and the other one is a chicken chicken. Sounds like nothing to worry about.
Quote:hi guys well the coop looks like this [/img] so in the sleeping area... its aprox say 19" x 19" in the middle of it...if u look at it from the front is a divider that kinda act like cubicles. so 2 different laying areas. its not all that big..but i just thought it might look squashy thats all. the older hen sleeps on the caged side of the top coop. and the younger one seems to stay in the same cubicle with the older hen. i might remove that divider since its not doing anything and they squeeze up in one cubicle..the other side is always empty. i might just make it one big room instead.
It's normal chicken behavior for them to want to bunch together. It's a safety thing and makes them feel secure. I wouldn't be concearned, they know what they are doing
Quote:yeah i know.. this is the pic from the seller who sold this coop...it can also be used for rabbits i havent yet bothered to take a pic of my actual coop with the run set up... ill do that soon.. but yeah, the one i have is exactly the one in the pic...except ive closed off the caged door at the top to stop draught. and treated the wood..
My three birds all squash together to sleep. They're sisters, raised together, so I think it's just normal to them!
I have 3 out of 27 that will roost to sleep. But not on the roost I have setup for them. They like the 2x4 support beams on the wall. The rest are a heap of feathers in the corner. On the litter near their closed door to the run.
