Chickie Babies Won't Put Themselves in at Night

[azygous]

Getting back to a light in the coop - if the coop happens to have no windows and is darker inside than it is outside at roosting time, most chickens will have a hard time with it since they don't see well in very gloomy light.

I have a rooster, Penrod, who is a very heavy Buff Brahma boy. He has the choice of two perches, one is a foot off the ground, the other is three feet. I noticed that he prefers the higher one and was using it until the nights became so cold I had to close the windows and vents. At that point, he began using the low perch. I put a simple night light in his coop, and he began using his favorite perch again.

In the girls' coop, they have a large "picture" window so it's as light in there as it is outside, no matter the time of year. But if a hen is late getting inside, and it's dark outside, it's also dark inside. I've noticed they won't even try to hop up onto the perch, and will remain on the floor.

So, maybe the chickie babies are not comfortable going from a lighter place outdoors to a darker place indoors? If so, why not stick a night light in there, one that comes on when it gets dark?

 

[mickey328]

DH swears they don't see very well in the dark. I dunno about that but they certainly seem to prefer to have the light. We still have the light in the coop, but now it's set to come on at about 4:30am, just to give them an extra couple of hours of light in the day. After their 2 nights with the "night light" they seem to be comfortable and scoot up that ramp at dusk while they can still see it well.

 

[bcmama]

We have 6 windows. 4 top ventilation windows and two large windows on either end of the roost so I don't know? Unless the corner that they are choosing is lighter because it's not blocked by trees with southern exposure while the hen house part has trees on either side and a northern exposure.

The light trick has been working great so far. They're still young and still need the night light to keep away the boogie man

The other thing that is interesting is that if you try and pick one up during the day they try and get away from you but when they are all huddled up at night, you can pick one up with out any fuss what-so-ever? Any ideas why it's different?

 

[azygous]

There's just something about being on the roost that renders them inert. Everyone says that's the best time to catch a chickens you need to deal with.

You're doing the best thing for the chicks, observing what they need, and providing it for them. Keep following your instincts.

 

[bcmama]

See we need our light, but mom is about to turn if off. Good night girls!





They'll figure it out one day... Maybe

 

[azygous]

Gosh, they're so cute at that age! But they grow up so fast!