Eureka! A chicken can learn!

[gritsar]

I've had a battle going with one of my hens, Girlie, for over a year now.
My nesboxes are lower than my roosts. I have one open nestbox, the rest are covered. I have a ton of roost space.
For more than a year now Girlie has insisted that she is going to sleep on the edge of the open nestbox and fill it with poop all night. I've been just as determined that she is going to sleep on a roost.
So every night I go out there and move her to a roost and if it's not dark enough in the coop yet, she moves right back to the nestbox.
A few months ago I started picking her up and putting her on the shelf next to the nestbox, figuring I wouldn't mind she roosted there; but that wasn't good enough. She wanted to be on the nestbox.

Tonight I went out to lock the chooks up, it's pouring rain and I'm not really in the mood to have a fight with Girlie.
Eureka! She's sound to sleep on the shelf.
Only took her like four months to get the idea.

 

[cnj-tx50]

They can be stubborn but oh so cute!

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I think Girlie is the most stubborn chicken I have. I will not be outsmarted by a chicken!

 

[amsunshine]

That is too funny! But they are SO cute!

 

[BluegrassSeramas]

Perseverance IS the key!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
I think Girlie is the most stubborn chicken I have. I will not be outsmarted by a chicken!

Glad she finally got the hint!

 

[elmo]

Chickens do seem to love their routines, and get flustered when you try to change them. The good news, though, is once your hen develops the habit of roosting where you want her, she'll probably stick to that, too.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Yep, she was back on the shelf tonight...and invited Jezebel up there to keep her company.

 

[nanawendy]

If she can do it for 7 days in a row ... it's a habit... Oh wait that's humans

 

[gryeyes]

I was THRILLED that it only took two nights for 7 of my chickens to learn the new coop I built for them is where they are supposed to put themselves to bed at night. For two nights I had to carry each one from where they were perched on top of the OLD coop (where I'm now keeping segregated adolescent chicks) out of the run, through the gate, down the path, and into the new coop through the people door.

On night 3, 7 of the nine went through the automatic chicken door and into the new coop. The other two decided they wanted to sleep in the A-Frame where most of the hens lay their eggs. (I have 3 coops, the A-Frame, the low coop kit with attached run, and the new, Big Coop.) At least they're not hanging forlornly around the coop with the chicks in it.

Then it took 2 more nights before the chickens stopped sleeping on the floor in a pile; now they're actually using the lovely, natural branch roosts I put there for them!