i have just gone out and tucked the babies into bed...dopey buggars can figure out how to get down the ramp out into the sun in the morning but cant seem to figure out how to get back up the ramp out of the cold at night! Soooo i go out at about dusk and pick them all up and put them to bed. I always turn the big floodlights on over the whole chicken area ( oh yeah its really like a prison set up!) when it gets dark too...im always worried about predators just because these birds are my sons and my pets and it would be devastating to us for one of them to get killed because we didnt provide a safe environment for them. William and I always go and close up the coop door, and take a last look at the birds all roosting up in the rafters in there ( except the silkies and bantam cochin frizzles who nest down in the wood shavings on the floor) in their little groups. There is little that is more beautiful than seeing your flock all snuggled in for the night.
The new chickens have all settled in really well...in fact my most dominant hen is sleeping with the new girls as we speak.