The more cluttered the better, I think, usually! For the Spuds' integration it's been better to have not much straight-line distance to run or see without some obstacle.Twofer: couple of Easter eggers having a drink View attachment 3732518
Based on the squeals I could hear from the house, Perry had a tough day today. Even though I kept Albert locked up for all but the last two hours, Becky took over and was very unwelcoming. But Perry has no visible wounds, and I made sure she had her fill of as much food as she wanted.
Look at this consortium; all gathered to discuss serious matters around the water bowl. (Also I had tossed a handful of their pellets on the ground here, which to nobody’s surprise is WAY more delicious than when it’s in the treadle feeder.)
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Perry’s butt. There are walls, hides, and perches all throughout the run for her to sneak away behind. Hopefully enough, possibly notIt feels too cluttered to me
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In the back under the veranda and coop the ladder is a "go around" escape obstacle. But I did put an upside-down 3 gallon bucket a little further back to prevent any cornering when first integrating, because it's a classic "dead end". Now they all preen and rest together under there and it's not needed.
There are three long old cedar logs in these runs. One you can just make out above the red-top heated nipple waterer. The log going straight back - the Spuds used to sneak under it but now they're too big. It's still useful though, a quick jump up and over, or run down and around the end for an easy escape. That cross-log is low enough that the Buckeyes don't want to go under it, but tall enough the Spuds can still zip through. It leads to a pretty tilted log going by a platform on a captain's chair (one Spud is on it here) and to the upper decks perching area. Another log is tied to the captain's chair and leads slightly down, into the next run.
The dust-bath pool is a great obstacle too, they run around it, or hop up and across it. A treadle feeder is near there on the left, you can see a Buckeye using it. Near the feeder is the captain's chair with no canvas and a small platform board across the arms which the long log going slightly down is tied to. The front chair legs form a sort of tunnel that gets used as an avoidance bypass.
The Buckeyes are not inclined to flap-jump up on to much. I've given the Spuds lots of places to go up, and that's "their" territory, even treats up there, the Buckeyes just catch anything that falls off.
The run is a "T" shape, and here below is the right side of the second 6x12 run. You can see the upper root-end of the long pretty tilted log. That leads to a perch of two 2x2's put together. When the Spuds were younger there was a heating panel up there for them too and they spent a lot of their rest time up there. They used to flap-fly down from it but now even when there is plenty of landing zone they prefer to walk back down on the big log, so I've pulled the corner log out further for more obstacle in that landing zone space. Nearest the red waterer is the low end of the log that's tied to the captain's chair.
You can also see some of the apple "breakfast log" and chair at the bottom which are in the center left of this run.
That short log in the left back corner the Buckeyes will hang out on sometimes. The Spuds can slip under it or hop over it, and now go into the triangle area from the side next to the cozy coop panel too. They get up onto the little perch going across the other corner from it.
That's Diane-Ida Biter on the end of the big log. She's not biting as hard when she does peck now, and training continues. I went over there to get a picture illustrating the path from the captain's chair and the two logs.
Diane-Ida Biter: "Are you trying to get a close-up?"
Me: "Actually I was trying to get a chicken's-eye picture of the logs you guys use, with you on it. Then yes, I was going for a mug-shot picture since you came over and filled the whole frame. But now, the camera won't focus right with you moving so much."
Diane-Ida: "I might like to peck something on your face. Come closer and hold still."
Me: "That's what I thought. Forget it, no face pecks happening. How about YOU hold still for a second while I get a shot of you? No? Then I'm outta here!"
The left side of the other run, right of the feeder & heated water bowl in the first picture. The light coming from the left out of view is the hooman door. The chair is missing lower rungs on one side and the back. Everyone can and does go under the plank. Spuds also go on it and the chair (also the chair back) and sneak through under the back corner.
Sorry if this post is too long for some, I love seeing other people's setups to get ideas, so did it with that in mind!
I do have enough hens that it is hard to monitor exactly who lays when, though.
