Yeah, it's quite the madhouse around here at bedtime. To make it worse, I just switched them all into the new coop. The original coop had about 9 linear feet of roost, so you'd think the new place would be easy! Nope. The first night of transition you would have thought I was plucking them bald feather by feather or trying to pull their little toenails out. You have never heard or seen such pitiful birds. One by one I gently took them off the old roost and carried them to the new. I'd turn around and go back for the next one and the first would hop off the roost and run around the run squalking. Eventually they all ended up in the corner by the old hen house and were flinging themselves against the wire. Determined little suckers! It was well and truly dark before I got everyone back on the new roosts. Even then they were cursing me under their breath and all fighting to be on the top 8' of roost.
The coop has four 4' roost that stairstep up to the top. The highest one is about 4' off the ground and the lowest is at 1'. Nobody uses the lowest. They prefer to cram together on the top two if possible. Of course Speedy the Sebright routinely gets shoved to the floor. As do some of the others. Speedy usually gets shoved entirely out of the coop. It's sad. I'm guessing she's low hen in the pecking order as she never gets to roost where she wants.
Crazy little chickens...
