Growing my little flock

[2ndTink]

Miss green egger Raven whyyyyyy.....why do you hate the box so much lol. Even little Dimple (pictured) thinks the box is good, and she's picky. Every single other egg went in there today!
View attachment 3735319


I'm thinking my other boxes must be too big! My first box was 18in wide, which I used for my broodies the last couple years so that seemed ok, but Raven doesn't like it. The second one I made earlier this year for the new coop ended up being 22in wide due to a measurement goof...although the older hens were using that extra big one preferentially for some time. Of course, that went out the widow with the new one which is the narrowest at 16in wide since I was trying to make it more cozy. This kind of thing in the pic below was starting to happen regularly with the pullets in the 22in wide one, so I thought maybe that's why Raven was upset with it, but apparently Raven just won't be contained in a box lol.
View attachment 3735318

She's a free bird and does want to be boxed in!

 

[fuzzi]

She's a free bird and does want to be boxed in!

"And this bird you cannot change..."

 

[DonyaQuick]

When I silently spy on my chickens from the upstairs window first thing on a nasty cold morning, I typically don't see a single chicken - everyone is tucked away in the coop even though the auto doors have been open for a good 15min. But as soon as I step on a squeaky floor board...they somehow hear it from all the way out there, pile against the run door, and then act all like "Human, you are late for morning hug time!" as if they weren't sleeping in too lol.

 

[2ndTink]

When I silently spy on my chickens from the upstairs window first thing on a nasty cold morning, I typically don't see a single chicken - everyone is tucked away in the coop even though the auto doors have been open for a good 15min. But as soon as I step on a squeaky floor board...they somehow hear it from all the way out there, pile against the run door, and then act all like "Human, you are late for morning hug time!" as if they weren't sleeping in too lol.
View attachment 3737302

They must have installed that squeaky floorboard as their hug and treat giver alarm

 

[fuzzi]

When I silently spy on my chickens from the upstairs window first thing on a nasty cold morning, I typically don't see a single chicken - everyone is tucked away in the coop even though the auto doors have been open for a good 15min. But as soon as I step on a squeaky floor board...they somehow hear it from all the way out there, pile against the run door, and then act all like "Human, you are late for morning hug time!" as if they weren't sleeping in too lol.
View attachment 3737302

"Where's our Hasenpfeffer?!"

 

[DonyaQuick]

Mr Junior seeing me take out my phone and going "hello, is it meeeee you wanted to photograph?"

He's actually been remarkably cuddly and chilled out since the whole hawk event. I guess bringing him in and fussing over him for so long was some kind of weird bonding experience. He's been a lot less of a fashion critic since that. Still doesn't like bare hands but he's no longer weird about several fluffy sweaters and pairs of pants he previously had issues with. Hawks seem to have cleared off with the snow melting.

Meanwhile...I have tried adding nest box curtain to turn the new favorite box into a creepy dark hole of the sort that Raven now seeks out with frightening efficiency whenever she escapes past me into the great outdoors (the eggers are currently banned from supervised free-range time thanks to shennanigans like that). Apparently I crafted a Coco Cabin instead. Raven remains undeterred in her weirdness. Even if I remove Coco and put Raven in the box, she just wriggles back out again into that same spot wth her face up against the wall.

 

[2ndTink]

Chicken logic, I'm sure Raven has a very logical explanation for her behavior

 

[DonyaQuick]

Coco back then...itty bitty flop

Coco now...BIG FLOP

 

[2ndTink]

Coco back then...itty bitty flop

Coco now...BIG FLOP
View attachment 3746527

When you find some thing that works for you, keep it up

Looking nice and relaxed there Cocoa

 

[DonyaQuick]

When you find some thing that works for you, keep it up

Looking nice and relaxed there Cocoa

Lately both she and Vanilla Bean are trying really hard to convince me that they're actually meant to be house chickens. Those two are my biggest and fluffiest chickens, but I think they've had enough of this whole winter business LOL.