MIChickandGuinea
Songster
We have a flock of 8 full-size, year-old hens, and a group of 18 bantams hatched this spring. They have separate coops, but both coops open into the same run, and in the daytime you often see littles in the big coop and bigs in the little coop. But at night they have always, so far, gone to bed with their own flock.
Tonight, I tucked everyone in as usual. Counted to 8 in the big coop... Then it started to rain at 2:30 am and I went out to close up windows in the coops. I was incredibly surprised to see our huge light Brahma perching on an outdoor high perch in the bantam coop (each coop has its own attached, covered outdoor run space). I don’t even know how she got up on that perch - it was meant for tiny bantams, very high, very close to the roof of the run, didn’t even seem possible for a full-size hen to moosh up in there. But there she was, our hugest chicken way up there.
But why?! Our big coop is 4’x8’ and 5’ tall with wrap-around roosts and ledges. The Ladies have always grouped themselves a couple on this ledge, a handful on that part of the roost, a few on the other part of the roost (except in cold weather when they all line up on the same roost close together). But they get along well and have abundant roost space in their own (spacious, well-ventilated, clean, comfy) home. Why did Tillie decide to sleep outside and in the other coop? I mean, if she felt like “camping out” there’s a lovely high perch in the big coop too!! And I know she went to bed initially with the big girls tonight. Why’d she move?
Tonight, I tucked everyone in as usual. Counted to 8 in the big coop... Then it started to rain at 2:30 am and I went out to close up windows in the coops. I was incredibly surprised to see our huge light Brahma perching on an outdoor high perch in the bantam coop (each coop has its own attached, covered outdoor run space). I don’t even know how she got up on that perch - it was meant for tiny bantams, very high, very close to the roof of the run, didn’t even seem possible for a full-size hen to moosh up in there. But there she was, our hugest chicken way up there.
But why?! Our big coop is 4’x8’ and 5’ tall with wrap-around roosts and ledges. The Ladies have always grouped themselves a couple on this ledge, a handful on that part of the roost, a few on the other part of the roost (except in cold weather when they all line up on the same roost close together). But they get along well and have abundant roost space in their own (spacious, well-ventilated, clean, comfy) home. Why did Tillie decide to sleep outside and in the other coop? I mean, if she felt like “camping out” there’s a lovely high perch in the big coop too!! And I know she went to bed initially with the big girls tonight. Why’d she move?
