Listening to the coop at night....hustle and bustle!

[Oliver Douglas]

When I put the four chickens (10 weeks) into the coop from the tractor, they climb up into the box to settle in...you would think peace and quiet. Nope, They spend a good ten minutes discussing sleeping arrangements...."Not there, that's my spot. Nope, I get the window this time. Who wants to sleep next to the rooster...he just ate a big bug...ewww. Nope, I want a spot where the air blows in....who pooped on the roost here? That was MY spot!!!" More rattling around, a flurry of wings beating. Then, silence. Hello, darkness my old friend...

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

It really is quite a production, isn't it? I have to admit I have spent more than a few evenings standing outside the brooder or coop smiling at the goings-on inside.

 

[centrarchid]

Adults can greatly change the dynamics relative what occurs with juveniles only groups. Mother hen and even rooster can get young birds up to roost higher and quieter than if the lord of the flies situation prevails.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

When I put the four chickens (10 weeks) into the coop from the tractor, they climb up into the box to settle in...you would think peace and quiet. Nope, They spend a good ten minutes discussing sleeping arrangements...."Not there, that's my spot. Nope, I get the window this time. Who wants to sleep next to the rooster...he just ate a big bug...ewww. Nope, I want a spot where the air blows in....who pooped on the roost here? That was MY spot!!!" More rattling around, a flurry of wings beating. Then, silence. Hello, darkness my old friend...

I recommend that every new chicken person spend at least one solid month watching their chickens put themselves to bed. That is if you can leave your birds alone.

Let them be chickens, their much more fun that way but you'll learn more also.

 

[Oliver Douglas]

They were raised together as chicks, and the rooster has set himself up as the Grand Poobah...I leave them alone to do their beddie-byes....just kind of fun to listen to. Even when they are in their tractor, one hen always jockey's herself to lay next to the rooster. The other two just hang with each other. Guess he's picked his favorite of the pullets. But you know these teenage romances never last....

 

[chickengeorgeto]

They were raised together as chicks, and the rooster has set himself up as the Grand Poobah...I leave them alone to do their beddie-byes....just kind of fun to listen to. Even when they are in their tractor, one hen always jockey's herself to lay next to the rooster. The other two just hang with each other. Guess he's picked his favorite of the pullets. But you know these teenage romances never last....

I will go out on a limb here and suggest to you that your cockerel's favorite 'squeeze' is also the top hen or pullet. One of the fringe benefits of being the alpha hen is that you have more access to the cock-of-the-walk. The reason IMHO is that the alpha hen gets first refusal on all the goodies that the rooster turns up during his daily perambulations.

 

[Jackschicks]

My adult flock of 6 hens and 1 rooster put themselves to bed in about 5 minutes flat. The rooster seems to make the decision that it is bedtime and off they go. There is a mild scuffle over who roosts where and then a short discussion of the days events and then its beddie-bye. However, right now I also have mixed crew of 46 nine week old juveniles. It sometimes takes them 30 to 45 minutes to put themselves to bed. First they have to decide if is it dark enough to go to bed, then its a matter of who goes in the coop first, then who gets what roost. Some of them are in and out of the coop 3 or 4 times before they decide to go in and stay. Finally, it gets down to the last 8 or 9 who (like my 6 yr old grandson) have to have one last drink of water or bite of food before they go in. Once the coop is closed up, they shuffle and jockey for another 10 minutes or so before the quiet finally reigns. I'm surprised they don't have me reading them a bedtime story!

 

[microchick]

Ours does the usual scuffling about before they settle down but I've noticed that the hens are the first to hit the roost board in the evening when I go out to lock down their coop and at least one of the Roos is out strutting around the run like he has drawn first guard duty. The funny thing is all I have to do is point to the coop door, call the roo by name and tell him to 'go to bed NOW' and I swear, he struts up the ramp and obediently hops inside as directed so I can lock up the door.

If you want a real treat, I suggest waiting until about a half an hour after dark and quietly creep out to your coop. Just stand outside and listen to the little 'sleep' noises coming from your flock. I hear soft tweets, chirps and trilling sounds coming from inside almost as if they are either talking in their sleep or enjoying a little conversation with the chicken next to them on the roost.

I was out yesterday doing some work on the coop and every time I knelt down to do something, I had two roosters and a hen checking out the tools in my back pockets and pecking me on the butt. Once again I heard the little cheeps, twitters and trills between them as they tried to remove a button from my pocket.

Sometimes I swear they hold conversations with one another. If only we could understand what they are saying.