MJ's little flock

[BY Bob]

Nora, for one, has no time for trash talk about EEs.
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Super adorable!

 

[BY Bob]

She's beautiful! Reminds me of my ...never mind

 

[BY Bob]

The past 2 nights Snow and Belle have snuggled in together underneath the ramp that goes up to the coop where Bok is instead of in their cubby house coop. I lift them one by one onto the ramp and give their fluffy butts a little push so they go into the coop. They settle down together right next to the door, opposite end to Bok with a few long cheeps then are fine until morning when they all come out together.
I should say I don’t close the door at nights anymore, never had issues with predators and run is secure enough, plus our dog is very alert to protect them. It’s Aussie summer, bit wetter this year but still quite warm. This means they have the option to leave if they want and for the mornings it helps to know there’s not a blood bath going on inside if I’m not up early enough.
Am I doing the right thing? Or am I rushing them? Should I be putting them back in their cubby house instead?
They are such beautiful silly Billies, just want to be doing right by them and Bokky

If you want them to roost in their coop, you need to teach them that it home. Keep putting them there at night and they will learn. I'm sorry but I'm not remembering what your flock looks like. How many chickens do you have? I'm sensing 1 established hen and two young ones. Is that correct?

 

[RoyalChick]

Oh! I didn't realise the history was so long. Surely if they've been delivering chicks since 1918, they'd know how to do it right by now. But I still share your preference for driving them straight home.

I think mainly they do know how to do it right. It still feels odd to me and have a preference for showing up somewhere with a cardboard box full of bedding!

 

[RoyalChick]

Hattie came as a chick by mail.
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Awwww! Little tiny Hattie.

 

[CrazyChookChookLady]

Yep, all sorts of strange mutations. Quite odd in many, many ways, especially given they weren't breeding for those other things & there was nothing to suggest foxes carried the genetics for those changes.

CHICKEN TAX.
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Just look at your lovely Patricia! She's a picture of how genetics aren't always expressed the same way.

 

[Shadrach]

Shad, I'll bet, you know many more than one woman in Sweden! Just saying.

If you count my nephews girlfiend, it's two.

 

[Shadrach]

I'm sure you're right, MJ. I was thinking specifically about some of the chicken posts I've seen here on BYC that have made me wonder what the perpetrators think they're doing!

The British were just as bad, but they didn't do it the vast scale the USA does it now. Also, the back yard tinkerers are not so common in the UK because there isn't the same Backyard Chicken craze coverage.

 

[Shadrach]

Hmmm welllll they weren't here long and only dug the post holes. I had been told the posts would be up today but that's ok, I prefer slow progress as it gives me more time to think.

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There are a few tools strewn about though.

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And we've agreed they're going to paint it too, which I'm very happy about.

Good to see normal tradies practice applies to both sexes.

 

[Shadrach]

The past 2 nights Snow and Belle have snuggled in together underneath the ramp that goes up to the coop where Bok is instead of in their cubby house coop. I lift them one by one onto the ramp and give their fluffy butts a little push so they go into the coop. They settle down together right next to the door, opposite end to Bok with a few long cheeps then are fine until morning when they all come out together.
I should say I don’t close the door at nights anymore, never had issues with predators and run is secure enough, plus our dog is very alert to protect them. It’s Aussie summer, bit wetter this year but still quite warm. This means they have the option to leave if they want and for the mornings it helps to know there’s not a blood bath going on inside if I’m not up early enough.
Am I doing the right thing? Or am I rushing them? Should I be putting them back in their cubby house instead?
They are such beautiful silly Billies, just want to be doing right by them and Bokky

If you are confident that the run is secure.
You often don't know you've got predators until they've got your chickens.
A sleep/roost out run needs to be as secure as the coop, probably more so because the predators can see the chickens.