My Girls are Getting Weird

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Ok, I figured it out. Boy do I feel dumb! I'll tell you the whole story. Last night after dark I wanted to check for mites, etc., and went out to enter the coop. I noticed right away that a staggering number (19) of chickens were roosting outside. Very unusual! Harvey, the rooster, and about 3 or 4 hens usually roost outside, but I've never seen more than that! I go into the coop and it's pitch black! I have a night light in there (for me, not for them) and the bulb was burned out. I turned on the overhead light and found 4 hens on the floor, 3 in lower boxes and a few on the low roosts. I have a light running on a timer for them. It comes on at 6:30pm and goes off at 7:30pm. I wasn't thinking and realized that it was timed wrong, and wasn't working either because PGE shut off our power for 4 hours! So, the entire problem with them was they had no light to find their way to their "beds". As soon as I entered and turned on the light, they ALL started jumping up to the top roosts and getting arranged in a normal fashion for the night. The girls left the nesting boxes and moved to the roosts as well. Boy, am I stupid! I didn't think about the power being off and the light being off! I know chickens can't see in the dark, but just wasn't paying attention. At least I figured it out in two days, and not seven or eight. Thanks for all your responses and care! I'm going out now to fix the timer and replace the bulb in the night light! So, nothing wrong with the chickens, but something stupid with the chicken keeper! Ha!
:wee:yesss::wee:yesss::wee:yesss::wee:yesss:
 
Peppercorngal said:
Ok, I figured it out. Boy do I feel dumb! I'll tell you the whole story. Last night after dark I wanted to check for mites, etc., and went out to enter the coop. I noticed right away that a staggering number (19) of chickens were roosting outside. Very unusual! Harvey, the rooster, and about 3 or 4 hens usually roost outside, but I've never seen more than that! I go into the coop and it's pitch black! I have a night light in there (for me, not for them) and the bulb was burned out. I turned on the overhead light and found 4 hens on the floor, 3 in lower boxes and a few on the low roosts. I have a light running on a timer for them. It comes on at 6:30pm and goes off at 7:30pm. I wasn't thinking and realized that it was timed wrong, and wasn't working either because PGE shut off our power for 4 hours! So, the entire problem with them was they had no light to find their way to their "beds". As soon as I entered and turned on the light, they ALL started jumping up to the top roosts and getting arranged in a normal fashion for the night. The girls left the nesting boxes and moved to the roosts as well. Boy, am I stupid! I didn't think about the power being off and the light being off! I know chickens can't see in the dark, but just wasn't paying attention. At least I figured it out in two days, and not seven or eight. Thanks for all your responses and care! I'm going out now to fix the timer and replace the bulb in the night light! So, nothing wrong with the chickens, but something stupid with the chicken keeper! Ha!
:wee:yesss::wee:yesss::wee:yesss::wee:yesss:
Click to expand...
Well the next time someone starts a thread like this we all learned to ask the question “do you have your lights on a timer” so thanks for your post. We all learn.
 
For my chickens, pecking order determines who gets to sleep on the roost. The rest have to sleep in nesting boxes. Penny and Twilight are the only ones that get to roost. I'm not sure why this is, but I guess it works for them? :confused:
 
Goldenrod1210 said:
For my chickens, pecking order determines who gets to sleep on the roost. The rest have to sleep in nesting boxes. Penny and Twilight are the only ones that get to roost. I'm not sure why this is, but I guess it works for them?
Click to expand...
Not enough roost space, or lack of keeper manipulation? ;)
Sleeping in nests does not work for me... nope, it's not allowed.
 
aart said:
Not enough roost space, or lack of keeper manipulation? ;)
Sleeping in nests does not work for me... nope, it's not allowed.
Click to expand...
Hmm, at one time they were all roosting, and they all fit. It'd be kind of hard putting them all on the roost at night, because my coop is not a walk in. Do you have any ideas?
 

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