Need Help to stop feather eating - ends only. Pinless peepers not working so well

[FunClucks]

I'm talking about where they roost at night, not other perches that they may use during the day.

Okay, I'll look at how I might do that. They seem to really like perching on top of the pallets, and they have plenty of room there, it's just not where I was planning for them to perch at night. I guess I could take that idea, remove the huddle box, and put a similar length of perch around that end of the coop, lower so that they have more of a draft free area with the ventilation above their heads. The feather eating started before the close perches in the huddle box were introduced, so that's why I was thinking it wasn't part of the issue.

They gave no indication of being crowded or bored when the weather was warm enough for me to easily address it. (chickens!!!)

 

[FunClucks]

Is the 'huddle box' the open box in back? That is really way too small to expect 15 birds to roost in.
4 nest boxes may not be enough, but if it's just that they have a 'favorite' box, which happens, I have found that by putting golf balls in each box (you can use ceramic eggs too, but I have golf balls for free) the birds think they've been used, and are more willing to also use them, rather than spat over one that someone is already in.

Yeah, the huddle box was my "oh my gosh it's supposed to go below freezing tonight, and the coop's not done yet, how can I keep them draft free in less than four hours" solution. I wasn't expecting them to use it every night, just when it goes below freezing, which has been more than expected already this year. I figured they'd rather be warm and a bit cramped than freeze their combs and wattles off. If the weather stays mild for the next few weekends, I may be able to come up with a better (larger) solution.

Yeah, you may be right about the nest boxes. Four have worked well all summer, but one of my chickens has started laying in the run just in the past day or so, so I'm trying to think of a good place to put another nest box where she'll actually use it. Do you think curtains made of feed bags would help keep one chicken in and the rest out? I have fake eggs in each nest box, those have definitely made a difference in encouraging them to lay in the nest boxes.

 

[coach723]

What we think is a good idea, and what they think is a good idea, often are very different!!
Chicken logic is a whole different thing. When there is an issue, you have to try to look at it from their point of view, sometimes a challenge. I've got juveniles who've decided it's better to sleep under their little coop rather than in it. Same baby coop I've used for years. So I go out every evening and put them in til they learn inside is where they should be. Argh. They can be very much creatures of habit and getting them to accept change can be a challenge sometimes. I moved a fence in their run once, making it larger. They would not cross the line in the grass where the fence used to be. Had to go out and physically put them over the line, every one of them, til they figured out they could. Duh.
Curtains may help, some birds like them. But it may take some time for them to get used to them, and may cause issues while they do. I used to have them, had to pin them back and gradually close them more and more over time til they were accustomed to them, otherwise they just treated them like a closed door and wouldn't go in. I got rid of them eventually due to them collecting dust, droppings, bugs etc and being one more thing to deal with.

 

[FunClucks]

What we think is a good idea, and what they think is a good idea, often are very different!!
Chicken logic is a whole different thing. When there is an issue, you have to try to look at it from their point of view, sometimes a challenge. I've got juveniles who've decided it's better to sleep under their little coop rather than in it. Same baby coop I've used for years. So I go out every evening and put them in til they learn inside is where they should be. Argh. They can be very much creatures of habit and getting them to accept change can be a challenge sometimes. I moved a fence in their run once, making it larger. They would not cross the line in the grass where the fence used to be. Had to go out and physically put them over the line, every one of them, til they figured out they could. Duh.
Curtains may help, some birds like them. But it may take some time for them to get used to them, and may cause issues while they do. I used to have them, had to pin them back and gradually close them more and more over time til they were accustomed to them, otherwise they just treated them like a closed door and wouldn't go in. I got rid of them eventually due to them collecting dust, droppings, bugs etc and being one more thing to deal with.

Thanks, that's helpful. I was thinking of using old feed bags for curtains, but attachment mechanisms, and whether they'll eat them or not remains a question for me. Didn't occur to me that I might have to vary how much they're closed.

 

[julianna47]

@Acre4Me X2 on this, agree completely.

On another note, I guess my morning coffee wore off because I was thinking "AI? What could that be - drones? Robots? What in the world"?
Then my lightbulb moment: OH!!! AI meaning Avian Influenza not Artificial Intelligence

Hah!!! Meee toooooo!!! Artificial intelligence

 

[coach723]

Just recently saw this and thought "well duh" this would be a much better curtain design than what I had. The V shape lets just a little light in, gives them an opening, and still privacy. If I redo mine I will probably try this design. A double layer of feed bags sewn together would probably work well. Would hold up for quite a while I think and you could wipe them down to keep clean.