New member intro: Hi I'm Chickiestohens. Currently I have 4 9mo old Buffy Oripngton "Ladies" and 6 chicks..2 astr'lorps, & 3 other of different breed

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Boppo said:
Glad to meet you. I also had a horse that liked to open doors and poke into places he didn't belong. He was in a pasture with other horses, and did not crib, but I don't know about your Caleb. Some horses are just Houdinis, I think. One time my horse managed to open the door to the feed bin. He did not get in there to eat, but the other horses did and they got foundered. I wondered if it was part of an evil plan of his... Or if they just bullied him out of the way to get the goodies.

Reminiscences and joking aside, some good questions are being raised. Is your horse lonely, is he bored, is he doing this as part of cribbing? If you ever see a horse crib, you will remember it. They grab the fence, or their stall door with their jaws, and arch their neck, and sort of backwards burp. It is probably a boredom thing, but once it starts, it is nearly impossible to get a horse to stop it. They sell cribbing collars to keep the horse from arching its neck for that burp, and that does help. You could try bitter apple, but I have doubts whether a horse would be repelled by it.

Best wishes with your flock and your plans!
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He LOVES bitter apple and supper hot sauce ( suracha/ghost pepper/tobasco/ Hatch peppers mixed all together in oil/tomato paste as a binder). He tasted a bit, drank some water then went back to chewing without anymore drinks!! He has chewed since he came- even when he had a pasture mate and later shared a huge stall /run. We've tried toys- no luck "boring mom" ., spending extra time with him, and as a last resort, putting and attaching fencing around each piece of wood in this stall, or fence. Putting or attaching poultry fencing around each piece of wood in such a pretty coup wouldn"t be a sight pleasure and would also eliminate our access to "The Ladies".
I've heard of painting with a solution of diesel fuel and used car oil, but that sounds rather toxic.

The4 ft tall 'hutch ' is attached to the 3 ft tall run beneath it so raising the complex would still be within his reach (Caleb is a tall standard bred)..

We are thinking that a 7x8 ft modified resin storage shed might work, maybe. We could then save the wooden coop for winter when the Ladies come closer to the house , to have heated water and more shelter from the bitterly cold winds and wind chills typical here in Wisconsin.

The shed is a Craftsman 7x8 with rounded-not right angled corners.... Any thoughts as to this solution?

Thanks.....
 
swampfox440 said:
Hi welcome to BYC! good luck with your chewing horse and thanks for joining.
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DobieLover said:
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
Does Caleb have a stablemate? Does he have a large pasture? Is he cribbing or just chewing?
Can you move the coop out of his reach?
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Stablemate--not equine any more( he chewed even then), although he thinks the 10 cats ( " a little short but otherwise ok") 4 chickens ( "really weird hair mom, but otherwise ok"), dogs( " noisy and nosey and just weird horses yuck..they eat my horse hockey!! but ok- they at least have hair and like to romp & roll next to me"), and assorted people who like to lay in the sun next to him ('and have very yummy treats!--when I'm good")
Pastures-- multiple ranging from 1/3 to 1 acre used in rotation.
Coop--stands about 7 ft tall by 8 ft long x 4 ft wide so not easily moved.
Chewing would perhaps be more descriptive although his vet used either term at times-even in the same sentence.

Would a rounded corner , Craftsman resin shed ( with appropriate modifications) work--emphasizing the rounded edges vs the 90 degree edges on wooden coops be a decent concept?

Thanks 🐎
 

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