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

[Chickiestohens]

A Question..our horse thinks he's part chicken or the 4 ladies are part horse. He chews on their coop trying to "rescue" them from their hutch. Help! Any one have this problem?
Thinking of going with a modified Craftsman resin shed. Will this help stop his chewing? I live in Wisconsin so is this a viable/sturdy solution? thanking you for your input.

 

[SilverBirds]

Thanks for joining. His he damaging the coop?

 

[Chickiestohens]

Thanks for joining. His he damaging the coop?

Oh yes. He is quite the sculptor. However the only security issue we have (right now) is he's learned how to unlock the clean out /viewing window door and lock the the bottom lock on the man door.
He has also figured out how to turn our sunroom door handle!!

 

[Chickiestohens]

He-Caleb the horse- can unlock his stable door which is why he's by his chicken "herd" coop! Very soon his pasture will be ready for him, but until then.....help!!

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! 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?

 

[janiedoe]

Welcome to BYC.
Caleb the horse sounds like a smart guy. I'd love to see his picture, and the hens, and their chewed up coop, as well.

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. Sounds as if Caleb is bored and cribbing or perhaps he knows there is tasty feed in the chicken coop.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Welcome to BYC! Does Bitter apple for dogs work for horses?

 

[Boppo]

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!

 

[007Sean]

Howdy, and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!