North Carolina

[Hollowoakfarm]

Good morning all!  Welcome newcomers!

Now that I have my "girls" in the coop/run full time, I have a question.  My run is completely secure, but I have been closing the girls in the coop at night and opening the door in the morning.  There is one girl who has been sitting on the roost bar in the run huddling next to the chicken wire. I pick her up and put her in the coop and then close everyone in for the night.  Should I just leave the door open and let them sleep where ever they want, even if it's outside in the run?

 

If the run is secure in that nothing can come over, dig under, or break through, you can. If it's not, then lock them up!

 

[abChicken]

Good morning all! Welcome newcomers!

Now that I have my "girls" in the coop/run full time, I have a question. My run is completely secure, but I have been closing the girls in the coop at night and opening the door in the morning. There is one girl who has been sitting on the roost bar in the run huddling next to the chicken wire. I pick her up and put her in the coop and then close everyone in for the night. Should I just leave the door open and let them sleep where ever they want, even if it's outside in the run?

Morning all--Well I lost a beautiful Cochin Bantam roo last summer to an Owl by letting him stay out in lot-The owl pulled his head through 2X4 welded wire

 

[Hatch N Eggs]

Good morning everyone! Today, I'm planning on tilling 2 more garden plots and going to get paint to paint my coops. This should be fun! Have a great day all!

 

[NewHomesteader2010]

I think I might have earned my spoiling a chicken badge today! My broody has not come off the nest to eat when the feed is being dished out, so today, I brought some feed into her. She was SO happy to have some feed ALL to herself and was "talking to me" - it sounded like a purr...LOL

Beautiful weather is in store for us, I hope you get a chance to get out and watch some Chicken TV!!

 

[busymadre]

Just posted a finished coop description - "The Girl's Club".
I go out every morning before work and say good morning to the girls while my DH takes the dog for a walk (lets him run into the woods
Sorry to hear about your loss "Abchicken"

 

[TarheelBirdy]

Good morning! Enjoying a beautiful morning here, watering the garden, moving chicks and chickens around. I sold a rooster yesterday and it's a bit less noisy, lol. I need to get into my office and do some work but I'm procrastinating, it's just so nice outside.

My six-week-olds went the night in their pen in the barn without their heat lamp for the first time last night and were bright-eyed and busy when I got out there this morning...yippee! The worry about those lamps causing fire never leaves my mind, so it's nice to have one less being used.

I sold a SFH rooster to some really nice people last night. I had not planned to sell him, but they had lost their roo to a terrible incident and I can tell he is going to a good home. His hen is now with another boy who was very happy to see her! Life goes on.

Have a great day, everyone!

 

[TarheelBirdy]

I have six beautiful chicks that are free to any of my BYCers! They are a cross between my crested SFH roo and my heritage RIR hen. They are SO cute but I have a lot of chicks right now, and can't justify hatching more until I cut back a bit.

 

[CricketR4]

Good morning everyone!

Welcome to all newcomers!

Weird thing just happened to me... I was outside and heard a rooster crow. Not unusual as we do have a rooster, but this one didn't sound anything like Dick, so I looked around to see where he was. I saw a chicken sitting in the entrance to the coop (where the crowing sounded like it came from) and just chalked it up to the sound being changed because of where he was sitting. All of a sudden, a rooster crowed from the big pole barn (opposite direction from the coop) and there was Dick, crowing his normal sounding crow. The chicken in the coop was Boots a Bantam hen, or so I thought

. I'll try to get a pic of her to post here. She's not sleek and thin like our other bantam rooster, but she has a bigger comb than the other hens. Is it possible I'm mistaken, and she is a HE? Or was she a she, and now under going some sort of sex change type thing??

On another note, we have five chicks (Bantams, I really want bigger ones, but Henny decided to sit on Bantam eggs), and they are all doing very well with Mama. Hopefully I'll get another chicken to go broody so I can set some bigger eggs under her, since I now have 10 Bantams total, and only 3 big girls.

Hope everyone has a great day, try to get some outside time, it's BEAUTIFUL out today!! I'm off to chase chickens so I can get a picture of Boots.

 

[LukesCityHens]

The only red brahma project that hatched and a dark, getting a little outside time.

 

[TIN CHICKEN]

If the run is secure in that nothing can come over, dig under, or break through, you can. If it's not, then lock them up!

I agree - I keep my runway door open 24/7 so the chickens have access to both inside and outside the coop. I also agree this should only be done if the coop is completely secure.