Roost, New Chicks, Behaviors

CoopedUpChicken

Chirping
May 20, 2015
98
13
53
So, tonight I made a makeshift roost that was about 2.5' high (i'll be finishing the coop part tomorrow). After I made the roost, they were trying to fly up to it and couldn't - so they started flying up on me! So, I quickly made a walk up platform with steps - but ended up having to put some of them up there by hand. Once they got all settled in (with a little help) - they were chirping happily for a tiny bit until they started to sleep. They are learning, I'm learning...


My questions:

Is 2.5' high okay for my final roosting bar? I have a coop/pen with a large space to land in 6" sand base.

If my chicks have washed construction sand/general purpose sand - is that good enough for grit? (It's not the fine play sand and has lots of pebbles and seashell bits, etc.. in it)

Is it okay for to allow the chicks to peck at my feet and jeans? I don't know if they are seeing stuff and pecking at it or trying to henpeck me...

What's the proper way to "correct" bad chicken behavior?

A couple of my chickens have sore spots on the upper part of their beaks from being scared and running around the pen which has hardware cloth sides. They've basically scraped their beaks a little bit due to them settling in and doing their pecking order thing. Is this something I should be worried about?


That's it for now.
Thanks!
 
It sounds like they are not full grown yet. If so, they will learn in their own time to get up and down from the roost. Having a wider landing space is a very good idea.

Pecking is so natural for them, it's very difficutl to change. It's their way of checking out their world, finding out what things are, etc. Even thugh it may pinch a bit, it's usually not aggressive. One thing you can do is sort of peck back at them, gently letting them know it works both ways. You can send the message without causing pain. I used to "peck" mine with a flimsy, long piece of grass. I suspect I confused them into quitting, lol.

If they have some access to normal dirt and grass, they will find their own grit.
 

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