Setting Up for Intermittent Free-ranging of Juvenile Chickens

[centrarchid]

This batch is problematic at roosting time as they want to roost on top of pen. GHO likes that very much. I knock them off with a stick which is a pain and can not be done once it gets too dark. Once birds knocked off they form a que at base of live-trap standing on end and relarively quickly go into pen as they should.

Four year old monkey that helps me police up another batch of 35 in the barn. She crawls under bench and catches each one by hand and places it in a coop. Notice her mouth being open. She wanted to feed a lightening beetle she caught to chicks, but I said they will not eat it. She asked why. I said lick it and find out. She did and agreed with me.

 

[centrarchid]

Setting up for getting juveniles of both batches 2 and 3 to roost was particularly problematic. Almost all were roosting up when something got into a songbird nest in a tree about 40 feet up and immediately behind barn. It was one of the GHO's that appears to have a day roost in thicket immediately to west of barn. Butt munch! Adults chickens were giving all kinds of warning calls yet juveniles just sat there all bunched up trying to look small. Perfect owl bait. As I watched for GHO to come down one batch, the other bunch was knocked with a stick before effort was switched back to other batch. Process took ten minutes and my neck is sore from watching for GHO. If the owls were watching me a few years back with similar roosting issues, then that is how they were trained to follow me. Butt munches!

 

[centrarchid]

Several iterations of these roost for juveniles have been made over the years. Problem that keeps popping up is birds want to roost on top of pens. That was controlled by having the roost entrance about 7' or higher above ground but then American Dominiques take several nights to get jump up to entrance down without an intermediate launch point. The intermediate launch point makes so fox can get in. Coops near house closer to core of dogs observation area fixes that problem but then you have wife not happy with chickens free ranging yard. I am going to try something that looks like a cylindrical wire corn crib with something that looks like a spoked wagon wheel serving as a roost.

 

[centrarchid]

Tonight all but four chickens from the two batches totaling about 60 went properly into pens to roost. My daughter is also getting realy good at policing up juveniles not getting back into pen. They do not flee or squawk.