I have a troublemaker in the flock. Gertrude is a very pretty EE with heaps of attitude. She does not like being picked up or held and boy does she screech when you do! Well, today she decided she did not want to go back in the coop even though the sun was setting. She is not the dominant pullet in the flock and yet she had a little entourage following her lead and modeling her behavior! This group included some of the chicks that were previously easy to catch.
I ended up standing a couple of fence panels up as a makeshift corral and herding the naughty sub-group into it to catch them. Ugh. Gertrude climbed straight up that 6' chain link fence panel and stood on the top of the frame like she wasn't sure whether she should jump. I grabbed her before she could decide.
I keep thinking that eventually they'll view that coop as their safe place to sleep but right now, they just know it's hot and they'd rather lounge in the cool dirt, thanks. I gave them until 6:30 and then forced the issue. I could hear the owls starting up, it's just not safe for them to be out at dusk...
I keep thinking that eventually they'll view that coop as their safe place to sleep but right now, they just know it's hot and they'd rather lounge in the cool dirt, thanks. I gave them until 6:30 and then forced the issue. I could hear the owls starting up, it's just not safe for them to be out at dusk...