Strange Sleeping Arrangement!!!

[creekjumper2]

I had never had chickens before. This was all new to me. I picked up my 28 baby chicks and took very good care of them. At 4 weeks they were to big for the brooder, so since they were the first, we went on and put them in their yard. The first night was something else. I went out to check on them right before dark. They were all inside the the hen house, in a panic. They had always had their light on in the brooder at night. They had never seen dusk before!!! I just sat there on a bucket in the middle of the hen house thinking...didn't know what to do for my babies. I got really attached to my chicks. They had turned into my pets, except for some of the rhode island red roosters who at first hated me. After some time, they love me....But back to my story. I didn't know what to do. They were use to a small confined space, so in the hen house is a dog house shaped like an igloo...I picked up each and every 4 week old chick and put them all inside the doghouse. They each shut up the chirping panicky noise and went to sleep. SILENCE!!!! Now they are 8 weeks old, and still sleeping inside the hen house inside the doghouse together. There is alot less space inside, but they don't seem to mind. I just find this funny to watch. In the evenings, I can go sit on my bucket in the hen house and as dusk approaches, they hop through the little door leading out to their yard and they come over for a pet and go inside the doghouse. I thought this was a cute story and wanted to share it. Just curious if anyone else had had this happen. I thought that they would be pearched on the little ladders and stuff inside sleeping. Never piled up together in a doghouse. 28 chickens in one place that small. I tried to take some pictures. It was too dark and they wouldn't turn out right. They were blurry and cloudy. Thanks for reading my story!

 

[SPRING CREEK FARM]

What a sweet story! I can just picture them now...this afternoon I transferred my 3 week olds from their brooder to their nursery pen. (It's still 81 degrees here at 11:00 pm!) Anyway, as dusk was approaching, I go outside on the patio and can hear them all just chirping away. I go out to check on them as I was planning on putting them into their side of the coop and they were all just huddled up together mid way in the run, like they were saying, "What are we supposed to do now?!"" I just gently gathered them up, a few at a time, (there are 21 of them) and placed them inside where they could cuddle up together in the nesting boxes. These babies sure can be sweet, can't they?

 

[creekjumper2]

They are really sweet. Longer I have them, more I just love them. I told my husband that when he came home and told me that we were going to get chickens, I thought he was crazy. Now, I just don't know what I would do without them. They all need me and it is what I needed to. For something to need me to take care of it. My son is getting older, so he doesn't need mama to do everything for him anymore. All those baby chickens need lots and lots of attention and care.

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
pictures!!! try again trya again! awesome Id love to see that!

 

[creekjumper2]

They are really sweet. Longer I have them, more I just love them. I told my husband that when he came home and told me that we were going to get chickens, I thought he was crazy. Now, I just don't know what I would do without them. They all need me and it is what I needed to. For something to need me to take care of it. My son is getting older, so he doesn't need mama to do everything for him anymore. All those baby chickens need lots and lots of attention and care.

 

[creekjumper2]

I took some pictures of my chickens. I uploaded to my uploads, but I can't figure out how to get them posted on the forum or on my blog so people can see. Can anyone help?

 

[posey]

I'm new too but I have posted a few pics.

In the upload window, at the bottom you can see two entries,
they each have an html address line. Do you see them?

I used the one on the bottom and clicked the little button on the side of it so that the menu expands downward. I chose the largest size and checked the resize box. I hope that I am remembering this correctly.

Then I highlighted the html address and copied it.

When I wanted to post the picture I opened the post message and typed what I wanted to say before the photo.

Then I pasted that html address code for the photo.

You can type some more and add more photo's below.

When you are done just click submit.

Try this and if it doesn't work, I'll try to help you again.
Posey

 

[creekjumper2]

Thanks. I will try this. I haven't been on the message board much. Tuesday I was mowing back beside the chicken yard and found 2 spots with black feathers everywhere. I got nervous and went and counted chickens. Something had gotten 2 of my black australorps. Looks like they both were roosters. We thought that they were flying out the sides of the yard at the top. We have the top covered, but right where the top of the chicken wire meets the top of the hen house it is a triangled space on both sides that is open. SOOOOO I went and cut wire and fixed that. We thought that this was fixed. Wednesday came and I picked the corn in the garden, shucked it and cut it off the cob. I gathered up all the cobs and went to the chicken yard. I again noticed more feathers and a piece of chicken this time. I was REALLY upset now. Counted chickens again and 2 more black chickens were gone. We have went from 14 to 10 black australorps. I texted my husband at work and told him. When he got home I went to show him where something might be getting them under the fence. We have dog wire lining the inside of the bottom of the yard, all the way around. Keeps varmits from digging in. Right beside the post was a gap in the dog wire. When we were looking a the wire, we found a rhode island red feather...... Counted chickens again.... NOW one red is missing. In broad daylight, something came and got another chicken. This was 3 chickens missing in 1 day... I was pretty mad by now...Nothing I could do but try to get it. I fixed the bottom of the fence, reinforced it more all the way around. We got out the traps my daddy had given me that we used when I was a little girl, and the first night nothing...Last night, something tripped both of them...still nothing. What ever it is, is coming in the daytime to. Before we went to bed, we seen where it tried digging into the yard in 2 more places yesterday during the day. It will be back today...I will be sitting and waiting under the barn this time.... I'll finish my story when I have a ending..Thanks for reading my troubles for the week.

 

[CMV]

My hens had a similar sleeping arrangement when they were babies, and now refuse to roost as adults. I gave up on trying to get them to roost. They just sleep in a big chicken pile. Crazy birds.

 

[chicken_china_mom]

I'm sorry to hear that you lost some of your chickens. It's frustrating when you don't know what is getting at your birds. I understand your crazy sleeping arrangements too. When I first moved my birds out to their coop they freaked out. On their first trips outside to explore I had used cat carriers, so when I moved them out to the coop for the first time, I used cat carriers to get them there since it's far back in the yard. So we dragged the carriers full of chickens out there, and they were in a panic cause the coop was infinitely bigger than their little brooder in my bathroom, so I placed the two carriers on the floor in the back corner for them to have a familiar place to go to if they were scared. They were too small to jump up to a roosting pole, so I didn't bother putting one up at that time. I went out that night to check on them and see how their first night was going, and there wasn't a chicken in sight. I leaned down and shined my light into the carriers and there they were, 35 6 week old chickens, all crammed into the two carriers. They looked startled when my light hit them, but relaxed once they heard my voice. Two weeks later I moved the ducks out to the coop, and guess where the ducks slept?

I put up a roosting pole but only about 16 will use it. We now have 29 birds out there since I sold some, plus two mallard ducks. Then two weeks ago my older DD took some banana boxes and cut off one side of them so that they only have 3 sides now, and now all of my birds that refuse to sleep on the pole, all sleep inside these boxes together. I removed the carriers finally about a week ago, which really ticked the ducks off. My birds are now 12 weeks old and approximately half absolutely refuse to roost at night. Especially my Silkies. They stay strictly on the ground. We've had no predator problems so far, thank the good Lord, and I keep an eye out for them. I use diatamaceous earth to reduce the odor in my coop and it really doesn't smell much, not like my two neighbors in town that also have chickens. One neighbor in town doesn't clean his coop. His birds have what looks like a muddy mess on the floor of their coop (it's a dirt floor), and if you walk pass his coop on a day when the wind is blowing your way, you just about pass out from the stench. But his girls are locked up tight and nothing gets in at them. My other neighbors clean their coop regularly but theirs stinks too, not matter what they do. They don't use DE. They have a more frequent problem with predators and just last week lost 15 birds overnight. So I don't know what all factors play into who's birds get attacked and who's don't. I just know that so far we've had no problems. I was very nervous the other night though because I heard coyotes howling in the cornfields at the end of town, which is only at the end of my block, and there were a lot of them, and they were close. If they had come into town from that particular field, my yard would have been the first one they entered, and that had me REALLY wishing I had a rifle or shotgun! If you are losing your birds in broad daylight, I don't know what exactly it could be. I know that here, in Central Indiana, we have raccoons, opossums, weasels, and because there is a grain elevator in our little town, rats too. Not to mention the possibility of aerial assaults from hawks, kites, eagles, and falcons. Plenty of those around here. About a quarter mile away there is a mama redtailed hawk raising her kids, and they are nearly as big as her now. In your case, it's most likely a racoon. Though, here's a question for you, are there feral cats by you? I have to watch my birds when they are out because my next door neighbor keeps outdoor cats and ALWAYS has kittens running around. Her adult cats don't mess with my birds. I think they know it's an instant death sentence if they do, but her kittens stalk and try to mess with them from time to time. I chase them out of my yard daily. It's bad enough that they poop in my yard, but seeing as how my neighbor puts a single can of cat food out for like 20 cats, I know her cats are hungry and hunting. So far they seem content to catch robins and other small birds. But I wouldn't hesitate to shoot one of her cats if they attack my birds. For them though, I plan to get a BB gun so I don't have to kill them, just teach them a lesson. I hope you catch the bugger that is getting at your birds. I think that unless you catch it and get rid of it, it's going to keep coming back, and wipe out your birds. Please do let us know when you catch it though. And do get some pics of your birds in their little doghouse. I'd like to see that too! Good luck getting rid of your pest problem!