Three hens digging holes? Whats up with that?

[riaketty]

Quote:
Hey, that's a good idea to cover them back up!

 

[CoopCrazy]

Also you have to think if its hot were you are nothing is cooler then a hole in the ground.. AWWWWW

 

[detali]

It's hot where I am, Arizona. And the west end of the chicken pasture is under a mesquite tree. I water the pasture early every morning to keep the greens growing. So the soil under the mesquite tree is damp. Boy, do they love to dig big holes there and laze around. Moist holes, shade. what more could a chicken want?

 

[Annabella]

Reading through this I have to wonder whether the girls do dig deeper in summer than in winter.
We are in our cold months here and I haven't noticed them digging the holes to china like they did in summer.
mmm I will have to check this as we start getting warmer.
Once last summer I thought I had lost a girl (counting heads through the kitchen window), then I saw her pop up out the ground!

 

[Utah rockwood]

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When it's hot I dump a bucket of water on the dirt in a shady area in the corner of the coop. At first the hens just walk around in the wet soil but later when the soil is slightly damp....big time dirt bath. They go nuts when they see me bringing the bucket and they really do seem to enjoy the cool dirt.

 

[Ravishaw]

If they just dig and dig day after day, it could be a serious case of fhcs!

 

[old geezer]

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Yup, they just like scratching and digging. A chicken hobby if you will....
Sometimes I think mine are heading for China, the holes are so deep.

same here ..

...

 

[3goodeggs]

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Okay, I'll bite. What is 'fhcs'?
(As long as it is family friendly, and won't make me blush. )

 

[Ravishaw]

fhcs=

FAT HAPPY CHICKEN SYNDROME!

My hens are smitten with it.

 

[3goodeggs]

OHHH! why of course! I had a hen up to her neck in a hole today. She was in the mud. She looked pitiful...But she was HAPPY!