Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[pennyJo1960]

I thought it was funny as I was not hurt.
Did not bother to tell James right aways anyway.

 

[TeePants]

Turns out I spoke too soon about the girls using the ramp. They used it the first night or so, but now they have decided they’d rather sleep in the run against the hardware cloth, which is drafty and cold as well as dumb.

I KNOW they can use the ramp because I’ve seen them go up it, so I have no idea why they’ve decided to make life difficult for everyone else. Forgot to put them up today and had to go out there just now (11:50pm) to unceremoniously toss them up into the coop.

They had the audacity to be offended.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I can attest birds can be a pain too.
We built the coop like 5 years ago.
They had a geodesic coop before it was huge not all useable.

 

[TeePants]

Today my wife put them up at sunset; but the auto door doesn’t close until 5. It’s a Run Chicken door and the instructions claim there’s a button on it somewhere but we are too dumb to find it, and I hadn’t set up the app on her phone yet.

They waited for her to go in the house and marched back down the ramp to their sleep spot on the ground.

 

[ValerieJ]

Today my wife put them up at sunset; but the auto door doesn’t close until 5. It’s a Run Chicken door and the instructions claim there’s a button on it somewhere but we are too dumb to find it, and I hadn’t set up the app on her phone yet.

They waited for her to go in the house and marched back down the ramp to their sleep spot on the ground.

Have you checked the coop for mites? There is a type that lives in the coop and comes out at night to bite the hens, then goes back into their hiding places, generally under the roosting bars.

 

[TeePants]

Have you checked the coop for mites? There is a type that lives in the coop and comes out at night to bite the hens, then goes back into their hiding places, generally under the roosting bars.

How big are they and what do they look like? I put Revitalime in the coop and in the run and I also add herbs that are meant to repel insects.

Edit: the internet says red mites are only active at 48 degrees or above - it’s been in the 30s at night here. This is also a brand new coop and run, and the hens are only 3 months old; I’m hoping they’re just kind of dumb and haven’t figured things out.

 

[ValerieJ]

How big are they and what do they look like? I put Revitalime in the coop and in the run and I also add herbs that are meant to repel insects.

Edit: the internet says red mites are only active at 48 degrees or above - it’s been in the 30s at night here. This is also a brand new coop and run, and the hens are only 3 months old; I’m hoping they’re just kind of dumb and haven’t figured things out.

Yeah, I think you're right. Red mites were what I was talking about. Sometimes chickens just like to be in the fresh air. I'm no expert, but if my chickens want to do that, I would just allow them to be where they want to be. If they are in a secure place, from predators, and can go indoors if they want to, what's the harm? I wouldn't use an auto-door for this reason.

 

[TeePants]

Yeah, I think you're right. Red mites were what I was talking about. Sometimes chickens just like to be in the fresh air. I'm no expert, but if my chickens want to do that, I would just allow them to be where they want to be. If they are in a secure place, from predators, and can go indoors if they want to, what's the harm? I wouldn't use an auto-door for this reason.

Their sleeping place of choice is smashed up against the 1/4in hardware cloth. I expect it to hold against rats and mice but I am not certain a determined raccoon or coyote couldn’t get through it, and we have seen both in our neighborhood, so we want them to go to the much more secure (and better insulated!) coop at night. Not to mention, it’s drafty and wet when it rains down there versus the coop!

 

[ValerieJ]

Their sleeping place of choice is smashed up against the 1/4in hardware cloth. I expect it to hold against rats and mice but I am not certain a determined raccoon or coyote couldn’t get through it, and we have seen both in our neighborhood, so we want them to go to the much more secure (and better insulated!) coop at night. Not to mention, it’s drafty and wet when it rains down there versus the coop!

I haven't worried about raccoons or coyotes getting through the hardware cloth on our coop run in 9 years of chickening. But, if you are, change the door from auto to manual and close them in. I did that in the beginning, but their enclosure now allows them to be inside or outside. I've had no problems. They do get to free range during the day in a more open area in the orchard, but even that is fenced in with an 8 ft fence and live wire around it, with hardware cloth at the bottom section.

IDK, I think we relax more after a few years. I have only ever had an areal attack by the local bald eagles once in the orchard run. No one else, no other predator, has been able to get to them. And now, I even think we are protected from the eagles.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Still learn how to shut the door keep them in there a day or 2.
Once they are going on their own you can set the time back.