Why do they all crowd in the door?

[SusanRN]

We are proud new chicken parents. We have a horse stall converted to a chicken coop. We have 6 buff orpingtons who are about 2 months or so old out there. We also have a baby goose. The baby goose thinks our Labrador Retriever is it's mom which is very cute. The lab loves the goose and the chickens. We have more chicks still too young to put out in the coop of a few varieties we read would not be mean to the buffs.

The buffs do a weird thing. My husband put in an automatic door that we close at night so they can free range in the day. So far so good with that. But the weird thing is when they go in they all fight to cluster on the ledge of the door. They all want to sit RIGHT THERE, they desperately want to sit right there. This is a pretty large space, with a ladder like roost and little nooks they can hang out in. The ledge beside that door is prime chicken real estate and I don't get it.

Anyone with more chicken experience have an explanation?

Susan

 

[Chicks Galore3]

The only explanation I can think of is - They're chickens and we'll never be able to understand their silly little brains! Are they afraid of something on the other side of the door or do they like to just sit there...just because?

 

[SusanRN]

Thanks! Just chicken brains is my best guess but I wondered if maybe this is some chicken behavior that I hadn't learned about yet. It's very funny to watch them all clog into a tiny space when there are so many other places they could be. But it's obviously a very desirable spot to a chicken brain.