So I got a coop (a kind of mini one, a small tractor, meant for 4-6 grown hens) for my 13 chicks to grow up in, with an attached pen. They have about 34 square feet or so, quite nice!
This is the second night they have gone in the coop with the door closed (with a heating plate in there, if needed, though our nights are a balmy 70 right now) and I cannot reach in there to place them in the coop, I need to just kind of bang gently with a stick and hope they get the idea. It wasn't working so I was like, okay everyone says to lure them with treats.
I cut up 1 grape into tiny pieces and went in through the nesting boxes and placed it on the top of the brooder plate and sprinkled it in the floor. Instant chicks in the coop! They went crazy for it.
Except for one -- she was sitting outside on a roosting bar, happy as a clam on her own.
BUT OUR ROOSTER, who is a mere 4 weeks old, he knew what the deal was!!! He herded everyone in! When he saw she wouldn't come, he chased her in - he caught her by her 'scruff' and held her down for about 10 seconds, he didn't DO anything to her, just showed her who is boss -- and he let her go, and she went right into the coop.
He stood at the doorway of the coop for a good minute, standing guard, making sure they stayed in and I was telling him he was a good boy and to go to bed. He went in and I closed the door.
WOW! He is SMART!
But I wanted to know, is that okay behavior from him? To show whose boss? He was not hurting her, he was just physical. What red flags do I need to look for? Was he being a good boy like I thought?
(btw, I'm up at 6am to let them out, they are still asleep when I open the door lol they aren't hurting for water or food, they sleep all night, I have a camera on them and check in on them for peeping lol)
This is the second night they have gone in the coop with the door closed (with a heating plate in there, if needed, though our nights are a balmy 70 right now) and I cannot reach in there to place them in the coop, I need to just kind of bang gently with a stick and hope they get the idea. It wasn't working so I was like, okay everyone says to lure them with treats.
I cut up 1 grape into tiny pieces and went in through the nesting boxes and placed it on the top of the brooder plate and sprinkled it in the floor. Instant chicks in the coop! They went crazy for it.
Except for one -- she was sitting outside on a roosting bar, happy as a clam on her own.
BUT OUR ROOSTER, who is a mere 4 weeks old, he knew what the deal was!!! He herded everyone in! When he saw she wouldn't come, he chased her in - he caught her by her 'scruff' and held her down for about 10 seconds, he didn't DO anything to her, just showed her who is boss -- and he let her go, and she went right into the coop.
He stood at the doorway of the coop for a good minute, standing guard, making sure they stayed in and I was telling him he was a good boy and to go to bed. He went in and I closed the door.
WOW! He is SMART!
But I wanted to know, is that okay behavior from him? To show whose boss? He was not hurting her, he was just physical. What red flags do I need to look for? Was he being a good boy like I thought?
(btw, I'm up at 6am to let them out, they are still asleep when I open the door lol they aren't hurting for water or food, they sleep all night, I have a camera on them and check in on them for peeping lol)
I showed him in a thread last week. Def a Cockerel!
