Witchychickens
Chirping
Now that my girls are in their coop outdoors, I have some questions.
Do you give your chickens water overnight in the coop? I’d prefer not to put the waterer in the coop if I can avoid it.
Can I train them to the coop at night any other way than locking them in for days? I don’t love that idea.
What does dusk really mean? When I go out around 7:30, they’re still up and hard to wrangle. Sunset tonight is around 8, I figured 7:30 would be good but it seems they’re “not sleepy yet” like most kids Tonight I used a huddle box to try to block them from escaping the coop as I got each in one by one. I tried a herding stick but only one went in with that method. I feel bad because I don’t want to frighten them. Will they get used to the coop being their place if I put them in every night for a few weeks?
When did you start to feed them treats? What are your favorite treats to feed your flock?
Do I *need* a pop door? We didn’t get one cut in before we had to move them out. They’re using the human door just fine and I don’t mind opening the human door to let them in and out, although I suppose it gives them a larger area to escape from right now.
Ideas on safeguarding a “pasturing area”? We have a fenced in yard and then a secondary fence that would allow them to pasture behind their coop. I was thinking bird netting, and no dig predator fencing at the base of my fence to ensure nothing can dig under it to get them. They would only pasture when I am outdoors with them or watching. We do have a dog (who cannot access that part of the yard) and cats who go outside occasionally but they wouldn’t be able to dig or crawl under and they would get caught in the bird netting if they did try to jump the 6 foot privacy fence (we are set atop a hill, they’d have a hard time jumping it from the ground for sure).
Oyster shell, I assume they don’t need this until they lay?
Any input and thoughts welcome.
Do you give your chickens water overnight in the coop? I’d prefer not to put the waterer in the coop if I can avoid it.
Can I train them to the coop at night any other way than locking them in for days? I don’t love that idea.
What does dusk really mean? When I go out around 7:30, they’re still up and hard to wrangle. Sunset tonight is around 8, I figured 7:30 would be good but it seems they’re “not sleepy yet” like most kids Tonight I used a huddle box to try to block them from escaping the coop as I got each in one by one. I tried a herding stick but only one went in with that method. I feel bad because I don’t want to frighten them. Will they get used to the coop being their place if I put them in every night for a few weeks?
When did you start to feed them treats? What are your favorite treats to feed your flock?
Do I *need* a pop door? We didn’t get one cut in before we had to move them out. They’re using the human door just fine and I don’t mind opening the human door to let them in and out, although I suppose it gives them a larger area to escape from right now.
Ideas on safeguarding a “pasturing area”? We have a fenced in yard and then a secondary fence that would allow them to pasture behind their coop. I was thinking bird netting, and no dig predator fencing at the base of my fence to ensure nothing can dig under it to get them. They would only pasture when I am outdoors with them or watching. We do have a dog (who cannot access that part of the yard) and cats who go outside occasionally but they wouldn’t be able to dig or crawl under and they would get caught in the bird netting if they did try to jump the 6 foot privacy fence (we are set atop a hill, they’d have a hard time jumping it from the ground for sure).
Oyster shell, I assume they don’t need this until they lay?
Any input and thoughts welcome.