A Smart-ish Hen

[MageofMist]

A funny little story.

I was sitting on the doorstep outside with the door closed behind me, just watching the birds scratch about and be all cute. When one walked up to me and hopped on my lap, not too strange for her as she is a snuggle bug, but this time she had another motive... She stood upright, staring up at my head and then... Jumped up onto my head!

She didn't stop there either, she then tried to jump through the glass window on the door to get inside, using me as a step-ladder! Which confused me as the window is translucent and has flower patterns on it, but she thought she could pass through it somehow.

After that, she tried to jump up again, though I stopped her so she wouldn't hurt herself, and opened the door for her so she could go in to lay her egg.

 

[Zoomie]

That *is* a smart hen! Very cute story.

Yeah, it's funny, but glass just looks like the environment to birds. One year a male bluebird spent hours trying over and over and over to fly through one of my windows. I know, sometimes they see their own reflection and try to fight it, but this wasn't that at all. He just for some reason thought he could fly through the window and kept trying again and again, launching himself very gently against the glass from a branch about one foot from the window. I was so relieved he did not hurt himself!

 

[aart]

opened the door for her so she could go in to lay her egg

Door to the coop, right....not door to your house??

 

[MageofMist]

Door to the coop, right....not door to your house??

Door to the house, they do have a coop outside, but haven't fully transitioned to it yet. They go in it when it is rainy and such, but they prefer to go inside the house at night and to lay eggs.

 

[aart]

Door to the house, they do have a coop outside, but haven't fully transitioned to it yet. They go in it when it is rainy and such, but they prefer to go inside the house at night and to lay eggs.

Will never understand folks letting chickens into their houses.
I like to be the one who decides where the chickens will be, not them.

 

[Patinas]

So your hens lay their eggs in your house? Seems like you would have a hard time breaking them of that habit down the road unless you're perfectly fine with them hanging out in the house. Some of mine try to get in the house but that's a boundary I won't let them cross. They keep trying though!

 

[MageofMist]

Will never understand folks letting chickens into their houses.
I like to be the one who decides where the chickens will be, not them.

So your hens lay their eggs in your house? Seems like you would have a hard time breaking them of that habit down the road unless you're perfectly fine with them hanging out in the house. Some of mine try to get in the house but that's a boundary I won't let them cross. They keep trying though!

The room they go in has a tile floor, so I can clean it easily, and I don't mind them hanging around the house. Though I am keeping mine as pets, and they basically act like cats, just... Messier. They stampede out the door in the mornings, and stampede back in whenever I open it to either lay eggs or root around for possible treats before going back out again, the last stampede being around 7-8 pm when they decide to stay in to sleep, roosting on the perches we set up inside for them.

I like to think of them as my 'mutant cockatoos.'

 

[BantyChooks]

Will never understand folks letting chickens into their houses.
I like to be the one who decides where the chickens will be, not them.

If I let my birds decide, I'd have 50 birds in my basement from October 'til May!

 

[Coykoi]

I don't let mine in the house, but they love to come up to the sliding door and tease the dogs. I'll hear the dogs making a ruckus only to see the rooster standing at the glass, looking in. The hens aren't that brave but they'll all come onto the patio to hang out.

 

[tuesdaze]

Did you do anything to train them to go from their room to the door going outside or from the door going outside to their room? My chooks just want to peck around in the house when they come out of their room and it's the same outside when I let them out of the run, they just want to peck around on the ground. I'm hoping they will go to the door and go in and out without being carried. I just haven't figured out how to teach them to do it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.