Kicking them out of the house....

[Chick-Mahal]

I am just about to kick all 13 of them out of my house. All I have left is finishing the fencing. Essentially I guess I am building a huge bird cage. My run will have chicken wire over the top to stop those from above from eating my babies and 2 X 4 fence with chicken wire around then electric fence. I think this chicken Mom has protection covered. Will post a pic when it is done. But Yesterday we had a real live Chicken Run. LOL It was such a surprise. I was upstairs doing my morning routine and after I had done water and food I was preparing them a snack. Next thing I knew I heard a lot of flapping and squaking and out came one girl, yep my Falfa.. I had my back turned and filling a bowl, put the bowl down as Falfa started towards the stairs, she stopped and let me pick her up. Got her back in brooder and well another had also gotten out but was just on top of my screen, scooped her up and put her back. Wow what a scary experience, for me and them. My thoughts were of my 70 lb hound dog downstairs that is a great hunter. They seemed pretty scared not being used to the outside of the brooder, that helped me get them back safely. Routine must change now using more caution until Fri or Sat when I can get them out to the big house!! Falfa got her name due to her feathers a couple of them just stick out on either side and she is also very brave, first to come see what I am up to, so I have been rewarding her with snacks and a noise I make to sort of call her. She is a good girl. Now to find names for the rest of my flock.

 

[Callender Girl]

Chicks certainly can add some excitement to your life, can't they? When I was brooding some in the upstairs bedroom this spring, I was surprised to find the Bielefelder happily sitting on top of the screen that covered the brooder. She had zero interest in returning to her flock mates, and a lively chase ensued.

Glad you got everybody back in safely and that your hunter didn't participate in the round up.

Cute name for Falfa; sounds like she's mama's favorite already!

Looking forward to seeing your run photos.

 

[Chick-Mahal]

Yesterday was a nerve racking day for this Mom. Got all 13 out to the Big House. Each one had to be taken out of the carrier I brought them over in, so funny. Then it took them 3 hours before they would venture out of the coop. Once they did they stayed in a close flock for a bit, then spread out a bit. But they are still staying together. Next issue how to ge tthem to go into the coop at night, or will they figure this out? Last night I managed to catch 2 and put them in the coop but the others were too hard to catch in this heat. Now what? How do I get tham into the coop safety? 7 weeks old.

 

[Callender Girl]

My "youngsters," three Cochin Bantams and two full-sized birds who are quickly towering over the littles, were kicked out of the brooder a few weeks ago and can often still be found in a five-bird huddle in the run. They are also often reluctant to go inside at night.

I use the same trick on them that I use for all stubborn poultry -- I train them from an early age to respond to me yelling "Grapes," and throwing a few through the pop door, soon to be followed by a mad rush of hungry chickens dashing inside.

Good luck with your little cuties!

 

[The Tiny Homestead]

Just got my 4 Australorps out of the house this week. They started out in a box in the kitchen, then an extended box. Next move was to the parlor, where they had a pretty fancy setup made from appliance boxes. My seedlings were all planted so we took the lights off the stand and set it in the enclosure. It's 4 ft long and 5 ft high and gave some levels and places for roosts. It even had a plexiglass "window" I could slide off to let them in and out. On the weeks I had to work, I brought them out to a geodome for the day, and they roamed thenyard when I was home. At the end of the day, they'd wait by the back door to be let in, and parade through the kitchen, into the living room and into their box. The thing I liked was, once they were on their roost, I could go down the line and pet each one for a while. They have caught on pretty well as to going in the coop, although last night they went to the door expecting to go in. I brought thenfeeder over by thr coop formtheir last fill up before bed and they caught on. One is a rooster.

 

[3KillerBs]

You'll have to put them to bed at dusk every night for a while until they figure it out.

Be sure to put them through the pop door rather than carrying them in through the access door.

 

[Chick-Mahal]

My "youngsters," three Cochin Bantams and two full-sized birds who are quickly towering over the littles, were kicked out of the brooder a few weeks ago and can often still be found in a five-bird huddle in the run. They are also often reluctant to go inside at night.

I use the same trick on them that I use for all stubborn poultry -- I train them from an early age to respond to me yelling "Grapes," and throwing a few through the pop door, soon to be followed by a mad rush of hungry chickens dashing inside.

Good luck with your little cuties!

Good idea, I am training them to respond when I call them, I say Babies a few times crinkle the snack bag and whistle, they responded more to the snakcs today but each day I am sure they will get better at responding. Thanks

 

[Chick-Mahal]

You'll have to put them to bed at dusk every night for a while until they figure it out.

Be sure to put them through the pop door rather than carrying them in through the access door.

Why the poop door?

 

[3KillerBs]

Why the poop door?

Because the pop door is their door that they go in and out of themselves. If you carry them around to the human access door they won't learn to go in on their own but will expect to be put in.

I either herd them into the pop door or carry them there, set them on the ramp, and give them a nudge to get them to walk through.

 

[Chick-Mahal]

Because the pop door is their door that they go in and out of themselves. If you carry them around to the human access door they won't learn to go in on their own but will expect to be put in.

I either herd them into the pop door or carry them there, set them on the ramp, and give them a nudge to get them to walk through.

Once again they are not in the coop. I put their food in there and seeded it well with dried crickets and meal worms. They went up ate stuff and came down the ramp again. I am sort of worried they will never learn unless I get them all in there manually, 13. Not sure how to accomplish getting all 13 in.