Pullets In Coop Too Much?

[castillo_de_luz]

My flock of five hens are 11 weeks old and I've had them since 8 weeks. They've always had the coop and attached run, and had been spending the whole day outside until just recently.

Now they'll come out (auto door) for morning breakfast, cuddle up and nap, then at some point I check the coop cam and they're all back in the coop!

If I go outside to see them, they'll come out and get treats. Then they walk around, eat their food, drink water, nip at the grass, scratch around... all 5 seem to have normal behaviors and I haven't seen any unusual poops or other indications of illness.

It's definitely colder here during the day than it was a week ago -- chilly, windy, and VERY cold at night. But nothing has actually changed for them in terms of their daily life.

Are they just going inside to be warm and comfy? Perhaps the local hawks are more active and they're hiding? They don't appear to be sick, but then again I'm a worried new chicken keeper and I want to be sure this behavior doesn't indicate something dire.

 

[azygous]

No, it doesn't signify anything dire. It's just a good example of chickens having agency to decide what they will choose to do at any given time.

Right now, my flock of thirteen hens are all hanging out inside their covered run despite it being 70F and a lovely sunny day. I've determined they have two reasons for their choice. One is that it's slightly windy today and they hate for their feathers to get rumpled. The other is arbitrary. For some reason, they prefer not to risk being in the open at the moment, electing to play it safe and remain under cover and safety.

In short, chickens exercise choice and do whatever they feel like doing in spite of our preconceived notions of what chickens should be doing.

 

[castillo_de_luz]

No, it doesn't signify anything dire. It's just a good example of chickens having agency to decide what they will choose to do at any given time.

Right now, my flock of thirteen hens are all hanging out inside their covered run despite it being 70F and a lovely sunny day. I've determined they have two reasons for their choice. One is that it's slightly windy today and they hate for their feathers to get rumpled. The other is arbitrary. For some reason, they prefer not to risk being in the open at the moment, electing to play it safe and remain under cover and safety.

In short, chickens exercise choice and do whatever they feel like doing in spite of our preconceived notions of what chickens should be doing.

This is a great reminder, thank you! I went back outside after the sun had come out for a few minutes, and there they all were -- happy as can be out in the run.

I think I just need to keep in mind that chickens can (and will) just... do things that make perfect sense to them, but not necessarily to me!