Bedtime Battles

Here is a shot of the girls coming down their ramp after pulling an all-nighter. (See previous post). The problem is not getting them down in the morning. They stand at the door, chattering and peeking out, beginning about a half hour before daybreak. At first light, they cautiously make their way into the morning. The problem is getting them to go into the coop at night. We assumed they would follow their chick instincts to head for high roosts and the warmth of the light. But noooo....they huddled in a corner of the run. The first two nights Bill went out well after dark and picked up sleepy chicks and put them into the coop. They stayed and came to life (See previous post). Monday night I was convinced I could train them to walk up into the coop at dusk by luring them with treats. I mixed some feed with plain yogurt and let them sample a bit, while slowly moving the dish up the ramp. (Picture a grown woman sitting in an small enclosed space, on chicken poo, chirping-"come on babies"). One or two would make it into the coop, but would come back down as I was coaxing the rest in. I gave up after a half hour and went inside. About nine o'clock I looked out window of my office and saw chicks sleeping around the bottom of the ramp. At 9:30 I saw movement in the coop, and thought they'd figured it out. A few minutes later though, two chicks came part way down the ramp and went back up. I realized they were looking for their sisters when I spotted three chicks on the ground in a corner of the run. I was hoping they would get with the program and head upstairs. But nooo...when I checked on them at 10 pm all 6 were on the ground. Thankfully they were sleeping in the corner by the people door so I could easily lift them one by one into the coop without crawling inside. (Kind of like dunking basketballs). Tonight I decided to let them sleep where they want, but when I went to check on them at 10:30 they were huddled in a corner and the rain was moving in, so I "dunked" them into the coop.

I suppose they are telling me they prefer dark rather than warmth and height for secure sleeping, but they had no problem sleeping under the brooder light. Soon the nights will get warmer and they will be more mature and we can leave the light off.

I can't believe I'm trying to think like a chicken.