Every night there is a battle to see who can get on the high perches and who gets stuck on the top rung of the ladder. We hear a lot of clunking about and then usually a squawk and then either Toffee, Emerald or Speckles will come running out of the chicken shed.
Butterscotch has remained in the habit of going in last. She will wander around the run for up to half an hour after the other girls have gone in.
No one wants to end up on the top rung of the ladder. Occasionally all eight will make it to the top perch but usually it is Toffee, Butterscotch or Speckles that ends up on the top rung of the ladder looking a bit dejected.
This battle was a nightly occurrence with much protest and changing places before the girls settled for the night. We wondered if another high perch would help the situation.
There weren’t many options of where to put another perch as we needed it to be where it wouldn’t restrict the ladder being lifted up and also not too close to the shed walls. We decided to put it across a corner.
New perch
Topaz and Emerald went straight to the new perch
Peaches joined them
It quickly became obvious that all the girls now wanted to be on this new perch. My husband suggested that we put another one up in the opposite corner to give them more choice. I encouraged the girls back out with some corn while we put up another perch.
Two new perches
Honey finds the new perch
Four girls on the new perches
Five girls on the new perches
Butterscotch joins them
Speckles is out on her own
six girls on the new perches
Butterscotch makes it up to higher perch.
The final line up
We feel this is successful as although there is some changing of positions there was no squawking and girls coming back out. The highest perches are obviously the most sought after perches. This perch system is very similar to the arrangement we used to have over the patio area before we had the new chicken shed.
On the second evening the girls quite quickly took their places and once again there were six girls on the new perches. Toffee and Speckles ended up on the original perches so it is the same bottom girls that get left with the lower position but at least it is a step up from the ladder.
The second night with six girls on the new perches
Butterscotch had to go to bed with her punk hair do
Someone will always end up lower down but the bedtime routine is much quicker and smoother now so I think they like this change. It also shows that given the choice they want to perch as high as possible.
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How many perches do you need ..? Is there any spare room? Totally spoilt young ladies ?
It would seem that you can never have too many perches but I agree that my girls are totally spoilt.
So many perches! I agree, they’re very spoiled!
Does Butterscotch still have the doo?
Butterscotch had dried out overnight and stayed dry in the morning but by the afternoon she had got wet again and looked the same as the day before. She obviously hasn’t learned from it. She walks through any mddy parts of the run and puts her head anywhere that there are drips.