Last night was the fifth night in the new chicken shed. I won’t continue to record every night but at the moment I am so elated by how well the girls have taken to this that I just can’t resist one more night.
They seem to be going in a bit earlier each night. Last night I was surprised to find that at quarter to seven five girls were already in and only Peaches was still wandering around the run.
Quarter to seven and five girls are in
Before I could capture a photo of Peaches alone in the run she had sprinted through the pop hole and by the time I had opened the shed door she was already up on the shelf.
Peaches goes in and straight up to the shelf
I left them to settle
Ten minutes later I checked again and Peaches was back out in the run having a last top up of pellets and water. She then casually made her way back through the pop hole and when I looked in she had taken her place next to Barley and Toffee had moved to the top rung of the ladder.
Peaches takes her place next to Barley
I checked again after dinner and they were all still in the same positions. I locked the run gate for the night, confident, that no one was going to be moving now.
I am feeling so happy at how quickly this has all worked out. I now realise that they had got the hang of it by night three, because although Peaches was also last in that night, she will always make her way in when she is ready. She always was the last to go up on to the outside bedtime perches and I am confident that she wouldn’t stay out alone, she just likes to take a bit more time with her bedtime routine.
They are all in long before the automatic door closes so I am not worried that she will get shut out. I think we can safely say the girls like their new home and I am thrilled to bits with the new set up.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
It makes you realise that traditional coops aren’t really ideal, and are designed around what people think chickens should sleep in rather than what the chickens actually want. They are obviously happier in the sheds because they go in by themselves, and I think it 100% comes down to height.
I agree. I now realise that the coop was unsuitable and they didn’t like it as it had no height. Now they are going in long before dusk. Chicken keeping has been a learning curve but I feel that I understand their needs so much better now. I am so happy with the new set up.
It is much nicer for me too as I can walk in and clean up instead of kneeling with my head in the coop like I used to. The store cabinet also works better for me and I don’t have the girls jumping on top and sometimes knocking stuff out of my hands. They now have to wait for me to throw the treats out to them.
It just makes everything a nicer experience. My girls are so spoiled.
They might be spoilt but they make you happy and if it makes you happy it makes Richard happy.
..and they are happy contented chickens .
You have absolutely hit the nail on the head, happy chickens, happy me and therefore happy Richard. We are both still feeling so elated at how well it has all worked out.
We could not have done this so well at the beginning because we had to experience chickens to know what was needed. If we had tried to do a shed coop to start with it would never have been this good. Experience has made us able to get the best coop possible for us at this stage and we are so happy with how it has turned out.
There’s an awful lot of room on that perch – I think you need more girls!
I am thinking of letting everything settle down and then getting two new girls next year. I don’t want to rock the boat right now while it’s going so well but next year, I think would be good for adding two new girls. We have agreed that six should be minimum and eight should be maximum, so, watch this space!
Get a Sussex! They are so full of personality and are like little dogs. Speckles likes to follow me around, and begs for treats. I think they’d be like Peaches and Barley in temperament, except not as loud… 😉
They sound lovely but I am limited to which bantam breeds I can find in my area. I may start researching again. Sometimes just researching in itself can be quite exciting. I am torn between keeping the flock as it is while all is going so well and the little voice in my head saying “get more chickens!”
Are you only allowed to have bantams, or is it just by choice?
It is by choice. I started with a mixed flock but re- homed my three big girls as they were plucking feathers from my little girls and for a year I tried everything to break the habit with no success. I decided after that, that I would prefer to stick with having just little girls. I think bantams are just so adorable. I also feel that in a contained run smaller girls have a bigger space. I am considering getting two more game girls.