The process of perfecting the perch changes in the chicken shed has taken longer than I anticipated. It seems that each change throws up another problem.
Last night we realised that we would need another perch. The bedtime routine took much longer than usual with lots of aggravation between the girls.
Peaches was first to jump to the perches
The girls spend some time scratching in the shavings
Emerald and Topaz are first up as usual
Half the girls are in
It was at about this point that the trouble began. Topaz would not have Toffee or Emerald next to her. Toffee and Emerald would not have Peaches and Barley next to them. Peaches and Barley would not have Speckles next to them. Give me strength!
Why is it that during the day the girls sit together, perch up together, congregate on the table together, take dust baths together and yet at bedtime they won’t tolerate having a lower ranking girl next to them.
Peaches and Barley ended up still out on the patio at near dark. While I was taking photos of the girls in the shed, Peaches jumped to my shoulder twice. I took a selfie with no idea what was going to end up in shot.
Peaches jumps to my shoulder
Butterscotch is in
There is a lot of unrest going on
You can see in the photo above that Topaz is about to force Emerald down and Toffee has already been forced down and is looking for a way back up.
The final line up
Finally just as the automatic door shut they had taken up their positions. I went out this morning to watch them jump down which is now a quick and easy process so that is one problem solved.
Getting ready to jump down, Peaches was last this time
It wasn’t Butterscotch who was last down for a change. This is so much better for them. We fitted another perch to give them more space and hopefully resolve the squabbling at bedtime.
Another new perch on the left of the photo
Peaches and Emerald check out the new perch
Peaches and Barley don’t like the perches being lower but I am hoping that they will get used to it. There was a little less aggravation at bedtime but Peaches and Barley were last to go in and again jumped to my shoulder. Barley was first this time and later on it was Peaches again. I think they are looking to me to give them somewhere higher to perch.
Barley on my shoulder
The final line up with Speckles on her own perch
Poor Speckles got moved on from where ever she tried to perch and ended up on her own on the new perch.
They were settled earlier tonight though so I think they will soon get used to it. I know they would prefer to perch higher but I need to know that they can get down easily in the mornings. I think after a few nights they will get used to the new set up and I am probably making things worse for them by opening the door and taking photos thus letting in light and sparking another bit of aggravation.
I will leave them to it for the next few nights and see how it works out. Who would have thought this would be so difficult! I want to end up with an easy bedtime and morning routine and I think that sometimes there just has to be a bit of trial and error. I hope this is going to be the end of the tweaking for a while.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
They will get used to it. My girls STILL look up hoping there’s a higher perch for them. But because I have such BIG hens, My roosts are just one foot off the floor of the coop and even then, they come down w/ a big thud.
You did the right thing. Give them three nights to get used to it. Although, they may always gaze upward hoping for something higher. I think that is hardwired into their DNA to sleep up as high as possible for safety.
You are so right and your comment is so encouraging for me. I know they want to go high and you seem to read between the lines because I probably didn’t say that they all did the head twisting and looking up from inside the shed but also Peaches and Barley were on the patio area looking up all the time trying to spot somewhere higher they could go and eventually leaping to my shoulder. I worried at one point that they wouldn’t even go in but eventually when they realised there was no where else to go they did go in. My husband said we would have to put the perches up again but I said that I felt they would get used to it and as you say they land with such a thud. I can’t risk them landing so hard and although Butterscotch is the girl that was really having a problem with it, you have to cater to the one that struggles the most. Peaches and Barley don’t have a problem landing but it’s no good if even one girl is struggling. I do feel this is the right way to go even if it takes a few nights for them to get the hang of it. Sorry for such a long reply but it means a lot to me that you can see where I am coming from.
I totally get it. I wish there was an app to scan my chickens sometimes so I knew what they wanted or what the problem was. THEN I could fix it. Figuring them out is half the battle sometimes. You did the right thing. Don’t make any more changes for at least three nights and see if they get used to it.
I will do that. No more changes, just let them get used to it. I am sure this is the right thing for them. Thank you for you being behind me on this, it makes me feel better.
Do any other girls hop on your shoulder? And are they trained to do that?
Peaches and Barley are the only ones that do this. I think it’s because I have had them since they were only six weeks old, much younger than the other girls who were all point of lay. I wouldn’t know how you would train them, it’s just something they have always done. When I poop pick they jump on my back and ride on me until I am near a perch then they step off. I have always wondered why they do this and conclude that it’s just for fun. I rather like it because it means they want to interact with me.
My big girls also used to this and again I had them from about six weeks old. If you go to “The history of the flock” you will see photos of them on my shoulder. Treacle, Pepper and Dotty used to this. I can’t imagine any of my other little girls doing this. I think you have to have them from very young for them to do this.