# Chickens and change!



## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

Does anyone else find their chickens really don't like it when something is changed in their environment? 

I paved the floor of my Brahma's run yesterday to make it easer to keep clean (2 trailer-loads of paving slabs thanx to Freecycle!), and now they are very reluctant to come out of their coop! They ventured out briefly yesterday, long enough to eat and drink then went straight back in, this morning I opened the coop door and they all sat there looking out but wouldn't actually leave, normally they come flying out and go straight to the feeder.

They're out now because I pushed them out and shut the door behind them, I guess they'll get used to it in a bit, but I've noticed they're like this whenever I change anything. Their feeder sits on a couple of bricks, but a while back when I tried suspending it on a chain they wouldn't go near it, and I had to put it back on the bricks or they wouldn't eat!


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## LiamRatSnake (Jul 3, 2007)

Mine sulk when I clean the coop out sometimes. The roof blew off the run when we had the bad winds and they stopped laying for 3 weeks lol


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

birds like routine... they don't like changes... be it a chicken or cockatoo...


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

They've been out in it all day now, but only because the coop door was shut and they couldn't go back in I suspect! I'm going to put them away in a minute as it's getting dark now, we'll see if they come out of their own accord in the morning or if I need to assist them again.


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## LiamRatSnake (Jul 3, 2007)

Graham said:


> They've been out in it all day now, but only because the coop door was shut and they couldn't go back in I suspect! I'm going to put them away in a minute as it's getting dark now, we'll see if they come out of their own accord in the morning or if I need to assist them again.


When I first put straw in the run they wouldn't walk on it and I had 13 LF stuck in the coop and on the ramp, so I just kicked them out and they were fine after that. Chickens are thick lol When it snowed I had to dig a path for the bantams so they'd come out and stretch their legs.


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

My Brahmas are hilarious in the snow, they don't seem to mind it at all and will wade through it several inches deep, but then they get snowballs on their big feathery feet, and as snowballs do they get bigger and bigger until the birds have trouble walking, then they just huddle down in the snow and wait to be rescued!


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## LiamRatSnake (Jul 3, 2007)

Graham said:


> My Brahmas are hilarious in the snow, they don't seem to mind it at all and will wade through it several inches deep, but then they get snowballs on their big feathery feet, and as snowballs do they get bigger and bigger until the birds have trouble walking, then they just huddle down in the snow and wait to be rescued!


Haha, I didn't have my Brahma during the snow, but the Pekins flat out refused to step out in the snow. They will however quite happily find the biggest, muddiest puddle they can and drag their lovely feathered feet through it though :bash:


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Our sanctuary chickens(including the pekins) arent thick at all and come out whatever the weather or whatever changes have been made to their paddocks:lol2:


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## LiamRatSnake (Jul 3, 2007)

Shell195 said:


> Our sanctuary chickens(including the pekins) arent thick at all and come out whatever the weather or whatever changes have been made to their paddocks:lol2:


Aye all the Pekins are young and had never seen snow. It must have been strange to wake up one morning and everything has changed to white. 
The hybrids are a little older and weren't bothered (infact their first outing was into snow being indoor reared to POL) but the Orpingtons wouldn't come out either and they had seen snow before lol
But I remember when I repainted the coop and it was a slightly different colour and half the hens had to be put to bed that night. They can be silly creatures.


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## Lozza.Bella (Apr 24, 2010)

*Mine behaved the same to the snow this year as they did last year, I open the coop and they are rearing to go......... then they see the snow and start back peddling, it's funny as, I swept the snow off the lawn so they would have somewhere to scratch and peck as all 9 of them where trying to get at a patch of grass less than a foot in diameter.....:lol2:*


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## LiamRatSnake (Jul 3, 2007)

Lozza.Bella said:


> *Mine behaved the same to the snow this year as they did last year, I open the coop and they are rearing to go......... then they see the snow and start back peddling, it's funny as, I swept the snow off the lawn so they would have somewhere to scratch and peck as all 9 of them where trying to get at a patch of grass less than a foot in diameter.....:lol2:*


It's really funny to see the look of confusion, like you've picked up their coop when they're asleep and put them somewhere else.


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

> I remember when I repainted the coop and it was a slightly different colour and half the hens had to be put to bed that night


My Pekins are like that at the moment with their new coop, since I brought them home last weekend they haven't figured out what it's for, each night I find them sitting huddled up on the roof instead of going inside, so I have to pick them up and place them in there one by one then shut the door.

I'm going to replace the roof with a sloping one this week to stop them sitting on it, if I'd thought about it I should have done that in the first place, but whether they'll get the message and go inside, or just sit somewhere else waiting to be put to bed...


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## LiamRatSnake (Jul 3, 2007)

Graham said:


> My Pekins are like that at the moment with their new coop, since I brought them home last weekend they haven't figured out what it's for, each night I find them sitting huddled up on the roof instead of going inside, so I have to pick them up and place them in there one by one then shut the door.
> 
> I'm going to replace the roof with a sloping one this week to stop them sitting on it, if I'd thought about it I should have done that in the first place, but whether they'll get the message and go inside, or just sit somewhere else waiting to be put to bed...


I'd just lock them in for 24-48 hours and it should set the roosting instinct. The bantams all seemed to realize where home is but the black rocks and orpingtons were a right pain in the arse.


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