Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[meezers]

Like many of you, when I went to clean the chooks out earlier I found the poo frozen solid I got to thinking that maybe my chooks were cold at night, now I've lost 4 I have the 4 in group 1 rattling around in their coop- big enough for 10 and 5 in group2 in a coop big enough for 8. I decided they'd be cosier if I closed off the smaller coop and they all slept in group 1s coop while the weather is so cold.

I should have had the camcorder out. Lottie ( top chook in group1 ) was NOT impressed with the rabble milling about in her run, she took to the highest perch and glared down at them all, Doris ( from grp2 ) thought she would join lottie on her perch and got comfy next to her, lottie just turned her head and gave her the most evil stare Doris jumped down in such a hurry.

Bedtime, Ozzy was first into grp1s coop, and judging by the noises, she'd taken someones prize place , I then spent a fun half hour chasing down group2 ( who were queuing patiently at their closed door ) and posting them through the pop hole in group1s coop, as fast as I'd post one in, another would pop out, in the end I had to close the pop hole and post them through the nest box, which meant of course that the coop was in darkness and they didn't have a clue who they were bumping into , sitting on or perching next to the noise eventually died down and when I checked them later , all 9 were squashed into one half of the coop , I can just imagine them waking in the night and thinking ' where the heck am I ? where's the nestbox gone? who put that perch there?' . Think I might try them in grp2s smaller coop tomorrow, I'll only have 4 chooks to chase down then and group1 can have a turn at being confused .

[Plum]

Unless of call they all pile into group1's

[dancing cloud]

 

And I thought I'd had it bad putting the two from into with the other six. Sounds like there's going to be a lot of confused chooks tomorrow morning - but at least they'll have had a cosy and snug night

[CluckyBucks]

Loving the way Lottie was dishing the evils

 

xx xx

[meezers]

Loving the way Lottie was dishing the evils

 

xx xx

 

 

I felt really hurt on Doris' behalf, she was cozying up to Lottie and I could just imagine her saying ' this is fun isn't it,just like a sleepover' and Lottie's look just said' NO, and this is MY perch'

They all emerged in a calm and orderley fashion this morning, so must have woke in a better mood

[mostin]

,

 

Love that evil eye story.

 

I think it's a good idea to swap anyway. as well as it being smaller, so therefore warmer, if you keep swapping them all round it keeps them all confused and therefore less likely to bully each other as they won't know whose house it is and who should be top chook .