Donna Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 This is our first winter with chickens. We got them as chicks on Easter. I just have to say I never knew how silly they are. We keep wings clipped so they do not fly over the fence around their yard (we had a near disaster between one of our chickens and a neighbor's dog so they started getting clipped). They must be getting to the time when they need to be re-clipped because we have one Columbian Wyandotte who keeps flying over the fence then spends her time running back and forth along the fence trying to get back in until one of us goes out and opens the gate. I mean, hello!!!, she just flew over and she can't figure out that she can just fly back in. Also, the past two days have been the coldest of the winter with bitter winds and really low temps. The chickens have a wonderful coop that would block the wind and allow them to stay warm plus bedding in there that would help with warmth....but do they go inside and stay out of the cold? No! They go inside to lay during the day but then spend the rest of the day out in the cold either wandering around or standing together in a clump obviously trying to keep warm. I would love to hear anyone else's silly chicken stories! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reeciecup Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I have one that sleeps outside beside a perfectly good warm house with bedding and a roost. She's so stupid that she just laid there when it was snowing and got covered in snow. When the temps are cold I go out there and put the stupid thing in the house because I don't want her to freeze. I even made her a separate house from a dog house so she wouldn't have to be with the other chickens if she didn't want to. But she's too stupid to use it. All my other chickens have enough sense to go in at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Had a door on the chicken pen that opened out. This chicken was on the backside of that door, able to look through the chicken wire and see her friends. She could not figure out that she could simply follow the door to the edge and there would be an opening where she could go in the pen. She was stuck in the corner between the door and the pen wall. Finally she walked ALL The way around the backside of pen and found the opening. If you can't picture this, I am sorry, but it was funny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalypso Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 We just got our first chickens this year, and now I truly understand the expression of "dumb cluck." They are always doing something ridiculous. They are pretty entertaining, though. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlylocks Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 We *had* a small flock of 5 that would NOT go in the coop...they have been sleeping UNDER the coop in below zero temps. :confused1: Yesterday a fox got all 5 of them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Sniff. I miss my chickens. A lot. Even the dumb ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Ours are idiots too. Nine nest boxes and they all like to lay in the same one!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I agree chickens are stupid. They seem to have a very limited concept of self preservation. Ours like to stand in the rain and get drenched even though they have two outdoor covered runs. They sleep in their nest box and nest just about anywhere else. They always seem to do the exact opposite to any book about keeping chickens says they should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I don't have mine anymore but I had one named Cricket that was convinced she was a person. She'd follow the guys around at the barn, run to whatever human she spotted outside and rode on my pony cart with me. She had zero self preservation skills. Didn't live a long life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Sn :lol: rt! I don't have chickens, but I've enjoyed reading this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandelion Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Ours are idiots too. Nine nest boxes and they all like to lay in the same one!! That's so funny! Ours do this too (we have 4 chickens and 8 nest boxes for them to choose from). One night, I noticed that they were all sleeping outside (we have a coop that opens up into a fenced enclosure). The door to the coop had closed somehow, so they couldn't get in. I opened the coop door, and then tried to wake them up so they would go inside the coop. Have you ever tried to wake a sleeping chicken??? I could not believe how hard it was to wake these gals up. I finally just picked them up, sleeping, and placed them in the coop. They barely stirred. I wish I slept that soundly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbeym Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 We don't have chickens yet, but hope to be able to have some next year after we've moved. These stories are hilarious. At least I know what I'm up for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshin Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 We don't have chickens, we have laying ducks instead. Our yucky duckies are so funny in the snow. They have a house and enclosed run, but we also open the run up in the day to a fenced area for free ranging. The door of the run folds down, making a ramp. Harley, the silliest of the three, goes running down the ramp then tucks up her legs when she hits the ground so she can slide across the ice on her rear end. She'll do it over and over! When the snow was deeper a week or so ago, we had all these furrow is the snow. Since their pond is closed up for winter, they decided to swim in the snow instead. We have to watch them, though. Ducks like to swim even if it's well below freezing. They'll sometimes try to climb in their water container. Unlike chickens, you have to have a waterer big enough for them to stick their whole heads in. Then they'll sit on the snow soaking wet. We have to make sure their feathers don't freeze to the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddykate Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 What a timely thread! We have seven brand new baby chicks that my kiddos incubated. They are two days old and are about the cutest things I have ever seen! And are presently being housed in my hallway :). I will let you know in a few months what kind of mischief they get into, but right now, they are adorable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 We had chickens for years when the boys were younger. The dumbest chicken we ever had ended up dead before she even began laying - probably best to cull her from the gene pool. We placed cinder blocks around the edge of the fenced chicken run (to discourage the coyotes digging under); the chickens were let out to freely roam during the day. One day we went outside to shut the coop door and discovered this lovely hen stuck upside down inside the hole of the cinder block. She had gone in head first and could not get out. When we pulled her out she was rather stiff. After that we turned all the blocks over so that there were no holes in which a stupid chicken could dive head first. They really have no self-preservation skills. But I still miss them :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somo_chickenlady Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Man, this thread makes me miss my chickens SO much! I had a whole bunch of them, but we gave them away b/c we had to move away from our acreage and into a townhouse in a different state. I loved my chickens so much. :crying: I hope to be able to get more someday. Boy were they stupid, though. I could NOT convince them to sleep in the coop. They would lay in there, but would sleep on TOP of it. :cursing: No matter how many times I would go out there and put them into the coop at night, they wouldn't learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I haven't noticed if my chickens are dumb or not. But they are creatures of habit for sure. One afternoon, late in the day, I altered the roosting structure for cleaning. I ended up having to put it back in the old place, in the dark that evening, because rooster Chervil could not, for the life of him, figure out how to get up on it. He was about to have a heart attack because he couldn't get up there with his girls. (He's a big guy, and with their lighter bodies they had the new roost all figured out.) They hate the snow, but don't mind all but the heaviest rain. They all go up in their coop at night, and they come when they are called. Having special treats in their coop may have helped with that. I have on one occasion sent the rooster out to get one of his girls that was taking her time about getting in at night, and he looked at me, then went and got her! So maybe not dumb--just limited in their own strange ways. Mine do not free range--they have my garden in the winter and summer when it gets hot. And they have their grasshoppers brought to them by their adoring fans. :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeeMommy Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 We only have one little hen left - Missy - who is either too smart or too skittish to get eaten. The rest became coyote snacks, except for the 2 extra feisty and one dumb roosters that now look lovely and tasty in glass jars on my shelf. We always locked our chickens up in the coop for a few day, once they move in, before letting them run around the yard. After that they pretty much always go into the coop at night. None of ours liked to walk in the snow. They would walk on top of hay on top of snow though, to get under the coop (it's up off the ground by about 1.5 feet) None of ours understood fence openings either. It seems that walls and doors they understand better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Ours are idiots too. Nine nest boxes and they all like to lay in the same one!! Most chickens do that. It seems that the "cool" chickens go first and the ones lower on the pecking order stand around with their legs crossed. I have found that certain breeds have more common sense than others. Although at times they all can be rather idiotic in an adorable sort of way. And they do sleep like the dead, which is why they are so susceptible to possums and coons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrookValley. Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 No, chickens are not all that smart, but hey, what else would you expect from hundreds of years of selective breeding for domestication for something intended to be an egg and/or meat factory? lol But they are entertaining, and they do form (relatively) complex social associations with members of their flock. It can be very interesting to watch. Sometimes they'll decide that you are part of their flock--and that's just cute. I breed and show exhibition poultry. You want to talk about dumb chickens, I'll talk to you about my Polish. For those who don't know, these are birds bred to have a very large, ornamental crest of feathers on top of their heads. Pretty cool looking, but in addition to being short on brains, it also means they can't see (the ones that come from hatcheries typically do not have half the crest of birds bred privately for show--hatchery varieties are usually a lot better off in the eyesight departement than show birds). Double whammy, right there. I can't let them free range at all. But they are pretty sweet birds and really fun to have around. If you want a smart chicken (again, relatively speaking), some of the small game-type bantam breeds are really pretty sharp. I also raise Dutch Bantams (not from hatcheries; hatcheries do not have true Dutch) and they are actuall pretty smart little birds. They can be somewhat trained and are usually very friendly birds. Again, fun to have around, just in a different way than those goofy Polish.... :laugh: For those of you whose chickens won't go into the coop at night: have you tried locking them in the coop for a week or more? That usually solves the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 For those of you whose chickens won't go into the coop at night: have you tried locking them in the coop for a week or more? That usually solves the problem. Yup. IME this is true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpecialClassical Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Yes. Then I would fall in love with them, and be heartbroken when a fox or bear got them. I think the only way to remedy that would be to get several dozen, so I wouldn't be as devastated when some were lost. My son knows me well, because it doesn't sound that strange to me to move a few indoors during the winter! After about a day of dealing with their piles everywhere you would probably be happy to boot them out to a coop. (Maybe heated, but still.). Their messes are just so yucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpecialClassical Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 It is interesting how different chickens are. Ours go into the coop at night, but if they get caught in the dark outside with the door closed, they are paralyzed! They won't move even after we open it up or put them on the ramp. They really are funny. Our will chase our cats which is hilarious since the cats intimidate our 85 lb dog! I was worried about the cats killing them because they have taken out many a bird and bunny, but the kitties caught on early that the chickens are off limits. My kids know them all apart and tell me about their personalities from the bully (I've been given approval to roast that one.) to the little sweetheart chicken. And then there is the one that they insists always has to argue with them. Must be a teenager! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypatia. Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Ours dug so much near the fence that there was room for one of the bantams to escape underneath it. Then the silly thing ran back and forth along the fence line (we have part of the yard fenced off into a "chicken yard" to keep the poop away from where the kids play) trying to get back in. She would run right by the place she escaped from but couldn't figure out that she could get back in. Of course this happened when I was 4 days post-partum last week and during the afternoon that my husband had the other kids out at the indoor play area and my visiting mom was out at the grocery store. I may have been the stupid one, running around trying to catch her! Once everyone was back home my 8 year old DS1 caught her and put her back in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaBirdX7 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 When it got really cold we put a heat lamp in the coop for our micro-flock. The chickens responded by tearing off the wire protector and then pecking the bulb away from its base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 My chickens have figured out that they can bully my three small dogs so they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 We *had* a small flock of 5 that would NOT go in the coop...they have been sleeping UNDER the coop in below zero temps. :confused1: Yesterday a fox got all 5 of them... Aw. :( We had one start molting last week. She died in the coop last night when it was -20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted January 26, 2013 Author Share Posted January 26, 2013 We *had* a small flock of 5 that would NOT go in the coop...they have been sleeping UNDER the coop in below zero temps. :confused1: Yesterday a fox got all 5 of them... :crying: Aw! Poor things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted January 26, 2013 Author Share Posted January 26, 2013 It is interesting how different chickens are. Ours go into the coop at night, but if they get caught in the dark outside with the door closed, they are paralyzed! They won't move even after we open it up or put them on the ramp. Yes, this. Occasionally if it is really windy, the coop door will get blown shut. When we go out to make sure they are in and close it up, they will be crowded together either on the wood step up next to the door or on the back of the roosting boxes and I have to pick each one up and put her in the coop. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted January 26, 2013 Author Share Posted January 26, 2013 After about a day of dealing with their piles everywhere you would probably be happy to boot them out to a coop. (Maybe heated, but still.). Their messes are just so yucky. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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