Nellie pulled another of her bedtime stunts earlier this week by trying to settle down in the nest box for the night instead of hopping up onto the roost with her coop mates, Snow and Hope.
Normally, all three hens sleep side by side on the roost, but Nellie has gone solo before. Other chicken owners report in online forums that their hens have done the same thing as well, for no obvious reason. (At least no reason that is obvious to humans.) Initially, my theory was that Nellie stayed outside until it was too dark to find her way up to the roost, but she's headed for the nest box three nights in a row now, so there must be some other explanation. Perhaps the nest box, with its soft bed of pine shavings, is just more comfortable.
Whatever the cause of Nellie’s nocturnal detours, Liz and I decided to place her where she belonged that first night -- or at least where we thought she belonged. Lifting Nellie from the nest box while I held a flashlight, Liz carried her to the roost. Nellie did not cooperate; she kept her feet tucked up under her body. Eventually, though, she dropped her toes into position, took hold of the perch and called it a night.
“I guess she just didn’t want to lower her landing gear,” Liz said as we headed back to the house.
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