Until recently the automatic door on the pop hole hadn’t opened until after eight o’clock. I go out to the girls earlier than that and simply open the door and let them out and then clean up the chicken shed.
They are always happy to come out as early as possible. With the days getting longer though there has been a shift and the door has been opening at any time between twenty to eight or ten to eight depending on how bright the morning is. I decided to try holding off in the morning and to go out a little later so that I could photograph the girls coming out through the pop hole.
Ten to eight on the first morning
Rusty is the first to squeeze under the door, closely followed by Freckles
Rusty squeezes under when the door has opened only a couple of inches and Freckles comes out right behind her.
Speckles is third out
Peaches is fourth and Emerald is fifth
Barley is sixth out and has just pushed in front of Peaches
They come out so quickly that my camera isn’t fast enough to catch them all. I decided to try over several mornings to capture them all.
My second morning of trying to capture the morning tumble.
Emerald is about to come out, third, after Freckles second and Rusty first.
I wasn’t fast enough to catch Freckles.
Emerald in third place
Peaches is followed by Barley, fourth and fifth out
Speckles is last out
This was my third attempt. Rusty is first out every morning.
Barley and Freckles are out together in second place behind Rusty
Emerald and Speckles are out next with Peaches last out
It all happens so quickly that my camera just can’t keep up. Rusty is always first and Freckles second. After that it seems to be a free for all.
Okay, fourth attempt at this.
Speckles coming out in third place
As always Rusty was first with Freckles right beside her.
Emerald is last out
I couldn’t resist keeping going with this. Another attempt to catch Freckles coming out failed. The door is now opening at twenty five to eight.
Freckles and Rusty are first out as always
I must have been so lucky to catch Rusty coming out the first morning I started this. On this morning I clicked the camera as soon as the door started to open but Freckles and Rusty were out so quickly. As you can see the door has only lifted a few inches. They have the advantage of being small as well as speedy.
On day five I thought I would have one last try to catch Freckles coming out. I knew that I must click the camera at the first sound of the door lifting.
Freckles is about to come out in second place behind Rusty
Speckles once more comes out in third place
I seem doomed not get a shot of Freckles actually coming out. After five days of doing this it’s time to give up on that one shot.
I can conclude that Rusty always comes out first closely followed by Freckles. I can tell that they are all waiting behind the door for it to open and the little girls being so speedy and small means they always get out first.
Speckles is usually third and the rest seem to vary but it’s obvious that they all try to get out as quickly as they can. They can’t wait for the door to lift even though it only takes seconds. They all manage to squeeze through before the door is even half way up.
My favourite photo is the very first one I took which captures Rusty perfectly, flattening herself, to get under the door as quickly as she can. What an escape artist. She can get through a very small gap. It’s been a fun and interesting exercise.
I am going to repeat that first photo here to save you having to scroll back up to see it again.
Rusty is first to squeeze under the door
I always take lots of photos so that I get the shot that I want but time and time again the first photo is the best one and the one that I go with. I don’t think I could repeat this photo no matter how many times I tried. It captures Rusty’s eagerness to get under the door absolutely perfectly and this little routine goes on every morning.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
I wonder how long they stand behind the door waiting.
You got some good snaps.
When I was going in about half an hour before the door opened, they would hear me open the gate and I hear would hear them jump down ready for me to open the big door. Since I have been trying to get the photos I have been creeping in quietly so that I don’t cause them to jump down but because I am going in just before the door opens they are already behind the door. There is a small window so they must know by the light when the door will open and they are already behind the pop hole waiting. I too wonder how long they are behind the door.
When they would hear me come through the gate Barley and Peaches (I know their sound so well) would make a squeaky sound almost like crying as if begging me to open the door. It was hard to bear so that was another reason to creep in really quietly. I could then hear them scratching in the shavings while they waited.
Shows how much they know of what goes on in their life.
It does. Usually when I would go in before the pop hole opened they would start up their chatter just like they do when I go up the garden to them while they are in the run. When I was going in and not opening the door for them it would change to a desperate crying sound like they were begging me to let them out. It was really hard to listen to so I started creeping in as quietly as I could and would hear them scratching in the shavings behind the door.
It shows that they know by the light level that the pop hole will soon open but they also know the routine of me going in earlier and opening the door. Chickens are smarter than we often credit them.