Things don’t go according to plan but there is always another plan

My husband fitted a perch for Peaches and Barley to roost on at bedtime. When I spent time with them before bedtime it soon became obvious that this wasn’t going to work. They hadn’t discovered the new perch but more to the point that wasn’t where they wanted to roost.

As soon as the main flock settled on their high perch the chicks started to franticly try to join them. They would fly at the wire and cling on really high up. They were also putting their head through the wire which worried me. At ground level I had doubled the wire to stop this happening but didn’t think I would need to do this up here.

We wondered if they were missing their mum or if they thought she was on the other side.

I quickly improvised and made a perch from bamboo canes which I attached with wire at the height they were getting too. I would never have thought that such little chicks could get so high.

The chicks soon got the hang of jumping on the coop roof and then up to their new perch.

Before bedtime Peaches and Barley on my makeshift perch

I then attached three bin bags to the outside of the wire to form a curtain. This meant they couldn’t see the other girls and they couldn’t put their head through the wire.

I left them to settle and returned after dark. At first I couldn’t see them but then realised that they were above the perch in the plant pots. They had settled on the two highest plant pots. They were easy to lift from the pots to the coop and then I took the “curtain” down.

I am happy for them to roost in the plant pots and thought that now they had discovered a bedtime spot they would return here the next night.

Last night I tied the bin bag curtain to the wire before bedtime. I returned at the time that the girls usually settle into their bedtime positions. The main flock were all in their usual spots.

Peaches and Barley were settled on their plant pots and were chirping happily and preening. I felt pleased that they were happily settled without any stress this time. I easily lifted them down to put them in the coop.

I am happy with their chosen bedtime position as long as they are happy. Sometimes the girls dictate what they want rather doing what we expect them to but that’s okay as long as they are happy and safe.