Eventually, it was warm enough where the extra heat at night was not a good idea. We started setting the light on a timer so it would come on long enough for them to go to bed and get settled in on their perch before turning off. We saw this as a brief transition before doing away with the light altogether.
Yeah...that didn't work so well. The first night we tried no light, the ladies made no move to go to bed. So we plugged in the light, they went to bed, we unplugged the light, all was well. The next night, we were determined to stand firm. No light.
It was just pathetic. Lady Marmalade, Miss Buttons and Babette were all huddled together on the landing right outside the henhouse door as it grew darker and darker, but they would not go inside. So we caved. We turned the light on. But the hens stayed on the landing.
"Fine," I huffed, as I went outside to intervene. I entered the coop...and the ladies didn't move. They were sound asleep. I had to gently roust them and nudge them inside...and in the process I discovered that Coco was already on her roost. She was the lone chicken who went to bed without the light.
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| Coco: Smart, or just lazy? |
We turned out the light, and all was well.
The next night, we decided we were really, truly going to hold firm. Around 8:30, I looked outside...no chickens. They were all in bed already...without the light! We were so proud! We were also a little puzzled, because at 8:30 p.m. in July in Seattle, there is still a good hour-plus of light left. Hmmmm....
The next night, I kept watch out the living room window. Around 8:20, Coco flew up to the landing, her whole demeanor saying, "Come on girls, it's time for bed!" She would go inside, then come out when no one followed her. Finally, one by one, the other three ladies followed her lead, making their way inside. We've watched this scenario play out exactly the same way several times now. So is Coco the smartest chicken, or the laziest chicken. Hard to say.
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