Despite worrying all night. The chucks were perfectly safe and didn’t resort to cannibalism between shutting the door and opening it.
Opening the door at 07.20 resulted in dirty looks, and no wanting to get downstairs for breakfast. A few gentle pokes and they are all deposited to the outside.
The Chucks have made it a full 24 hours and none have been eaten, flown away, or expired.
So tonight’s challenge is for all the chickens to go to bed, including Red-Leader, without any help from me. I have a few strategies, including leaving it out in the cold.
Wish me luck.