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AliA

First day blues - help

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A new mummy here again. Girls arrived yesterday afternoon along with 4 inches of snow. At bedtime, I had to physically put them in the roosting box of the Cube.

 

This morning, I cannot get them to come down the ladder to feed - they will not move AND one of them has got terrible loose droppings. Is this normal - change of food, and new home etc?. Shall I leave them to work these things out themselves. Will they come down the ladder when they feel hungry?.

 

What should I be doing??

 

Thank you

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Loose droppings are, I think, quite normal in the early days. The move may have unsettled them and, in any case, all chickens tend to have squitty poos every now and then. Roughly every 10th one can be a "korma" poo :wink: .

 

They will need a day or so to get used to their new surroundings so don't worry, I'm sure they'll get the hang of things very soon :) .

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AliA: First of all, don't worry. Leave that to your new babies, who will be very worried.

 

They have never seen a Cube before, so they didn't know yesterday if it was a trap or a home. That problem is evidently over already: they have sussed that it is a very safe place, that is why they don't want to come out. I bet they will go to bed by themselves tonight.

 

I would wait until it warms up a bit this morning, open the roof of the cube temporarily, and push them out. You may not even have to push them: one sight of you will be enough to send them over the precipice if they are anything like my new ones. Make sure you shut and bolt the roof right away afterwards.

 

I wouldn't wait for them to go down by themselves: they will be hungry, but may be too scared to jump. The Cube takes a bit more getting used to than the Eglu, and even my old very tame hens couldn't cope with it at first when I transferred them from the Eglu, and had to be lifted into bed: but only once.

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Don't worry, my chickens didn't want to leave the cube at first either. They arrived at lunchtime on the first day and didn't venture out until mid-morning the next day.

 

I found that trying to push them out just made them panic and really distressed them.

 

Everything is new and a bit scary so just leave them to settle in and they'll explore in their own time. If you are worried put some food and water in the cube for them.

 

You'll find that everything makes them jump at first and they'll run back into the cube to hide but after a few days they'll calm down.

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