Mrs P Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Hi there everyone, My chickens arrived on Friday and they're lovely. However, they do seem to be a bit bonkers! They can come right up to my French windows and have started pecking the windows constantly for up to an hour at a time! Any ideas whether this is a normal chicken pastime or whether there is anything I can do to discourage them. The noise is getting to be a bit like Chinese water torture and surely it can't be doing their poor little henheads much good. Please help - all advice gratefully accepted. Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Why not put some sort of fencing up so that they cant get at the windows? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 they must be like the cravendale cows.....they want their eggs back!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperwife Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 ours peck the window seal Im not entirely sure that its part of the balanced chicken diet - but they seem to like it. we have now put a fence up, so they cant get to the patio door, they think its all a bit unfair (and yell at 4am and tell us ) enjoy them, they are a lot bonkers cathy x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 However, they do seem to be a bit bonkers! Welcome to the world of chickens . Don't know what to suggest, apart from putting up a barrier like trellis or something? Or could you spray a weak solution of something like tea tree oil on the glass? Don't know if that would work . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Our do this - particularly if there are raindrops on the glass, but only for a few minutes at a time, then they get distracted and rush off somewhere else. No idea how you stop them though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura & CTB Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Mime start it at about 7.30pm because they know it's soon treats time so they try and get my attention drives me nuts too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mutrix Farmers Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Our girls used to do this if they knew we were in the back room. If they couldn't see us they didn't bother. You're right they are bonkers, but we love them all the more for it!!!! We've moved them to the other end of the garden now so it's not a problem any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Ours do this if they are out and we are sitting in the lounge, I think that they know it is warmer in there Last year ours would always spend about half an hour pecking on the Eglu door and surround before going to bed. We have no idea why but they don't seems to do it anymore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HENthusiastic Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Maybe you should just open the door and let them in?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 You could put plant pots by the doors so that they can't get close enough to tap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaylis1980 Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 i was actually going to post a thread about this... i let mine out to free range and they race to the french doors and peck, all.day.long. its driving me doolally!! that and all the poo on the patio, since they literally arent leaving the patio area at all!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egg Lou Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Mine kept coming to the patio and pooing and digging up all my pots of bulbs and veges.. ] Each time they poo I get the hose out to blast it away which sent them running.. now I only have to undo the hose and leave it on the patio and they tend to stay down "their" end much more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluckbok Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Perhaps they are knocking for you, to see if you will come out to play Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic_78 Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 i was actually going to post a thread about this... i let mine out to free range and they race to the french doors and peck, all.day.long. its driving me doolally!! that and all the poo on the patio, since they literally arent leaving the patio area at all!!! Hehe, mine are exactly the same! They've just become patio dwellers - they'll hang around at my patio doors (doing the tapping thing) and pooing all over the patio so I need to try and tiptoe through this whenever I go out of the back door (I'm amazed at just how much poo they can actually manage to do between them)! Even when they've got bored of doing the patio thing for a while and decide to go back down the garden and peck about in the borders (you'd think this would be WAY more interesting for them!?), all it takes is for one of them to get a glance of me doing something in the kitchen and they both come sprinting up the garden to resume their patio-door-stance. I think they do it for one of three reasons...they're either hovering around the back door in the hopes that I'll one day leave it open a split second long enough for them to dart back into the kitchen and get to the cats' water bowl (I don't understand why the cats' water seems to taste so much nicer than their own water? And whilst I'm happy for them to come into the kitchen...it's the amount of poo that they leave me to clear up which stops me from letting them in most days), or they're hanging around just waiting for me to throw bits of vegetables out for them...or maybe...just maybe (although i don't quite understand this theory), they're just absolutely fascinated with watching me doing the most mundane stuff in the kitchen. Whatever their reasons are...they do make me laugh and I'd not be without them! Crazy little critters they are though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I've only just noticed that you're in Edinburgh, Nic78 . Whereabouts are you (if I haven't asked you before ) ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic_78 Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I've only just noticed that you're in Edinburgh, Nic78 . Whereabouts are you (if I haven't asked you before ) ? I'm in West Granton...the new houses in the Waterfront Development bit. Where abouts are you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 That's miles from me, I'm in Buckstone, not too far from the ski slope at Hillend . I don't really know West Granton (apart from running through it in the Edinburgh half marathon - not this year though, couldn't get myself fit in time ). I bet you're the first eglu owner there . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Mine peck at the window seals and have tried different methods.I am onto door barrier mk5 now and hopefully the last... This was my latest attempt before today Which resulted in this... and this... So this afternoon i attached timber uprights to the trellis and stapled galvanised wire so they cannot go over.So far its got them stumped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I predict they'll be using that silver bin as a launching pad before long . They're smarter than they look, these hens (they'd need to be ) - I had a long battle with my Maisie before I eventually thwarted her escape attempts . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I predict they'll be using that silver bin as a launching pad before long . They're smarter than they look, these hens (they'd need to be ) - I had a long battle with my Maisie before I eventually thwarted her escape attempts . Sage the black Pepperpot has already tried going over using the blue bench seat as a springboard so i pulled the trellis thingy barrier right close to door which thwarted her attempt.Im staying optomistic about my chances though..! London has the Thames barrier-i have the chooky barrier... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faye&Ant Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Mine peck at the window seals and have tried different methods.I am onto door barrier mk5 now and hopefully the last... This was my latest attempt before today Which resulted in this... and this... So this afternoon i attached timber uprights to the trellis and stapled galvanised wire so they cannot go over.So far its got them stumped. I love the third picture! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 This so reminds me of the ever-expanding gate saga with Maisie . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I love the third picture! They stalk me. They can be at bottom of garden and will sprint upto backdoor if they spot me through the glass.I cant sit down outside without Onion (the Gingernut) leaping onto my lap.I have the poultry equavelent of a bunny boiler... twice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
