Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[Lapinou]

At what point do you shut them in? They gradually keep moving into the eglu but it's nowhere near dark yet. Do you shut them in the minute they're all in? Or when you go to bed? I assume they're happy roosting whether the door's open or not so I guess it doesn't matter how late it is...I just don't want to do it too early!

 

Thanks

[Chickvic]

I used to shut mine in just before we went to bed. Although we spent a lot of time going out to 'check' on them!

[Blackrocksrock]

There is no such thing as a stupid question on here - I shut mine in when its getting dark or I want to go to bed.

[Stevie]

Mine normally toddle off to bed around 9.45pm currenty and i just shut the run door once i see they've gone to roost.I dint shut the Eglu door however so they can get up when they like.

[superjules]

When your solar garden lights come on.

[Egg Lou]

Just been out to close mine!

 

They go to bed at 9.30 pretty much on the dot so I just pop out and shut a couple of minutes afterwards.. if I am out then I just close when I get in.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Not a stupid question at all .

 

I just shut the eglu either when I notice they've all gone to bed or when I'm getting ready to go to bed myself.

[chelsea]

Ella likes to look at the stars in the night sky, so I shut our walk in run door at 8.30, they toddle off in the cube 9-9.30 ish. Ella then sits by the cube door gazing into the sky - so I dont shut the cube door till 10.30-11pm.

[Hen Watch]

Just been out to shut mine in now at 10.20pm.

 

Usually shut the eglu door just before I go to bed so anywhere from now till 1am ........

[Gamebird]

At the moment they are going to bed at about 9.30pm so I shut their run any time after that.

[Lapinou]

Thanks everyone. In the end, we didn't need to worry about shutting the door too early as we had to coax two of them in with a torch so we could go to bed

[Laura & CTB]

I usually have to wait about half an hour after they've gone to bed or they both come stumbling out again to see if I've got any food

[Egluntyne]

This is why I stopped closing the doors.

 

No matter how late I tiptoed out, Kentucky and Paxo would run out to greet me.

 

It was getting so that I wasn't getting to bed before 1.30am.

 

In the end I had to abandon the idea of shutting them in as I had a serious sleep deficit.

[Lapinou]

So is the door only really essential if you don't have the secure run? Or if you're cleaning it and need to shut them in the run?

 

We were planning on having it open when we are away anyway.

 

I think last night, I just wanted to have something extra to do with our lovely new babies

[Egluntyne]

The door is essential if you want complete assurance that the chickens will be safe.

 

There is no assurance if the door is open, it is just a risk that some of us take.

 

I must stress that it is a risk.

[Lapinou]

Thanks Egluntine - that clears up that one for me. I was kind of thinking of shutting them in every night and only leaving it open when we were away as we don't have much else we can do! I'm glad I know that it's probaby the right thing to shut them in if we can.

[Cooks]

Ella likes to look at the stars in the night sky, so I shut our walk in run door at 8.30, they toddle off in the cube 9-9.30 ish. Ella then sits by the cube door gazing into the sky - so I dont shut the cube door till 10.30-11pm.

 

awww I loved this..

[..lay a little egg for me]

Ella likes to look at the stars in the night sky, so I shut our walk in run door at 8.30, they toddle off in the cube 9-9.30 ish. Ella then sits by the cube door gazing into the sky - so I dont shut the cube door till 10.30-11pm.

 

awww I loved this..

Me too...how sweet!