4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[CALNICK]

just wondered what time your ladies go to roost?

 

The last two nights we have had to round up our ladies, catch them and put them in the hen house.

 

Also whats the best way to encourage them to go to the hen house to roost as they seem to have a problem with the ladder, when we let them out in the morning some walk down it and the others slide down it.

 

Any advice appreciated

 

Thank You

 

Calnick

 

[Ziggy]

Hi Calnik,

I find my chooks go to bed late now that it doesn't get dark till late... they also get up damn early, and I do feel like shouting to them to be quiet when they wake us at 5 am.....

I haven't had any issues with my girls using the ladder, but some people have said that putting a torch in the cube can help... or if the ladder itself is a problem, then maybe put a different ladder in there, or some kind of extension to help them negotiate the initial jump up?

 

Good luck, more people will be right there to give their ladder advice.

[prettychic]

My Ladies put themselves to sleep between 9pm- 10pm. Once they are in the eglu & settled, I shut the eglu & run door x

[Helen&Lee]

It depends on how long you have had them really.

 

Once they realise that is where they go to bed, you can really leave them to it - my chooks will find there own way back to the run and cube as dusk approaches and put themselves to bed - I then go out and shut the run door.

 

When I first got them, I didn't let them free range for a week and the first three nights I went in and tried to round them up / stop the sitting in the doorway blocking it etc. After that I left them to it and the next few nights they would take an age putting themselves to bed.

 

As for the ladder, again I would be inclined to let them get used to it, sometimes mine seem a little clumsy when using it but I have seen the same ones negotiate it fine.

 

If you think they are bad now you want to see them when it's icy

 

Helen

[CALNICK]

Last night was much better, we went out to the tun about 9.30pm and fve of the ladies and gone to bed, the other two ladies which are the biggest had to be rounded up and put into the house.

 

So we shall leave it till this time or later each evening for the moment.

 

Thanks for help

 

Calnick

 

[Egluntyne]

I have a log at the bottom of the ladder, to give them a leg up.

[dancing cloud]

I would try leaving it a little later, as my last little stop-outs don't go to bed till after 10pm if it's dry and light - earlier if it's wet and dark. My early-birds can sometimes tuck themselves in as early as 8.30 if they've destroyed the universe and exhausted themselves by then.

 

My lot have different approaches to the ladder. Going up, most of them walk up one step at a time, in a "step up and bring the other foot, and step up again" way, Clover by-passes the ladder completely and flies in from the side and Dandelion shows off by stalking up two steps at a time. Coming down in the morning is always a bit of a scrum as they all tumble out at once, with varying degrees of contact with the ladder, except for Chance who is always last out and walks down each rung very daintily.

 

I'm sure your little ones will soon sort themselves out, and they are still very little