Is my pekin bantam male or female?

[arwenskye]

more tips required..

2 of my newly acquired hens have now got the hang of the stairs and getting to bed at night but 1 of them just panics, my husand has put her in the last 2 nights and in the morning she tries to fly down. How do I get her used to the stairs and her own feet?

hopefully

Karen

[Egluntyne]

Keep persevering with the lifting in and out. She'll soon cotton on.....or you could make a ramp for them to stroll up.

[Cazjohn]

We gave up and put a wooden ladder over the plastic one!

[chelsea]

We gave up and put a wooden ladder over the plastic one!

 

ditto. Even my most agile hens could not cope with the ladder, for fear of broken limbs we adapted a wooden ladder.

 

cube ladder too slippery and rungs too far apart IMO.

[StephanieSB]

I was worried about this, but (luckily) all three of mine took to the ladder right away. They still fly down in the morning, but that is because it's quicker to get to the food, but at other times walk down fine. But mine were 18.5 and 23 weeks old when I got them -- do you think the age you get them matters? The older they are when they are introduced to the ladder, the easier they adapt?

[SAB]

3 out of our 6 could not manage ladder at first, one eventually got it by herself (despite being a bantam); the mini silkie managed to walk up a plank of wood I propped over the stairs, and the next night she managed the stairs; our araucana/white sussex cross (admittedly a pretty daft bird all round) could not do it and was constantly being lifted into bed by my OH. Eventually, frustrated, he held her and "walked" her legs up the ladder - next night, she did it herself!

[Lapinou]

We don't have a cube, but there seems to be a lot of threads about the steps...is there a reason they're designed to start so far from the ground? Just asking out of interest...

[Gallina]

I think the ladder is off the ground so that the Cube can be moved around easily, and also to give more walking room for the hens.

 

At first I thought the ladder was OK because my hens were getting up and down; but when I saw what a struggle it was for my young Cochin, who barely has any legs, I put in a ramp.

 

I also had a Bluebelle with a bad leg who I suspect may have hurt herself on the ladder: I can't be sure. She had some kind of wrench while inside the run and limped for several weeks, but is OK now.

[Helen&Lee]

I thought the ladder was off the ground so vermin couldn't get in.

 

Mine all got the hang of it eventually, I 've seen them all manage the stairs in a very regal fashion, sometimes though they look so clumsy - I think it depends what kind of a rush they are in.

 

Helen

[Lapinou]

I thought the ladder was off the ground so vermin couldn't get in.

 

Why is the eglu on the ground then?

[Butty]

Hi there

Had our chooks just over a week.

They now put themselves to bed but we were outside last night to see the various methods used on the stairs.

2 can climb fairly gracefully, one hops and flutters and one launches herself at the hole.

Very comical but I think they are ok.

[Helen&Lee]

I thought the ladder was off the ground so vermin couldn't get in.

 

Why is the eglu on the ground then?

 

As the eglu is the first product designed, its quite possible that when they designed the cube they incorpated new ideas.

 

Helen

[CALNICK]

we have had our girls for just over a week and we had to round them up at night and put them through the pop hole. The following night we just had two girls who had not gone to roost.

 

By the third day they had all gone to roost and as of yet we have had no problems.

 

calnick

[The Dogmother]

The cube was designed to be off the ground to give more run space underneath without having a bigger footprint. I remember discussing this when we saw the first prototype.

[Ambulance Girl]

It is quiet something to watch then going to bed and getting up in the

morning (no end of fun & giggles). They soon get the hang of it though.