What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[Boybeck]

I am getting used to my three hens making their loud egg laying announcements but this morning one of them made it last 20 minutes! What on earth can I do when I get to my first Sunday with them this weekend when the neighbours are all in bed at 8am? Is there anyway of calming them down a bit?

[sheik]

20 mins is nothing...

 

You can try coverig the eglu with some air-permeable material, eg: garden weed membrane.

You can also drag yourself out of bed and throw them some corn on the cob - which seems to quieten my columbine down, at least while she scoffs it up.

 

/\dam

[RubyReckless]

I have to admit, I keep mine in the eglu until after her morning shout to muffle the sound of Sarah's shouting. That can be anything from 6:45 to 8 ish.

[Hen Watch]

Are you leaving the eglu door open or closed at night?

 

I personally shut the eglu door at night and at 7.15ish I open the door. They rarely make much noise as they are now used to this routine. But any noise is muffled somewhat inside the eglu. At weekends I open the door a little bit later than 7.15.

 

Failing that, good old fashioned bribary of letting them out to free range will quieten mine down but then that also needs to be monitored as hens aren't as stupid as some poeple think and they will soon realise squarking = being let out and will do it even more.

 

They may just still be settling into egg laying, new housing, new surroundings, new garden, new sights (cats etc).

 

Take heart, with both the mornings and evenings getting darker now, your hens will be sleeping in longer soon.

[piptiddlepip]

We have a wooden coop and at night we put a piece of stiff cardboard over the nestbox window and shut the pop hole so the nestbox is completely dark. That way they only know it's morning when we let them out (though when they hear us coming out of the back door they tend to bok quietly in an "Is there anyone out there?" sort of way.

 

We still let them out reasonable early at the weekend, but I get up at 6am in the week and I'm darned if I'm doing that on Saturday and Sunday as well. So the girls get an extra hour's lay in and they are as good as gold.

[sandyhas3chucks]

I rush down the garden saying shhhhhhh, and talk quietly to them! Failing that I feed them mealworm or let them out!

[Janty]

I always put their layers porridge down for them before I let them out. That way they scoff till they drop rather than making a noise. All apart from Buffy who thinks she's a goose and is permanently pre-menstrual.

[Steve.]

I never hear my chooks. On account being asleep.

 

God Bless my DW for letting them out at 6-something each day.

 

I was surprised how their noise carried ... I can hear them from the next street

[Boybeck]

Hi Steve

 

I'm in Fareham

 

Perhaps if I listen hard enough, I'll hear you chickens from here too hahaha.

 

It's my first Sunday with the chickens, so fingers crossed they won't be too noisy.

 

I'm going to let them stay in the house to let them get the egg laying announcements out of the way. They didn't seem to mind being let out at 8.30 this morning!

[Boybeck]

Success!

 

I left my chickens in the house until 8am, they got all their annoucements out of the way and kept them much shorter without disturbing the neighbours. They're now happily free ranging for the day in the garden.

 

I bougt some poultry spice at Pet City yesterday. How do I give it to them? I'm using Layers Pellets, do I just sprinkle the powder over the pellet in the grub feeder?

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Yes, I just add the poultry spice to the pellets (all mixed in a big box so can't give measurements!) I think I've read that a teaspoon per grub is about right?