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

[Chicken Liz]

I'm sorry if this question has been asked before, but I couldn't find it in the search facility.

We have two new chooks in an eglu with a run, and so far they have been putting themselves to bed when they are ready. Because they are already locked in the run I haven't bothered to go and close the eglu door. As the weather gets colder is this something I need to do?

My major concern will be when we go away at Christmas and I get the chicken sitter in - do they need to come in morning and night to lock and unlock the door?

I would love to hear from experienced chicken owners on this one!

Thanks

Liz

[chelsea]

I shut my door in summer and winter. I have noisy chickens so shutting the door enables me to let them out at a reasonable time in the morning.

 

Its really up to you, some people leave their doors open all year. If you have a fox/vermin problem in your area I would suggest shutting the door as the eglu isnt fox proof if the door is open.

 

When it gets really cold (below freezing), you might want to shut it on those occasions so your girls are warm and toastie inside.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Welcome to the forum, Chicken Liz .

 

I do close my eglu door every night but only because it's a habit we got into and it's easy (it's very close to our back door & we also take the feeders in at night). If we go away though, we just leave the eglu door open the whole time so your sitters certainly don't have to come morning and night.

 

I know there are plenty of Omleteers who leave their eglu door open all year round, whatever the weather.

 

If you have a good cover over your run it helps keeps the draughts/damp out a bit!

[Chicken Liz]

Thanks for the answers. It's sooo reassuring to hear from other chicken owners about what they are doing, as I haven't a clue.

My friends have thought it's great fun to see me get my two new girls so they can watch and see how it works out. They'll have the advantage of learning from my mistakes, perhaps. The Hen party I went to was fantastic but I didn't know which questions to ask until my chooks arrived!

Oh well.

Still waiting for the first egg - it's only been a week.

[tweetiepie]

I leave the door open in summer, but when it gets frosty I close it up. When I go away in winter, I leave the door almost closed. My chicks can squeeze through a smaller gap that you would imagine (I check them in and out before I leave them!) and then I hope they dont get too chilly. Main problem I have with leaving them in winter is the glug freezes, so I get my chicken sitter in the mornings so they can sort that out.

 

Good luck with your first egg!