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

[cherryblossom]

Hello from Australia.

 

I got a couple of chickens on Thursday, and have them in a hutch thingy with a run which I am moving around the garden. I kept them stut in for the first couple of days, but after that have been letting them out in the garden in the afternoons.

The first couple of nights when they were stut in they had trotted off to bed by 8.30pm. Since then I have been putting them in as they don't seem to want to go on their own. Tonight I left it until 9pm. By that time it is just about dark, but still a little light. They seem to be perfectly happy still eating ants at that time. They were not overly impressed when I put them in their house.

 

Were they just tired what with all the changes and stress of moving for the first couple of days? Bored because they didn't have the run, so may as well have gone to sleep?

 

They have not tried to sleep anywhere else in the garden, I haven't given them the chance. I did decide to leave them this evening, but I loved their house across the garden so was worried incase they got confused. Tomorrow I will leave them, but am I worrying over nothing? Do many chickens stay up when it is dark?

 

Thanks

[Egluntyne]

Welcome to the forum.

 

It will take a few days for them to settle in and get to know where home/bed is.

 

At this time of year in particular yo have to take extra care with their safety because of hungry foxes, so I would shoo them into their sleeping area with a broom and shut them in, at least until they have got the hang of it.

[cherryblossom]

Thanks very much. This time of year here in Oz is the middle of summer. I don't THINK we have many foxes here, we are in suberbia, and they are not talked of really (unlike when I was in the UK). It is more likely snakes I will have to worry about.

They are pretty good, they let me pick them up, I was wondering around with one under each arm when I put them to bed lol.

[earthmam1]

Hi

 

welcome Do you get urban foxes out there? Thank goodness I dont have to worry about snakes

 

sue

[cherryblossom]

Thanks.

There are foxes (introduced by the English so they could hunt them), but they are more out in the bush. Some cities seem to get them, but I have not been able to find anything at all saying they are in my city. On the edges I'm sure there probably are, but we are WAY in. People do seem to worry more about snakes. What with the hot summers they come closer and closer in looking for water, and if you have bowls out for chickens etc, then they find a nice plump snack too.

[dancing cloud]

Hello and welcome on the other side of the world

 

My little lot don't go to bed until it's quite dark, and want to be up and about in the morning when it's barely daylight. I usually just let them get on with whatever they choose, though this did mean some late nights and early mornings in summer as I close them in the at night.

 

Maybe some chooks just need less sleep than others? (or maybe I've just got insomniacs )

[sandyhas3chucks]

ok, that got us all going dark her by 4.30/5 pm now, thought you had nocturnal chooks!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Welcome to the forum, Cherryblossom .

 

It surprises me how flexible hens' sleeping patterns are - half the year they get by on 6-8 hrs sleep, the rest they'll happily be in bed from 4.30pm till 8.30am the next day .

[Kirstine]

Hi Cherryblossom

 

Don't worry - pretty much whatever you do they will get the hang of going to bed within a week or so, so it's probably best for your sanity to put them in if you need to for peace of mind.

Ours tend to adapt to day-length a little bit in that although they obviously sleep a lot more in winter than in summer, they will go to bed when it is just getting dark in summer but leave it until the last minute in winter. 'Teenage' chickens also seem to stay up later!!

Re: moving the house, our chickens always got a bit confused when we did that - it's almost as if they work by GPS rather than sight, so you may well have to 'help' on the first night in a new position.