bracken Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Hi there,was just wandering if anyone else has had this problem? We have moved house (6weeks ago) and the chooks are now living in a 10 foot by 4 foot dog run with the eglu inside,that way they can let themselves out in the morning. They are also more protected from the elements,with it having a roof on and protection on three sides. We have had the builders in and they did stop laying for a while because they were using noisy tools on the back garden. Bubbles has also been moulting. Back to three eggs a day again thankfully. The main problem is that one of the girls has got extremely vocal and loud. This normally happens very early in the morning (5:30ish) I have been leaving some treats in the run the night before to keep her occupied when she wakes up. Even this is now not working very well? The only other thing i have tried is to squirt her with a plant spray which she doesnt like,but,i dont like doing it to her either! Any suggestions?...........PLEASE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 I can sympathise! One of my bantams (Ginger) is very noisey in the mornings. I've been leaving the ramp down on their ark so they can get into their secure run at whatever time they like. This worked for me as Ginger used to shout to be allowed to get out of bed. Sounds like your's might be waking up too early, maybe because of the light? Have to tried shutting the eglu door at night to keep the light out? It might work, or it might make the noise worse but it's perhaps worth a try? Otherwise ............ ear plugs?!?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Both of mine can be grumbly in the mornings, but since they shut up when they see me, water sprays are useless My bantam went through a stage of being very vocal if there was no breakfast waiting for her when she gets up, so now I make sure there are pellets in the feeder before I go to bed. With a cat patrolling the garden most nights, I'm not too worried about vermin getting at the food! If your girls are waking up to treats, that's only going to encourage them to wake up early ("early bird gets the sweetcorn"!) and then demand more treats! I'm afraid you're going to have to be firm with them or they'll just be spoilt and take over (I find it helps to think of pets as having the mental and emotional capacity of toddlers!) If you can't cope with just dropping the treats (and I wouldn't blame you - the noise can be a right pain!), how about phasing them out? Mix a less desirable treat in with their favourite, then increase the proportion of second-best treat until it's the sole ingredient. Go through the same process with a lesser treat and continue until they're breakfasting on ordinary mash/pellets. Most of the advice I've seen recommends treats in the evening only - mine have been a bit run down, so currently they get pellet porridge with some yogurt and poultry spice, plus mashed banana and sweetcorn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bracken Posted September 1, 2006 Author Share Posted September 1, 2006 Thanx for the suggestions. Will give it a try....fingers . I'm not bothered about the noise because of us,its the neighbours,dont yet know what sort of peeps they are,with the exception of next door but one (the in laws). They say they cant hear them,but, we have two main roads running near us,one right in front of us,with the fire station across the road and the A38 about five houses and a street away. So,lets hope the neighbours cant hear for the traffic starting to build up in the morning? Our garden is also surrounded by about six foot high conifer hedging,so lets hope that absorbs some of the noise? Will try your suggestions and see how we go? Thanx again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
