Single hen

[fluffyknickers]

Quick urgent question - my new chickens arrived today arent in their cube yet - should I put them in? Its 5.20pm and getting dark.

 

What time should I start to worry?

 

Thanks

Michelle

[splodge88]

Wait until it actually IS dark before you start to worry. Ours wouldn't go to bed on their first night either. We found putting a torch inside the eglu (or cube) worked. I don't know if it would be different with a cube but I think a torch (or lantern type thing) would be your best bet.

 

Have fun with your new chickens!

[MadMitch]

Mine are still out in the garden, they take themselves to bed between 5:45 and 6:00 at the moment.

[Ecky]

Hi Michelle,

 

mine are not in bed yet either. They took themselves to bed the first day, when they thought it was time. However, I have been told that some chicken find it difficult with the ladder at first (don't know if this is true, as I haven't had that problem). It doesn't reach all the way to the ground and they have to hop on.

Give them a bit longer.

I assume you had put them into the cube for a while when they arrived, so the know where home is?

If they refuse to go to bed try a torch in the cube, they will follow the light. If this doesn't help either I guess then you put them there. The egg port is great for this, that's where mine went in when they'd arrived.

Hope this helps, I'm sure there will be more people helping soon.

Good luck.

[Egluntyne]

Mine are just putting themselves to bed. I would wait till it is quite dark and then they might fall for the torch in the nest box trick.

 

It took my first hens a few days to get the hang of it.

[TheCoop]

Ours usually go to bed quite early, so will be in by now. When we first got them, they didn't know where to go, so we tried the torch method - useless. In the end, I had to go in and physically lift them into the sleep box. After that they were fine.

[fluffyknickers]

Just went and checked. The gorgeous who is getting bullied has taken herself in and is sitting down in the cube in the bit where she is supposed to lay eggs!!!

 

The other two , (my four year old calls them the twins!) well, one is sitting in the glug and the other under the cube and both are 'chatting' away making funny noises!

 

I will wait a little longer and then go out - its VERY dark out now. They are actually already quite friendly and I am sure wouldnt mind being shown the way with a bit of handling.

 

x

[Cooks]

mine needed help the first night but they've got the hang of it since then. The torch trick worked for the two newbies and the oldies I just poped in the cube

[fluffyknickers]

Right all in and the door shut!

 

Originally the was in and the out.

 

Just went out to put them all in and the in the cube and my poor little roosting on the superglug!

 

Obviously the two gingers had gone in and bullied her so she came out. I just picked her up and put her in but she was obv frightened bless her.

x

[Phoebe]

Funny that because my black ones always go to bed earlier than the brown ones too.

 

First night my two brown ones slept outside because they would not go in, and when I tried to entice them in with a torch, the two black ones woke up and kept popping out.

 

So I gave up and left 2 brown ones out, one roosting on glug as you said. Both made miserable noises, but would n't move.

 

Next night I put torch in early, before it got dark, and they all went in no trouble, and have done (without help) ever since.

 

Now yours have got the idea, you may well find tomorrow night is trouble free

 

Good luck and welcome to the world of hen keeping (mine have been very naughty today and have built a massive pile of bedding in the middle of the run, which looks like a sandcastle. very strange )

[atsw]

Mine have been very naughty today and have built a massive pile of bedding in the middle of the run, which looks like a sandcastle. very strange

Yes, one of mine decided that today would be a good day to pull all the straw out of the nest box and place it (somewhat randomly!) around the run. Hum, something in the air perhaps .

 

Andrew

[thewhitehouse]

Would it be very naive to think that spring is in the air

[fluffyknickers]

I got really upset when I had been in the run laying all the bedding so it looked nice and they all went straight to it and made big holes!

x

[Jewels]

Both of my girls struggled a bit at first with the cube last summer when i got them. On their first night they were up to 10pm cos they not sure where to go, but in the end we put a torch inside the cube as suggested by other wiser chook keepers on this site and it worked a treat but they did struggle up cube steps to begin with, was actually very entertaining watching them as they half flew half climbed up the cube steps and finally settled in. Now they go up no probs. Now in winter they seem to go to bed by 5pm and always Josephine (my Mrs Pepperpot ) first followed at least half hour later by Georgina - my Gingernut Ranger - who seems to have secured the "best position" in the cube for herself even though she always last in. lol

[Phoebe]

the whitehouse said

 

Would it be very naive to think that spring is in the air

 

 

 

Is that what it is ? nest building for spring ? I'm new to all this you see