Ammonia smell in coop-first time owner

[Chucky Mama]

Hi, I have 4 beautiful chickens who have delveleped into confident free rangers and are now being a little troublesome in that they are waking up at 5.30 - 6am and demanding to be released from their 'Eglu Cube Jail'. What a cheek! Anyone would think they were badly treated. We leave the door slightly open so that they can come down into the run for breakfast when they wake up but that isn't good enough, they pace up and down next to the door like caged lions. I am worried that they are going to disturb the neighbours as can get quite loud. I was wondering about trying to make an automatic timed door opener. I know they exist for 'normal' chicken coops but wondered if anyone had adapted or made anything for an Eglu. My husband is quite handy but has never made anything electronic before.

[Janepie33]

Sounds like an interesting project!

Have you neighbours actually complained? Mine say that they like to hear chickeny noises.

[Chucky Mama]

I actually braved asking them last night and they said that they can hear them but are not disturbed by them thankfully. We have geese that fly over at about 5.30am that are far more noisy thankfully. I think that they have probably been woken up by them before our chickens start their racket! They do disturb us however. Now I know that neighbours aren't (at the moment) worried by them; I am going to try training them to wait until 9 or 10am before I let them out. I love my pets to have freedom but letting them out when they create a din is just rewarding bad behaviour!!!! Still want to make a door opener/closer though!

[cluckbok]

I think something must have startled ours this morning, we had bok bokking just before 6am, I was cringing! We left them to it and it only went on for about 15 seconds, but that was long enough. My direct next door neighbour never heard them, but I bet the neighbours on the back did! I love summer but I do dread it a bit with the chooks. We leave our door open every night, except when it was minus 3 degrees or something and Matilda was moulting so we shut it then.

 

Ours don't do it very often, they better not

[Redwing]

An automatic opener would be cool, I was trying to think how they could do it and I think something that is battery operated and works alomg the same mechanical shape as a greenhouse auto vent opener would work

[Chucky Mama]

Since I found that our neighbours had not (yet) been disturbed by the recent early morning racket made by our girls; I have been making them wait in the run until 9am. They seems to be quieter now. No one minds the gentle clucking, it is lovely. It is the attempt at being a cockeral that is very noisy. It seems that now they dont get any early morning response they are getting into the habit of mooching around in the run. I have been leaving a small bowl of tasty s"Ooops, word censored!"s for them to find when they get up too which I think helps. I always leave the door from the nesting area open a small crack, just enough for them to squeeze out of in the morning so it is now as if they are closely confined.

 

Am still planning the door opener/closer though. Just need to figure out a design. Apart from the morning thing, it would help with evening shut up. It will save me having to phone home to remind one of the family to shut them up!

 

So...anyone out there that is a whizz at electronics (solar power, light sensitive would be great) just let me know!

[Gallina]

Chucky Mama is talking about a door opener for the run, not for the hen-house.

 

I am not sure it is safe for hens to wander around outside when no one is up. How do you keep foxes away?

[Chucky Mama]

Now I feel like a really unfit mother . Our garden is walled (15ftish) on 3 sides and well fenced on the 4th and is pretty secure. There is a fairly remote chance of a fox getting into the garden, maybe I am being naive but I consider our chickens pretty secure the way they are kept. THey also sleep pretty much under our bedroom window so between and Scally the dog, I would expect to be warned of any intrusions. In fact despite the fact that we are in a rural setting it sounds on the forum as if those chickens in the city etc are much more at risk. All of the village chickens free range during the daytime. It is not uncommon to meet them mooching around when out walking the dog. The only ones that I have heard of in our village that have been killed were 1 to a dog, 1 broody hen that went missing and a pile of feathers was found some weeks lager and someone who lost 3 to a badger of all things. As I say, I hope I am not being naive about it but I feel that where we are with the run well pegged down, they are pretty safe.