My eco solution to rat problems

[JellyB]

It is dark now in the morning when I leave for work so my girls aren't up yet. At the moment I'm leaving the Eglu doors open all night so they can get up in the morning. Once it gets colder I will shut it at night and open it in the morning before I go to work.

My concern is really when it starts to get dark in the early evening. I'm assuiming that the girls will just go to bed when it is dark and I can shut the Eglu door. It will mean I hardly see them tho'

Does anyone else have this problem and what do you do?? Also what about any eggs that are laid during the day, can I disturb the hens in the evenign to see if there are any eggs that need collecting?

 

Thanks for any advice

[kannie]

Hi Jelly B! Yes they'll just put themselves to bed when it gets dark, so don't worry about that.

 

Sometimes ours are already in bed when I get home now. I just put on the flood-light and open the run door, and they very quickly get up again for a bed time snack! Once they've finished I turn of the light and they go back to bed!

 

If you don't have a bright light, I'd just open the egg port and collect any eggs anyway, and give them a quick stroke while you're at it! They're more placid when they're roosting and don't seem to mind being disturbed. You don't want the eggs to build up.

 

And you can always have more contact time at the weekend. Or change jobs!

[Guest]

Our girls are usually up and about when we get up in the morning (about 6am) even though it is still dark. It could be that it is still warm so they still think its summer

 

Last year in the winter, they would go back into the eglu when it was dark and when we came back from work they would come out and we used to leave the outside light on for them so they could have a little free range before bedtime

[Linda]

 

And you can always have more contact time at the weekend. Or change jobs!

It's just a question of priorities, isn't it!!

[JellyB]

Unfortunately can't change jobs (unless I win that lottery )but deffo more time at the weekends. That's when I get up and let them out and then they have the whole garden to play in

[Popcorn]

Christine is right about collecting the eggs. Our don't mind either if you have a rummage around underneath them for the eggs, and the more often you do it the more they will get used to it.

 

Ours let themselves out in the morning. We leave the door open just an inch or two and they shoulder barge it open.

 

We did this gradually. Starting off with the door half open for a while. Then it got closed a little more for a few days until eventually we can pretty much have it shut to now and they'll push it open themselves.

 

During the winter months we did tend to be up and about before the chickens though so there was no leaping out of bed if we did lock the door shut on those extra cold nights. The Eglu is well ventilated for the hens.

 

Last winter ours were going to bed at 3.30pm and didnt get up till gone 8am. a whole 16 hours in the Eglu!

[Linda]

 

Last winter ours were going to bed at 3.30pm and didnt get up till gone 8am. a whole 16 hours in the Eglu!

Couldn't you do with a night like that yourself at the moment!

[Mrs Frugal]

I get up early and open the pop hole when I get my breakfast. Jenny usually comes straight out for a look around but Izzy and Clarry tend to like a lie in. They're perfectly happy getting up when they're ready and usually wait until it's a bit lighter. Clarry's first off to bed as soon as it's beginning to get dark and is closely followed by Izzy while Jenny waits to make sure everything's OK in the run before toddling off herself before it's really dark! I often forget to collect eggs (OK, with my freeloaders that really should be EGG singular) so I'll reach in through the eggport when I go to lock the door at night and they don't seem to mind. Jenny will often give me a bit of a peck! She probably thinks I'm a rat or something !