Will hoey

[johnandval]

Well the eglu and chickens etc turned up as advised by Omlet and all went perfectly in terms of the set up, wing clipping, handling etc etc.

 

Three ladies - two giners and one pepperpot have spent the afternoon and evening clucking away happily eating, drinking and scratching about.

 

Theyve had a few mealworms and some spinach as treats as well.

 

Then along came dusk, and they started clucking nervously as the light faded, and didnt know what to do aboutr roosting!

 

I stood a small battery powered night light at the back of the eglu and retired indoors to watch. After about 5 minutes they eventually plucked up enough courage to venture inside. I left them for a further five minutes before creepig up and slowly shutting the door. I then reached through the egg door and removed the light. They were quite calm, with two crammed onto the next box - although its currently devoid of bedding (as the omlet guy said they wont be laying initially).

 

Hopefully tomorrow will be a little easier!

 

John

[Redwing]

Congratulations on your Eglu and girls

 

They will probably be fine tomorrow, once they know where home is they normally catch on pretty quick

[Chickvic]

They did quite well really, I had to 'help' mine in with a broom but it was only for the first night. After that they managed perfectly well on their own

[Cooks]

I also think they did really well bless their little hearts.

[chelsea]

Sounds like the perfect start to me. I think they are going to be good little hens!

[debbier]

The first night ours were here, last week, my daughter ended up crawling in to shoo them in to the eglu. After that first night they put themselves away at dusk. I suspect they might have done that the first night too, had we waited a bit longer.

 

Noone in their right mind would want to crawl in all that poo the run now it's been in the same place for a week!!! Time to move it today, I think...

[ubereglu]

They sound lovely. Am glad you like your eglu!

[Plum]

Looking forward to your games tonight How are they getting on?

[johnandval]

Second night we used the "torch method" again, but the third night onward they knew what to do! On Monday (the fifth day) we let them out to free range the garden, and they have had spells out every day since. Its fantastic to watch them especially when they chase away sparrows that land in the garden! They aren't too difficult to get back in when necessary, and seem pretty relaxed around us. One even ventured into the dining room via the patio doors!

 

I am currently building a WIR as I am not happy about the room they have in the standard run, and more importantly, its a pain having to move the run every time we poo pick - which we do daily until the run is finished. The WIR will be circa 3.5m by 3m - so not a bad pad for three chickens! I will probably advertise the run for sale, but thats for another day.

JOhn

[Cooks]

I did exactly that John, bought an eglu and within a week my husband had started getting bits and working plans for the WIR as we hated the run that came with the eglu.

We now have a Cube, but still with the WIR which he adapted slightly at the beginning of the year by taking it down, laying a concrete base (to help with cleaning) and made adjustments so the cube could sit on the outside of the run rather than inside.

 

So if you are planning a WIR you might like to think of all areas you think you'd need. from word go as believe me it would save a lot of hassle.

 

Theres a great thread all about WIR's in this section so you can get some great ideas from there.

 

Good luck!