church chooks Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Because the girls tend to get up before me i have got into the habit of leaving the eglu door open at night - the run door is locked so they are nice and safe. My amber star - Mrs D'Arcy has become nocturnal though! My husband got up at 3.30 in the morning the other day and she was in the run having breakfast! I know she eats enough in the day as i can see them from my desk, and all three girls are laying eggs - has anyone else heard of a nocturnal chicken, or is she just cold? (but why are the other two sleeping through the night??) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheilaz Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 perhaps she likes a night time feast! Would the lights from the house at 3.30 have woken her? An idea you might try is a compromise that some of us use whereby you push the Eglu door to, leaving it an inch (?) ajar, having trained them to open it themselves! I do this, having read about it here. The 1st night of training, you just shut the door halfway across, and then each night push it further in, so they are having to push it themselves only a little bit at first. After a few nights, you will have increased the amount they need to push and they will learn gradually, until it's very near being closed. Some get the hang of it better than others, and you don't want to risk shutting it completely by mistake & then thinking they are up when they're not. Check a few times to be sure they are getting the hang of it. Sometimes one does it but not the other/s & you need to know that they always do manage it. It might mean that she sleeps through, and it will be cosier for the winter, but without you needing to let them out early. Good luck, do let us know how they get along. I don't think mine are coming out until 1st light now, and were roosting by 4pm today (yesterday ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happymama Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Blimey, I haven't seen an egg for 7 weeks! Guess yours aren't moulting. I just pushed the door closed when I got them, but not depressing the latch on top, and they straight away managed to open it and let themselves out. Now they squeeze through a small self-opened gap, which is good in the chilly weather so they can go in and get out of it if they like. I know you can extend your hens egg-laying season by putting a light in the eglu so they get a full 12 hrs or more of light all year round. Maybe yours are being woken by an external light source? I know someone on here had nocturnal chickens and that didn't stop until the moved the eglu from under the kitchen window! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnieP Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Mine three are still laying for England... I wonder if its because the lets in more light than the other colours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happymama Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Could be. I mean, they are wedged against a south facing fence, so get as much sun and warmth as feasible. Letting them out is a risky enterprise, because of Daisy the saluki-x. (Or rather, because of DH, who apparently cares not a jot if the dog gets the hens, nice man that he is. Why can't he go and live somewhere else?). I shall consider a bulb when I move, to up the chances. But the moult is going great guns, feathers and 'dandruff' EVERYWHERE at the moment, and hens looking a bit tatty, so no wonder no eggs. New feathers use lots of energy to grow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura007 Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 nuggett hasn't laid for ages, but has gonr through a moult. henno is just starting to loose some feathers, but noodle and gerty are under a year old and are laying like troupers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
