4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[jenjins1]

Have five hens and recently changed their house to a white plastic one after an infestation of red mite and this morning they were shut inside it and started cock a doodle doing at 530am! I ran out and quickly let them into the garden to shut them up otherwise the neighbours would go crazy as we all have the windows open. Two nights ago we forgot to shut them in the house at i was running up the garden at 430am to shut them up. I thought only cockerels made a noise at daylight...

 

Obviously the house isn't dark inside as its white plastic and they just know. Am i going to have to spray it black inside as they cant make that noise so early in the morning? There we were so happy to have got rid of the mites and now this noise.

 

I know which one it is too that starts them all off!!!

[Meganymoo]

Mine do that and it's rather annoying, though i cant find a way to shut them up!

[jenjins1]

I know its a hard one. They didnt make this noise last summer and being such a light sleeper i hear them straight away.

 

All i need is the horrible neighbour up the road to come knocking on my door!!

[Olly]

Haven't had this problem myself, but blackout curtains over the henhouse seem to be the answer for some people.

 

It is also a fact that if your hens learn that making a noise brings you running with a treat to shut them up, then they will do it again and again - it's worth getting them used to being in the run and you walking around and ignoring them,in the middle of the day of course rather than at 5.30. However there's no guarantee that it'll stop the early morning wake-up call.

[jenjins1]

omg thats like babies!!!

 

Wouldn't the curtains get really dirty thought being inside the house??!! Think i am just going to hope that they dont do it. The little clucking is ok but its the full on female version of cockadoodledo that is just soooo loud!

 

Thanks

[quickcluck]

Mine are the same at get up at 4.30, I couldn't believe it!

 

After much worrying we've settled on not shutting them in, but before we got to bed we hand up a cabbage/greens and throw a handful of corn about, then when they get up they have something to distract them!

 

Good luck!

[alet_chicken]

Hi, you could darken their house by covering it in blackout curtains, or a dark tarpaulin, or even black weed control fabric. That should keep them asleep for a wee bit longer in the morning.

[patsylabrador]

Blackout curtains are brilliant. I lay them over the coop when they go to bed and take them off in the morning when I'm ready. They make no sound before that. I take the curtains out of the run so there is no reason for them to get overly dirty, if I think they're getting stale I hang them on the line and hose them down. Other people use other things but the principle is the same - they sleep when it's dark.

[sadietoo]

IN the last few warm evenings I haven't closed the eglu door at night, but saturday night I could hear a fox around and so I did shut the door, I felt sure this would mean a lot of shouting first thing in the morning, but in fact there was none of it and it was actually eight this morning before I let them out in the run!!! We have a normal green eglu with no extra blackout and I'm not saying they never make a morning noise, but I would say we never let them out until we are ready and that does seem to keep them a bit more subdued

[donald]

Yes I have the same, I worry the neighbours will complain but I just keep giving the neighbours a few eggs in the hope I am bribing them!

 

But I too before I go to bed throw in some treats as a distraction to keep them occupied. But I know the fox has been around as we have just started having fox mess in the garden, I suppose all this years off spring are out hunting now

 

good luck Donald