Omlet Smart Autodoor - New in box

[andymac]

Help

 

I am a new owner of 5 chickens and an eglu cube. Two things I would like advice on.

 

1. It seems that one of my hens is sleeping in the nest box. Should I prevent this and if so is it OK to close up the hole overnight?

 

2. I have seen some sloppy orange poo in the garden although not in the coop. Is this something to be worried about (I have been reading about Blackhead, although there is no sign of lethargy and one book stated it to be rare in hens) or is it a normal clear out?

[Redwing]

They will do the sloppy orange 'curry' poos every so many poos, its normal if a bit alarming, if they do them constantly then maybe start to worry

 

you can block off the nest box (someone mentioned that one of the tub trug sizes fits the hole exactly, alternatively when they are asleep take them out and move them to the roosting bars, they should stay there if they are sleepy - a few nights of this may break the habit

[Chucky1]

Redwing makes some useful suggestions with the nest box - we tried them in the beginning though eventually our girls trained us to let them sleep in the nest box

 

Don't worry about the curry poos unless they're constant.

 

Good Luck

[andymac]

Thanks for the advise. You have put my mind at rest.

 

I am currently on one egg a day from Ivy, the blackrock and urging the others to start laying.

I cannot believe how exciting it is owning chickens, after just 2 weeks i am totally hooked and can spend hours just watching them scratch about the garden. I can't wait for my first blue egg from Poppy (cream legbar) and we are taking bets on who will lay next.

 

Thanks again for the advice.

[majuka]

I'm another one with hens that sleep in the nest box! Our girls are all ex batts, one of our 2008 girls, Matilda, started sleeping in there, despite us repeatedly lifting her onto the roost bars. Eventually Dave decided he would rather close up the nest box at night and get up extra early to open it up in the morning. The night he did it, we went down to say goodnight to the girls, as we always do, and little Matilda was sat with her head inside the nest box and her body on the roost bars cooing so sadly. I told Dave he was a mean chicken daddy and he said he had never felt so bad when he saw her! He opened up to the nest box and put her in. One day she just stopped sleeping in the nest box although others have gone through phases of doing so. At one stage we have had three girls in there overnight! One of our 2009 girls, Martha, sleeps in there now. We know that she has a tumour and she is receiving veterinary treatment for it. If she is happier sleeping in there then we are happy.

 

Obviously you need to be more vigilant with your cleaning and changing the nest box material as they pass a lot more droppings at night.

[Chucky1]

I think Majuka sums it up quite nicely.

 

When you first start out its easy to succumb to advice from "well wishers" and over active in-laws about what the chooks should be doing, what they did in our day and yada yada ....

 

Pretty soon you find your own level from common sense and what you pick up on here and other places.

 

Generally we go with - If it doesn't harm the chooks, so what (short of actually moving into the house with us ).

 

Good Luck

 

Majuka all the best for your poorly chook

[majuka]

Majuka all the best for your poorly chook

 

Thank you Chucky1 We know we don't have that long left with little Martha but we cherish every day that she is comfortable and happy.

[Krysia]

2 of our 9 like to sleep in the nesting box, we use aubiose so it easy to keep clean just picking out the mess.

 

~unless it really bothers you I wouldn't worry about it

[JanTheDiver]

Mine used to sleep in the nest box all the time when we first had them but eventually they drifted onto the roosting bars in the cube.

 

I get the odd one in the nest now but very rarely