liz wicksteed Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 G'day there chicken keeper dudes! I'd welcome your views on a chicken welfare issue. We have three lovely chickens living in our eglu. At night we close the eglu door, partly to keep them warm and also for extra security. I'm usually up to feed them and give them water by about half six, but with sunrise getting earlier and earlier, I know they wake earlier than that and will be hooting to be let out. I don't want them to get stressed or to get too hungry / thirsty. So we have a dilemma, whrther to leave the eglu door open all night or not. The plus side: we can leave clean water in the run overnight, so the girls can come out as soon as they wake and drink and peck about. The run gate is obviously closed so they should be quite safe. The downside: closing the eglu door may make them feel more secure, it cuts drafts, and it must reduce noise levels (we live in a town and behind a pub so it can be quite loud). Also, closing both the run door and the eglu door gives a failsafe layer against accidentally leaving them vulnerable to a fox. We don't leave any food in the run overnight so as not to attract rats. What are your views? We want them to be safe, healthy and unstressed, but we're not clear how to straike the best balance here. Look forward to seing your comments! And thank you in advance Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Hello! We've started leaving the eglu door open now (but the run door shut of course) and we've had no problems Chickens can come and go as they please and it makes me feel better knowing that they wont be stuck in the eglu for hours. We don't have a problem with foxes her (fingers crossed) but the eglu run is fox proof/resistant anyway Some people have left their door open during the snow so I think they are fine with the temperate! Hope this helps Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Loads of us leave the eglu door open almost all year round . Once they're roosting, no amount of noise will bother them and they keep each other warm enough at night not to make lower temperatures a problem. If you have your run secured well enough (with pegs or slabs on the run skirt) it should be safe enough from predators too. So, I would say leave the door open and enjoy the lie-ins . Only downside might be early morning egg announcing . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Seems we are on the opposite tack! We initially closed the Eglu door but then, as the bad weather dissapeared, left it open (but the run shut.) This led to LOADS of squarking from the girls to be let out into the garden proper at some ungodly hour! For the sake of our own, and neighbours, sanity and lie ins, we decided to shut the Eglu door at night, around 10.00pm, and open it as soon as one of us is down (usually around 7.00am.) Its a bit like a Le Mans start as we open the door but they don't always head to the food/water - sometimes just to the 'FREEDOM' (sorry, a touch of the William Wallaces there!!) This arrangement seems to work really well for us (and neigbours? ) so will continue! Just experiment and do what works for you and safest for the girls! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liz wicksteed Posted April 14, 2011 Author Share Posted April 14, 2011 Hi everyone, I really appreciate these comments! I think we'll leave it open for a few days and see how it goes. Our neighbours love our chickens almost more than we do and hopefully noise wouldn't be a problem, but if it is we can quickly revert to a closed door policy. It's v reassuring to know people's noise doesn't bother the chooks though. And I love the comment about the Le Mans start - know exactly what you mean! Thanks everyone Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auntielizzie Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 This led to LOADS of squarking from the girls to be let out into the garden proper at some ungodly hour! Well that answers this question for me then - my girls are always desperate to get out of the run and into the garden. I can just guess what would happen if I left the house door open overnight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 There are umpteen threads on this very topic. Opinions differ. I never close my Eglu or Cube doors ... not even in the cold snap in December, And the hens were fine. I do, however, make sure that the runs are on paving slabs and are well weighed down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malkalv Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 I leave my edlu door open during nice weather and during hot weather to give them a litte more ventilation. I just keep the run door closed. I have never had any issues with it and I've had my girls for over 2 years. It is nice when I wake up and see chickens already pecking in the run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy-Deb Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 I have just started leaving my cube door open too, and the girls can go into the WIR have for them. Touch wood so far there hasnt been too much noise, but taking each day as it comes and see how it goes. xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tara.F Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Some time ago on here (and I'm talking a couple of years) someone lost their chooks to fox after leaving the eglu door open. It turned out that the run was on soft, recently dug earth covered in bark chips and this allowed foxy to get under the run skirt in one go I leave the eglu door open....but ours sits on compacted London clay. When it's on softer earth (I move it around a bit) then I lock the door Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
