anne field Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Hi there! I'm a new chicken owner and need some advice please! For the first week we kept our new chickens within the eglu run so that they became used to their new house and run. Each night at dusk our three chickens would take themselves off to the eglu to bed (very impressive)! This week we have started to let them into the main garden (a fenced off, large area). Now at dusk they have started to roost on top of the eglu run and we're finding it difficult to get them into their eglu for a safe nights sleep! We don't want to panic them - which is what seems to be happening at the moment when we try to persuade them into the eglu. HELP PLEASE!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerryegg Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 No first hand experience but i remember someone saying put a torch on in the eglu and they go in. Good luck.let us know if this works please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 I'd confine them to the run again for a few days to see if they will 'unlearn' their new behaviour. Alternatively, you could try actively encouraging them in the run at a set time, before dusk, with a handful of sweetcorn. This is what I do, as we have foxes, and I daren't trust the hens to observe a sensible bedtime. In fact, mine line up and wait for me at 6 pm. Remarkable how they seem to be able to tell the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken shack Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Meal worms works for me all the time. They can't get enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Random_Girl66 Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 We've had our girls for a few months now and they have always put themselves to bed at a good time without any encouragement and then suddenly this week they have started roosting on the Eglu run, just as you describe!! They didn't look very comfortable and, as others have suggested, some strategically placed mealworms soon persuaded them that there were better places to be They are such funny things!!! (The chickens not the mealworms!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTree Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 I used to put my girls back in the run while it was still quite light, aided by a couple of handfuls of corn in a dogbowl. They'd have no choice but to go to bed in the eglu then. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
