Poo help please!

[Jophenna]

Hi All,

 

After what seemed like an eternity (thanks Parcel Force for your refusing to allow us to collect from the depot!) our cube arrived on Monday and was duly set up. Unfortunately there was a part missing from the run extension (the Run Frame Middle) which caused a lot of head scratching at the time, but Omlet have since apologised for not informing us that this piece was out of stock at the time of packing. This is coming to us Mon/Tues next week so in the meantime I've built a wooden brace to keep the run upright. It's a shame we weren't informed about this as I've spent £800 on a premium product to then have to pop out to B&Q to spend another £15 due to a piece being missing... oh well! Anyway, we're extremely happy with the product now it's built

 

We introduced our four hens to their new home yesterday, which seemed to go well... they seemed happy with their new palace! They were purchased from two separate places as two pairs and they seemed to get on extremely well. We were expecting them to be fighting after reading other peoples experiences but thankfully we had no issues there.

 

The only issue we've had is that around 9.30pm last night we went out to the coop expecting the hens to have put themselves away in the cube for the night, but all four of them had started to roost in the run... rather than in the cube! I had to physically get into the run and place them into the cube. They weren't too keen on this!

 

Does anybody know how long will they take to learn to use the ladder? They're all young chickens, not ex-batts as I've seen others suggest they find the ladder difficult.

 

Im guessing that I should have introduced the hens by putting them into the cube and opening the door so that they knew where home was...

 

Any ideas? Thanks!!

[peckingham palace]

Hi

 

I had very similar problems with my chickens and cube when I first got it and them 5 weeks ago. The first night was a slight problem with one of them jumping up underneath the cube bashing her head against the floor of it. I, like you, had to lift them in the first night. In my limited experience, once one of them gets the hang of it the others seem to follow suit.

 

I am no expert, this is just my experience. There are lots of knowledgeable people on the forum who will be able to offer more practical advice than me I am sure.

 

Best of luck with it, and overall enjoy chicken keeping. Best thing we've done in a long time.

[Jophenna]

Great stuff, thanks for the reply!

 

I'm hoping that they'll have worked it out by dusk this evening... they were a little stressed last night when I had to go into the run to get them all into the cube!

[peckingham palace]

No problem, I was frantic at first, but have discovered they are a lot more resilient than I thought at first. They are also very clever and wily and if they think they can con you into treats they will. Mine are like piranhas with mealworms and mow me down in the rush to get to them You won't regret your cube and chickens. Keep me informed of how you get on tonight. Dee x

[mollyripkim]

Hi, I upgraded to a cube (which I love) and for the first four nights I was on hands and knees to pick them up to physically put them to bed and come morning it was a frantic flap and leap down the ladder. Hubby did some wooden rungs as mine are little silkies but on the fifth night they toddled off to bed on their own. So don't worry they will get the hang of it. Hope you enjoy your girls.

[gongladosh]

With mine, I had to show one of them where to go to roost, and once I'd shown one, they all knew and remembered.

 

It may take a week or so for them to get the hang of the ladder too, I had a couple of days of fingernail biting at bedtime and opening-up time - don't worry, they won't hurt themselves and hens are pretty quick learners.

 

Within a week or so they'll be pretty much sauntering up and down whilst doing 'jazz hands'

[suzannejoy]

i had the same problem , took my lot a few days to adjust to the ladder . Hope it goes ok .

[Jophenna]

Great news - I can report that all four hens successfully put themselves to bed last night! I was expecting to have to clamber into the run again for a few nights (not easy at 6' 2") but thankfully it wasn't required.

 

Thanks for the advice... this is my first thread. I now know if I have any questions I'll get a great response here!

[peckingham palace]

Brilliant news Jophenna, my lot loved to scare me at first, I think they could smell the fear of the first time chicken keeper and did what they could to make me feel inadequate. You have lots of fun times and enjoyment ahead though so just enjoy. They are great stress busters and will bring you hours of laughs just being with them and watching them.

[Henergy]

Thank you everyone - just panicking about the cube ladder & then read this thread. Will hopefully see them getting the hang of it soon !

[jackian]

I have not a cube or an eglo Justy a very nice wooden coop. but we have had our girls now 6 weeks today and I put them in manually for the first couple of days ,worrying that they I was ill treating them by forcing them kicking and crying in there.As usual our leader madam clover showed them the way .

We are first timers and I never thought I would learn so much from this forum in such a short time ,and have so much pleasure with my girls.All I need now is a bigger garden so we can have more and a cube .

Enjoy your girls,