Stoat killed hens asleep in the Eglu

[ajayb]

Has anyone had any experience of using the metal chain curtains for their back door in order to let people & dogs in and out but stop their hens colonising the kitchen?

We've just returned to hen-keeping after a year's break and I'd forgotten how much the hens follow you around (including in and out of the house) and, even though I've recently house-trained two puppies, I don't really feel confident I could achieve the same results with chooks!

(The metal chain curtains are quite expensive but I don't think bamboo or plastic strip ones would work as they'd blow about to much - opinions welcome.)

[freddie]

Sorry, I know I shouldn't laugh, but I feel yr pain, and when I read yr post, I giggled. A lot!!

[chucknette]

Sorry had to laugh.

 

I have a young pup and when the chickens come in the back door, she herds them back out for me.

If shes not in the kitchen and they come in I just call her and she sends them packing

They get the hint and clear off.

She sticks her nose under their backsides and gives them a gentle push but a bit more of a shove if they put up a fight.

[johnandkymberley]

Hi, i havent got a metal curtain but i have a cube and an eglu but the eglu is spare and rarely used unless needed. In the meantime i use the classic end door panel and put it outside the door, the cat can get out of the classic door but the hens cant fit in it cuz the step outside the back door makes it too small for them. We have the door open alot as our house is south facing and is very hot, although when im singing out loud to "only girl in the world" - they stand and look through it i dont know if its because they like my singing or they are scared whats happening!!

[sadietoo]

Hi, we do have one of those metal curtains because our kitchen gets incredibly hot in the summer months, and it provides a bit of shade. For the first three or four weeks the chooks were bamboozled by it, but once Kipper had realised she could run at it full pelt and burst into the all that kitcheny loveliness,( with the cat bowl always with a few dregs in it and the fridge where the grapes are stored), there was no stopping her, and wherever Kipper is Pansy isn't far behind, (although she is a bit more put off by the curtain and you can see her wandering around outside gathering her courage to launch an attack). TBH the most effective thing to keep them out of the kitchen has been a water pistol. We don't even have to fire it at them, one look and Kipper is skidding across the tiles hot-tailing it back into the garden

[bouldercroft]

I agree with the water pistol deterrent - I only have to pick it up and Josie stops bullying whoever she hates on that day...

did I mention that she really is the meanest littlest chicken ever!

Edited June 15, 2011 by Guest

[Luvachicken]

I have got a long door net curtain on my back door, and not only does it keep flies out, it kept the chickens out too.

My new chickens are not allowed in the garden so they won't be a problem, but my dog - who is a bit old and can't see so well - always manages to find her way out of the door curtain but never the way in, and just sits crying at it until someone moves it.