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Hi

I got my 4 girls on Thursday and they seem to be settling in Ok. They are housed in an eglu go and have a fenced off area of the garden.

At bedtime on Thursday night we had to round them up and put them to bed. Last night 2 of them had got on top of the water butt and one on top of the eglu. I just picked these up and put them to bed. The last one (partridge leghorne) gave us the run about for a while but I managed to catch her and put her away. Tonight I was doing some jobs in the garden so was watching them aswell. They seemed as if they were starting to look for somewhere to roost so I decided it was time for bed. Managed to catch 3 without too much trouble but the leghorn was a nightmare. By the time I'd caught her we were both stressed out.

Am I trying to put them to bed early? Will they eventually go to bed of their own accord?

 

Thanks

xx

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You don't say what time you were trying to get the girls to go to bed. My girls are taking themselves off to bed at about 8 pm at the moment (now that the evenings are lighter). They will generally take themselves to bed at dusk, which will be a different time throughout the year.

 

If they really won't go in at bedtime, then rather than chasing them round the garden, try getting them used to the sound of a tub of mealworms and they'll soon come running :!: That's what I do (and probably most others) whenever I want to get my girls to go back into their run after free ranging.

 

I normally shut them in their run a bit earlier on in the evening so that they will take themselves off to bed when they are ready. Maybe this would work better for you too.

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Some great advice there from auntielizzie...even if you haven't got a run. Your girls will put themselves to bed once they're ready but throwing some treats in front of the eglu should encourage them to be in the right place at the right time :wink: They'll get the hang of it so try not to worry too much :)

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Effie the Leghorn was on the top of the fence tonight when I went to put them to bed :shock: She is really nervous and makes a terrible noise when I have to catch her. Marjorie had put herself to bed and the others weren't to difficult to catch. Don't think mine read the manualabout bedtime lol. x

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Try putting a light in the eglu (you could use a torch or a wind up lantern or similar), that way when it's too dark for them, they'll head towards the light and put themselves to bed. They'll soon get into a routine. Don't expect them all to want to roost at the same time either, my Orp and Araucana both regularly mooch around the garden when it's pretty dark...just to let me know who's boss :roll::lol:

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