patsylabrador Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 As it's getting lighter the chickens have started calling at 6.30am and full-blown shouting by 7am. I can't risk leaving their coop door open, the all-out hysteria if the wrong cat or a fox walks by is even worse. My poor neighbour has a 9mnth baby with chicken-pox so I can't do that to her. So I've been experimenting with the blackout curtains again. This morning I had absolute silence from them until I went out st 8am. Bliss. Clocks go forward soon so I can hopefully break the noisy cycle before the very early light mornings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Oh now that's a good idea! I don't worry during the week but and very conscious of the noise on Sundays, I am in a busy area 10 miles from central London but Sundays in my close, you could hear a pin drop:( I am worried about blocking the air flow in the cube though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JellyBean2605 Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I'm going to have to do the same thing, I've been experimenting with leaving the eglu door open since getting the WIR. It worked fine over the weekend but this morning I was woken at 6 am by a screaming chicken. It turns out that one of my cats had got too close and caused panic. But the noise was incredible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ladylil Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 I tried leaving the pop hole open on Sunday evening so they could scratch around in their wir at their leisure on Monday morning. Bad idea. They woke up at 5.45 (it wasn't even light!) and were being noisy so I let them into their netted off area hoping that would shut them up - no chance! They were unbelievable noisy and nothing would pacify them, my boyfriend when not a happy bunny So back to shutting the pop hole at night! We also have neighbours close to us. I find that if they are let out before the sun is properly up they are very noisy but if I let them out after the sun has come up they're fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Oh dear, I hope that doesn't mean mine will do the same. Leaving the door open for them has worked so far. I covered mine last year with dark tarpaulin but it didn't really work. Please, please don't let mine make any noise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmashazzie Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Gosh I have just started leaving pop hole open and my lot are nearer my neighbours than me.I haven't heard them and assumed they were quiet Oh dear will have to ask neighbours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ladylil Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 It's probably just my silly girls then! They were also very bad back in the summer. I got them in June and allowed them free range when we were home (we have a WIR), after a couple of months we got fed up with them pooing all over the patio so netted off a decent section of the garden in addition of their 10x7ft WIR. They were are total nightmare! Clearly completely put out that they weren't able to free range any longer. My advice to anyone in a similar situation i.e with neighbours close by, is not to let them free range at all unless they can allow them to do it all the time. I wish I had kept them in their WIR at all times right from the beginning - what you don't have you don't miss I am glad to say that they have now stopped protesting and luckily we didn't have any complaints from the neighbours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 I must admit I did think about letting mine out of the run in that beautiful weather, but then I thought about the fuss they might make when they couldn't come out, so decided to leave them shut in. What they don't have they can't miss I guess. I do wish I lived in the middle of nowhere and then it wouldn't matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Last year was the first time in 5 years that they didn't whinge to have the door open - I was able to let them out at 8.30 or 9am. I have no idea why - it's been a normal routine from the start but I think it may have been down to blue tits nesting in a box nearby and the babes cheeping. It always used to coincide with that - although last year they were pretty much ignored! So far the newbies seem to be following the trend. The 5am panic that saw me running out to stop them yelling and upsetting the neighbours!!! Once fairly recently I forgot to shut the door of the cube and they were all milling around - no food and just water and they waited patiently - now that was a moment never to be forgotten! Another time I shut the door but the dopey maran was still in the run. She did yell there so I opened up the door and she went inside to join the others! And there was me in stressy mode! There have been another couple of times where I heard the girls, run downstairs and outside to find - it wasn't mine! A couple of doors away they have had perfectly behaved chooks that you wouldn't know were there - and they were creating a right old racket. Yayyyyy someone to share the blame with now! Have to wonder if it was a cat - or maybe a hedgehog? At the moment I have the fitted insulated winter cover over the cube (think that is raaaaather good). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ladylil Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Luvachicken - I wish I had as much fore thought as you! They still have their netted off area, but my plan is to reduce it by about a foot every now and then in the hope that the girls won't notice their ever shrinking run! The lengths us chicken owners go to eh?! The grand plan is to have them back in their WIR permanently and reseed the lawn. Now they have a roof on the run with Aubiose on the floor, they love spending time in their WIR rooting around so am hopeful my evil plan will work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 Luvachicken - I wish I had as much fore thought as you! They still have their netted off area, but my plan is to reduce it by about a foot every now and then in the hope that the girls won't notice their ever shrinking run! The lengths us chicken owners go to eh?! The grand plan is to have them back in their WIR permanently and reseed the lawn. Now they have a roof on the run with Aubiose on the floor, they love spending time in their WIR rooting around so am hopeful my evil plan will work! I'm sure they won't really notice that their run is shrinking. Mine didn't notice that theirs had doubled in size for a good few months It is nice getting your garden back, especially if it is small like mine. Hope your plan works Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ladylil Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 Silly girls! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I have just popped an old lined curtain over the cube as the girls are getting earlier, around 6-15am at the moment and during the week it's fine but Sundays are the worry! To be fair they don't make too much noise just a sweet kind of chirp.... Should I worry about them overheating? There are only four in the cube? Let's see what time they start tomorrow.,.fingers crossed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzieLloyd Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 We've always left the pop hole open in better weather to let the girls into the WIR but since Mary became a single lady she's taken to crowing. Every morning since Friday we get a 6am wake up call. Neighbours haven't said anything yet but we can't risk it continuing so we were planning to shut the pop hole until 8 each morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
