urbanchick Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 I know there have been lots of threads about whether or not to leave the eglu door open, but I need some reassurance. We are going away for a couple of days and plan to leave the chickens with enough food and water to last. They will be on their own Thursday and Friday night, and my Dad will pop in briefly on Friday to check if everything's ok. I usually close the cube door at night and open it at 7.30am (on the dot!). I know they will be safely shut in their run, but I guess I am just a bit scared that they'll be cold and wet, lonely, stalked by a fox, etc. It's the first time I've left them and unfortunately my friendly neighbour is not able to help this time, so I have no choice but to leave the cube door open. If you leave the door open at night, does it mean foxes can smell the chickens from miles away? And I bet they lay their first egg while I'm away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James516 Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 I don't think there's ever been a case of a fox getting in through the run door. Your girls will be safe and well, but make sure the skirt of the run is weighed down with rocks/bricks/slabs. Also make sure they have plenty of food and water! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arowland17 Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 I'll be interested to see what replies are to this as I'm due to go away from a Thursday evening through to a Sunday, and while we have friends nearby that don't mind popping over to top up their food and water and they've even said they'll pop over in the evenings to give them their treat, we can't really ask them to close the eglu door at 9pm and open it up at 8am the next morning! I'm quite worried about leaving them, worried that they'll be cold and wet with the door open all night... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweety Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Your girls will be fine. I left mine for a week, with the cube door open all the time and someone coming to check on them every day, and they were absolutely fine - apart from being very cross at having been cooped up for a whole week! I was very worried about leaving them like this too, but I would do it again without any fears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arowland17 Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 thanks for the reassurance, I guess it's just cos it's the first time they'll be left alone, can't help worrying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweety Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 I think it's quite normal to worry about leaving them on their own - they are our responsibility after all! I had to keep reminding myself that one of reasons I chose the cube was so that I could go away for a few days and not have to worry about them being eaten by a fox which, as far as I am concerned , is the biggest threat. They are wearing little duvets, have plenty of shelter in the eglu or cube, and you can make sure that they have enough food & water - so there's really nothing to worry about, is there?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJuff Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 What happens to the eggs whilst your away? Do they just lay one on top of the other? Do they get broken if they are not collected? We are away tomorrow for two nights and unfortunately our neighbour is away to otherwise they would collect the eggs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzed Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 We've just got back from holiday, and our chicken sitter could only come once per day. As such, we got her to leave the eglu door open all the time, and just make sure the food and water were ok, and the eggs were collected every other day. Chickens appear absolutely fine, although they did lay a bit less through the week, that could've been the rubbish weather, darker nights etc. hope that's useful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 I've just been away for two weeks. The first week, I had a cat-sitter coming in once a day to feed the cat - she'd never met a chicken before, but once I showed her how things worked she was fine about feeding the chooks and absolutely thrilled to collect the eggs! The second week was a combination of a friend staying in the house for a few days, and another friend calling in once a day. I left plenty of mealworms, to make it easy for them to get the girls up the other end of the run while they opened the door. The girls were absolutely fine, probably a bit fed up at not having been out of the run for two weeks, but since they behave like life-sentence prisoners on a normal day, I couldn't tell the difference! Your chooks will be fine - they huddle up in the corner furthest from the door at night, and they won't be cold or wet - remember they are wearing their own duvet. I think any neighbourhood foxes will know whether there are chickens or not; leaving the door open at night won't make any difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitebarrow Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 We regularly leave our girls on their own for the weekend without any house sittters. They seem fine with the arrangement, in winter I have a security light with movement sensor trained on the run to deter foxes, but I haven't had any problems so far. Once, when we left them for three days, on return I found the eggs neatly arranged in rows dependant on who'd laid them - I guess they must have found it amusing to play with them - I found it very sweet As we have the standard eglu, on long trips away we pack it and the hens into the car and they stay with a friend - so we all get a vacation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puffball Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Do you live in a rural area? If there are plenty of houses near yours then there is completly nothing to worry about! Even if you are quite rural they should be safe in the run. Hope that helps Have a nice trip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 I've left mine for a couple of days before now, and we do have foxes in the are, but they have been fine. The Eglus are weighed down with boulders. Enjoy your break, they will manage without you as long as you make sure they have loads of food, water and maybe a cabbage to peck at to amuse them and above all, don't worry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urbanchick Posted August 21, 2007 Author Share Posted August 21, 2007 Thank you for your reassuring words everyone. I left the cube door open last night as a trial run and we all survived, so I feel happier about leaving them now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gentle1973 Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 We NEVER close the door on the coop so that the chickens can get into the run as and when they want and (touch wood) have never had a problem, so I'm sure yours will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jak Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Thinking ahead to colder months, we will be away for a week over Christmas - won't they need shutting up at night time so that they don't get too cold? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 No....I found mine were fine....but there are 4 in each Eglu so there was quite a bit of heat being generated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 we always shut the eglu door when we are here, as we have noisy chickens however, we have a caravan and pop away on occasional weekends, (fri-sun), we leave the girls in the run with the door open and they are absolutely fine, with plenty of water and food...sometimes my sister pops over to let them free range for an hour, but we are very comfortable leaving them and they dont seem to mind either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basset Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 I never close the Eglu door, I hate to think of my chooks locked in, and much prefer to allow them the freedom to come and go from the Eglu as they please. The door remains open 24/7/365 !!!! It works really well for me, and my lovely chooks absolutely thrive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urbanchick Posted August 22, 2007 Author Share Posted August 22, 2007 Well, having left the door open the other night as a test, I don't think I will be shutting it again. They are very happy with the new arrangement, and it saves me getting up in the morning. I suppose the main thing that worries me is the neighbours being woken up, but I will just tell them to stop whingeing and shut their bedroom window! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 I have always left the doors open when I had eglus and now with the cube - all through the winter too. Absolutely no problems. Chickens living outside running around some farmyards - just roost where they please. A friend of mine had some that refused to go into the posh ark she had and use to roost in a hedge. One day they had really thick snow - then next day the chicken came down for breakfast with ice on its back and a layer of snow. It just shook itself to get rid of it - and presumably to just limber up - no side effects whatsoever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutechicky Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 They should bfine. I went camping for two dayse and I gave the chooks enough food. They were fine and I have never had any problems with foxes getting in. If your dad is checking on them, he can also makie a thourough check around the garden to makie sure foxes havn't been sniffing around! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jak Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 That's really reassuring - think I will try leaving the door open tonight. I was worried about Christmas time because of the temperatures but if others have had no problems that would make things easier for us. cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
