Luvachicken Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Mine often go to bed anytime after 8.30 pm in the summer and sadly get up around 4 am I'm hoping to re-train mine though, to a more sensible time since they've had their door shut over the winter because of a rat. The 4 am start is fine as long as nothing frightens them and it sets off their clucking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Mine often go to bed anytime after 8.30 pm in the summer and sadly get up around 4 am I'm hoping to re-train mine though, to a more sensible time since they've had their door shut over the winter because of a rat. The 4 am start is fine as long as nothing frightens them and it sets off their clucking Or demand their breakfast! So tip: don’t start feeding them breakfast in the morning when they wake up! Getting into the routine is a matter of days, getting out of one has proven impossible for me yet... as I want to keep the neighbours happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrannyTrish Posted February 18, 2018 Author Share Posted February 18, 2018 Before we got them I thought it would be a daylight thing. I think they're trying to confuse me! Hubby is a lark and I'm an owl so it'll work out nicely, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 It took a while but after a couple of years of stressy running down the garden to keep the girls quiet at dawn they finally got the hint that they wait for me. Once I went down, put their food in the run, changed the water and went back indoors - it wasn't until 10am that I looked out, couldn't see the girls and oops! Dashed down and after a few mutterings which I translated as silly old woman, they were right as rain! But another thing was some other friends girls go to bed later than mine - I guess it's because in the summer we aren't as open and the tree canopy where their run is is a lot darker than friends who have a more open garden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrannyTrish Posted February 19, 2018 Author Share Posted February 19, 2018 I can just picture that, Valkyrie! Thankfully we don't have to worry about neighbours being upset as our ladies aren't near enough to disturb them. I have arthritis in my knees so I wouldn't be running anyway, lol. And I've just realised that hubby is away for a few days at the end of March which means I'll have to get up early. Is there a ballpark time for them to start laying after settling in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Do you know how old they are ? They can start laying from between 14 weeks old up to about 20+ weeks Their combs and faces start to go a lovely red, and they might crouching too, which can show they are nearly ready. Waiting for your first egg always takes a long time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrannyTrish Posted February 19, 2018 Author Share Posted February 19, 2018 No, I don't know how old they are, but they are a quite pale red. I couldn't find them earlier today and started to panic! Eventually found them crouched down amongst the strawberry plants in little hollows they'd made! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 I often lose a couple of mine and they are in an enclosed run It's usually because they are hiding somewhere too, and as my Mum says, I look with my eyes shut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrannyTrish Posted February 19, 2018 Author Share Posted February 19, 2018 It's usually males who look with their eyes shut. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
