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Dancing Gal

short days

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These horrible short days I am hardly going to get to see my girls.

 

I let them out in the morning but it's only just light so I get to see them for a few minutes before I go to work. But all they are interested in is getting to the food bowl first thing.

 

I rush home at lunch time to give them a treat but can only spend a few minutes, then quickly grab my own lunch and dash back off to work.

 

Now it's dark at 5pm and they've already taken themselves off to bed by the time I get home. So all I can do is open the 'boudoir' and say "night night" girls.

 

 

I shall never get anything done at weekends now as I spend all my time in the garden talking to the girls. :roll:

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I was just thinking the same thing.

 

I've had my girls for 6 months so I've had the luxury of Spring/Summertime chicken keeping with lovely long daylight hours for them to free range in and me to watch them.

 

Now with these overcast days they don't free range as early in the morning. I also shut them in their run earlier in the afternoon and they take themselves off to bed shortly after at dusk. So with the clocks changing my children barely see them when they get home from school. But I expect I will get used to this.

 

All ready experienced a fall in egg production which I assume is due to less daylight. I'm down to 3 a day instead of 4. But never mind, it's all a new learning curve for me....

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:cry: by the time I got home tonight, it was dark and they were in bed. And that's how it's going to be, for the next five months or so!

 

I do go and talk to them in the morning, top up the food and water etc. and give them some greens, but I daren't let them out without supervising them because of the fox problem, and there just isn't time in the mornings.

 

So their free-ranging is now going to be weekends only, or the odd day off. I've got a dental appointment tomorrow afternoon and I know I'll be rushing home afterwards to see if I can let them out for a bit - I feel really bad that they are in the run 24/7, but it's safest for them.

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It is sad this time of year to see them pack themselves off to bed at 5pm - and it's only going to get earlier :roll:

 

I have found that turning on the spotlights in the garden keeps them running around for about an extra half hour or so - then when they wander back to their run they get a slow "sunset" via the dimmer switch :oops::oops:

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I'm really going to miss my girls :( and will only see them for a bit in the mornings, fortunatley it will only be for 4 days a week for me, but still. I do think they sort of slow down a bit during the winter, and are less bothered about being out in the garden like they are in the summer , a sort of smei hibernation.

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Yes I know! I used to love watching them all from my kitchen window whilst I was cooking tea. Mine were in bed at 5pm tonight, no waiting round.

We have a large floodlight on a stand that we use when we change the easybed in their runs. We change them when they are tucked up in their beds. But sometimes we have put the light on for other reasons & they do stay out a little bit longer, not much tho - only until they realise that no you're not going to give them another treat!

 

Emma.x

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I tried to make it home before 5 last night - got there at 10 minutes to 5 but they had already tucked themselves up for the night :( . I opened the boudouir and gave Kylie a bit of a stroke and said good night, but they all seemed to be on the edge of sleep. Clearly they must have had a very busy afternoon and were worn out.

 

Roll on Friday when I finish earlier in the day and get let them out for a bit of free ranging.

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I feel the same as everyone else.....couple of mins in the morning and then nothing in the evening, just a 'night night girls' as I shut the eglu up - they were already in by the time I got home yesterday :(

This morning I did not even get a chance to collect Dots egg...she was laying as I left.

I really miss them, who would have thought three weeks into this adventure they would have made such an impact :)

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I feel so guilty about them not getting out much in the short days but the fox is about by 3pm. My lot jump up and down every time I go past in case its an outing but these are now in short supply. Some one who knows tells me to leave the pen open and let them take themselves in at dusk but surely this is a risk. Its my first winter. Will :roll: they be warm enough if we get as much rain as last year. Here I am at 70 waking early and niggling about my girls I dont use the word worry or the pc people would call me senile.My friends think I am loopy for having chickens anyway. Lesly

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I feel so guilty about them not getting out much in the short days but the fox is about by 3pm. My lot jump up and down every time I go past in case its an outing but these are now in short supply. Some one who knows tells me to leave the pen open and let them take themselves in at dusk but surely this is a risk. Its my first winter. Will :roll: they be warm enough if we get as much rain as last year. Here I am at 70 waking early and niggling about my girls I dont use the word worry or the pc people would call me senile.My friends think I am loopy for having chickens anyway. Lesly

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Last night I got home around 4pm and they were still up, so I took a cuppa up to the run and sat and talked to them. One of the cats joined me and sat on the roof of the hen house. It was too late to let them out for a bit of a range.

 

Much to my amazement 4.40pm they all went to bed. Tsk lazy babies :D

 

Anyway today I finish around 12.30 so I shall let them out for a bit of a run around the garden.

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Yesterday was the first full day of work I've had since the clocks went back. It was really strange when I got in at 5.30 and they were all tucked up in bed :? OH had collected the eggs. so all I had to do was weigh them. :(

 

Made up for it today - they've been playing out in the sunshine since breakfast :D

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What a great afternoon we've had.

 

There was the great tomato chase and the 'lets show the big cat just who is boss around here'. There was a spot of line dancing from the girls, and some serious crying when Kylie got separated and couldn't see the others.

 

I thought I was going to have a huge drama getting them back to the ark as they couldn't see it and don't seem to have inbuilt satnav. But a trail of corn and they were all safely tucked up back in the run within 5 minutes.

 

Lots of serious preening going on now ready for bed.

 

Don't know about them but I'm exhausted :D

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I've only had my girls a month. I feel like a parent who works late and never gets to see the children as they are always tucked up in bed when they get home. If meetings finish early, I dash home and the madams have already turned in for the night. Then I just have to open the back of the cube and give them a stroke.

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