[bowler]

hi
    I am new to chicken keeping having just acquired 4 hybrids; will my girls go to bed when it gets dark or will I have to put them in the coop myself.
                                                         many thanks for any advice

[barley]

they will put them selves in at dusk and wake at dawn ( like all birds )

if they are new they might need a gentle push through the hen house door for a couple of nights till they realise that the new roost is a safe place to sleep

good luck and enjoy 

[ANHBUC]

They usually do find their own way to the coop but you can also put a light in the coop to attract them in if they don't seem keen.  A torch will do and after a few nights they should get the hang of things so you won't need the light any more.   

[ghost61]

I have had my 3 light sussex hens for two months and they refuse to go to bed by themselves and lead me a merry dance every evening! Everyone else's hens on the lotty site are roosting when their owners turn up to lock them up. Mine, well, they just want to party and have to be caught and put in the hen house every evening.

I long for them to walk up into the coop on their own, but they wait up for me each evening and then the fun and games begin! Love them dearly and they are all laying every day and everyone says how lovely they are. But me, I'm fed up with being the source of amusement for late evening lotty holders who think its great fun to watch. Don't think that helps create the right atmosphere for the hens either!

Any ideas most welcome. The light trick doesn't work, btw.

[ANHBUC]

   What works for one lot of hens doesn't always work for another.

Do you give your hens a treat on a night?  If you do that might be why they are not in the coop, they are waiting for their sweeties!!   

[splash101]

ghost61, what time are you trying to get them in?

I'm not saying its going to work because sometimes chickens will just do exactly what they please no matter what, but try going later to shut them in.
Maybe yours just like the Al fresco lifestyle.

Sometimes mine push it a bit before they eventually go in. It seems the more you want them in, the longer they stay out. I keep telling them they'll be fox fodder if they leave it any later, but do they listen?

Now if only our rabbit would stop leading us a merry dance every night, we would almost be sorted 

[ghost61]

As they are kept on the lotty I tend to put them in about 8 ish at the moment. They are 'released' at about 6 each morning. Have to admit that I have bribed them to go to bed, so maybe they expect to hold me to ransom each evening. We have about 7 foxes on the site, so I like to get them to bed before the foxes really go ahunting. The housing and run are fox proof, hopefully, but don't want them to get stressed by being frightened by the foxes.

To some extent they are still getting used to the routine, so hopefully they will learn in time!

[Sparkyrog]

As they are kept on the lotty I tend to put them in about 8 ish at the moment. They are 'released' at about 6 each morning. Have to admit that I have bribed them to go to bed, so maybe they expect to hold me to ransom each evening. We have about 7 foxes on the site, so I like to get them to bed before the foxes really go ahunting. The housing and run are fox proof, hopefully, but don't want them to get stressed by being frightened by the foxes.

To some extent they are still getting used to the routine, so hopefully they will learn in time!

8ish ATM is far to early you need to wait for dusk you shouldn't have a fox problem before then if people are around on the site

[ghost61]

Unfortunately I am usually the last person on site. Not many go down in the evening and everyone seems to disappear by about 7. The foxes come out after that and start running around, even if people are there. One chap had a fox right behind him when he was putting his hens to bed once, that would have turned me into a headless chicken, let alone the hens!!

[bowler]

many thanks for all your replies; chickens are now going to bed nicely' as soon as the light fades approx. 9.20 pm
             ps   have had my first two eggs

[ANHBUC]

That is good news bowler, what method worked for your hens?

You will really enjoy your first eggs, they are always really special.   

[madcat]

I'm not saying its going to work because sometimes chickens will just do exactly what they please no matter what, but try going later to shut them in.  Maybe yours just like the Al fresco lifestyle.

I'm having visions of Donna Summer disco queen hens  -  wanting to be out partying till the small hours!  Would a disco ball in the coop help?    

[ghost61]

They do have a shiny bell, not ball, that they peck at! Still partying way past dusk, so now I just join them! 

[bowler]

I was really excited to find my first egg only one has started laying so far but has layed an egg each day 3 and counting; my girls just started going to bed by themself

[Aidy]

I have 4, 2 warren in bed by 9.30ish at time of typing, 1 cuckoo maran in bed not long after and 1 sussex that has discovered nocturnal insects!! 10.35pm last night before she even thought about looking at the coop.

The sussex has always been the last in by a long way but they do go in by themselves.