Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: Diddy Gardener on May 24, 2017, 22:21
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Hi all,
We got a couple of new hens a week ago and they won't take themselves to bed. They roost on top of a tall piece of trellis when it starts to get dark. We've been putting them into the hut at night since we got them. We're happy doing it obviously but would be much happier if they would do it themselves, especially when we go on holiday.
There were two existing hens, things have become quite amicable so it doesn't seem as if they are scared of them, they just don't want to go to bed.
Any ideas?
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Put a torch into the coop as it is gong dark. The newbies just are not seeing it as home yet, but that should encourage then in :)
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Ooh, what a fabulous idea New Shoot. We'll try that tonight...maybe a torch studded with grapes (which they've just discovered) 😃
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Well we tried the torch in the hut and they still prefer the top of the trellis - will try again tomorrow night. I think part of the problem is that they go to the top of the trellis before it's dark and because it's not dark yet they can't see the light. Need to think about this...ho hum ???
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How old were they when you got them? If they are older hens, then they will have developed habits and that may be the reason for them roosting outdoors. Keep putting them in and hopefully they will get the hang of it!
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If you have got or can get power to the coop rig up a 15w incandescent bulb.
They can't see all types of light and the torch may be throwing out the wrong sort or is to dim. You do not need stronger than 15w and it must be incandescent.
I had the same problem as you and it worked for me.
If they won't go in of their own accord put them in when pretty much dusk whilst the bulb is on and then turn it off half hour after dusk.
Needless to say stick the bulb somewhere safe in the coop and make a shroud out of wire mesh if any concerns.
A car battery set-up will suffice if you don't have power because within less than a week things will have clicked in their brains.
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I carry my 3 to bed each evening. They roost on my chair in the conservatory at about 7pm then I clean out their run and coop about 8-8.30 and put them back individually after topping up food water, and a sprinkling of corn on the run floor. :)
Too much messing about on the light nights for shaking corn tins and waiting for hens. :wacko:
Carrying my barred rock down last night and a pesky moth flew up the front of me, my hen soon gobbled that one up :lol:
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I carry my 3 to bed each evening. They roost on my chair in the conservatory at about 7pm then I clean out their run and coop about 8-8.30 and put them back individually after topping up food water, and a sprinkling of corn on the run floor. :)
Too much messing about on the light nights for shaking corn tins and waiting for hens. :wacko:
Carrying my barred rock down last night and a pesky moth flew up the front of me, my hen soon gobbled that one up :lol:
Sorry I have ask but Why on earth do you carry them all in? Don't they poop in the conservatory? Too much messing about for me 😊
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I have new hens, too (a substitute for a bloke as I've recently parted from my OH!).
The first night I put them inside the coop with corn on the coop floor. The second night they tried to roost outside on their perch. I put them inside. Since then (a week now) they've put themselves to bed, following the old timer inside at dusk. I feel very lucky that there's been no aggro. from Fluffy towards the newbies. An hour sitting around with a water pistol seemed to deter any pecking.
Food is always a good bribe, I've found! I'm sure they'll sort it soon,
Chryalis
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I usually confine them to barracks for 3 days with food and water, if they carry on I will put them on the perchs each night for a week at most they always see sense in the end
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Just reading this. Are they going in yet?
Ours perched on the back of a bench which was slightly higher than their coop perch. They prefer to be as high as they can be.
If they are persisting, need to make the trellis 'unperchable' in some way! We ended up swapping the bench for one without a back.