lockdown time :D

[davefromthechipie]

Hi all
Just wondering what time do you normaly close/lock your hens in for the night ? or do you wait till they go in themselfs ? Im up at 6:00ish everyday and let them out but mine don't seem to like going to bed when it's light . I get them in about this time 8:30 still feel it might be abit mean being so early , yet dont want the foxes..etc getting them.

[yoanbob]

they will go in on their own at dusk, mr fox is about even during the day, at least he is here, do they have a secure run?

[davefromthechipie]

they will go in on their own at dusk, mr fox is about even during the day, at least he is here, do they have a secure run?

My collies out there all day pritty much even though i have to keep an eye on him too ( im sure he wants to eat them >< ) As for the run the gardens got 5 foot high chicken wire going around my land .But thanks for that yoanbob il try tomorrow and wait till they go in themselfs .

[janeyo]

Hi mine got to bed on their own too at duskish. I do find though that if it has rained and they had had their scratching about fun curtailed in the day they go later. Silly things!
I like to go down and remove their food before they go to bed so it gives them chance to peck at all the messy bits before they retire and hopefully help keep vermin away.
we have a homemade automatic opener and shutter and because they liek to vary their bedtimes and the thing is light sensored they do sometimes get shut-out - boy you should hear the noise! lol

janeyo

[davefromthechipie]

Hi mine got to bed on their own too at duskish. I do find though that if it has rained and they had had their scratching about fun curtailed in the day they go later. Silly things!
I like to go down and remove their food before they go to bed so it gives them chance to peck at all the messy bits before they retire and hopefully help keep vermin away.
we have a homemade automatic opener and shutter and because they liek to vary their bedtimes and the thing is light sensored they do sometimes get shut-out - boy you should hear the noise! lol

janeyo

janeyo sounds great . I love the sound of this auto opener have you got any photos /plans i can steal ?
Im worryed too about the rats etc . ordered my proper feeder & water thingys and will pick it up tomorrow

[yoanbob]

with your dog there I'm sure the fox will steer clear, we are actually thinking about getting a dog for this reason.

[Alice]

I've never kept chooks Dave, but for what's it worth

I rented a house in France for a while and there were chooks at the bottom of the garden

They went into the coup by themselves, long before dusk

Don't think the fox is only a danger at night. I've seen them in my garden at all times of the day. Grapes on here will testify the fox got their chooks in broad day light.

[JennyO]

Janey - very interested to hear about your light-sensitive opening system. How is it operated?? And what sort of a coop do you have? We have an electrified enclosure following a fox attack just over a year ago, so sometimes if we're out late in the summer we let them put themselves to bed and don't bother closing the door of the coop. But an automatic door would be brilliant!

[chickenjane]

re bed times. It's dusk or after.....& come late June they'll be staying uplonger than you will. also getting up at 3 am. Our currant hen-stalag allows them in & out at will, but in our old house we had to secure the pop hole at night. As a consequernce my H used to shoo them in when we were ready. They resented it a bit as first,but after a number of weeks would quite obediently be ushered up the ramp into the coop even if it was still a couple of hour to sunset!

[davefromthechipie]

Thanks all for the info ,Seems at 1st i just let them out to early when i 1st got them and they wasn't sure about the new house But now they go in every night themselfs just before dusk

About them ramps used !,what stops the fox just walking up it ?? Only asking as im building a higher bigger house for more hens and if ramps works il build one like that.

[TPeers]

I have a ramp into my hen house that runs from the ground into the bottom corner of the floor - desgn was my own - the idea is that a 9" wide by 12" deep hole with the ramp droping from one narrow edge would be too tight an angle for Mr Fox while still allowing the hens in.

So far no 'break-ins' and no losses to Mr Fox - and he has tried! (Just chased a young fox off this morning)

[~elizabeth~]

Re. Foxes, please don't underestimate them. Even if you have dogs, foxes are quite capable of watching from a distance and striking the moment you take them out, or the dogs are distracted. The mere presence of dogs will do nothing to deter them (and I have whippets that chase them ever time they visit). Foxes are very active in the day, and can be very bold. Don't assume just because you haven't had a problem so far that you won't have one in the future. Local populations can change, and they can become extremely determined when they have young to feed, or when facing starvation in the colder months.

Even if you do make a secure run, bear in mind they can chew through all but the finest grades of chicken wire, I now use 1" weldmesh, having had one chew it's way into my run and take birds.

Keeping poultry without a secure run can be a very demoralising venture, I've lost count of the people in the village who've given up after losing all their birds, sometimes very suddenly after a few years without a problem. I spent a very depressing day giving advice on ducks at the poultry tent at the Royal Show a couple of years back; everyone I talked to had the same story 'we had a nice pair/flock of those in our garden/orchard/paddock but the fox had them...'

[davefromthechipie]

Re. Foxes, please don't underestimate them. Even if you have dogs, foxes are quite capable of watching from a distance and striking the moment you take them out, or the dogs are distracted. The mere presence of dogs will do nothing to deter them (and I have whippets that chase them ever time they visit). They are very active in the day, and can be very bold. Don't assume just because you haven't had a problem so far that you won't have one in the future, as populations can change, and they can become extremely determined when they have young to feed, or when facing starvation in the colder months.

Even if you do make a secure run, bear in mind they can chew through all but the finest grades of chicken wire, I now use 1" weldmesh, having had one chew it's way into my run and take birds.

Keeping poultry without a secure run can be a very demoralising venture, I've lost count of the people in the village who've given up after losing all their birds, sometimes very suddenly after a few years without a problem. I spent a very depressing day giving advice on ducks at the poultry tent at the Royal Show a couple of years back; everyone I talked to had the same story 'we had a nice pair/flock of those in our garden/orchard/paddock but the fox had them...'

I agree with you 100% elizabeth ,Its why im not naming my hens ,.dont get me wrong they are great and are so tame now i can pic them up anytime /hand feed and even call them Would hate to loss them but Its going to happen one day im sure . they are freerange now and only locked in at night and let out at 9 ( once the lay there eggs ) It's bloody sad to loss any animal I lost so many ducks over the years And at 1st it did depress me and almost gave up ( but then i got a firearms and shotgun licence and found a new hobby ) still dosnt help me here As im not in the countryside anymore :/
Im not sure on the laws on firing on my land here I must find out .

I have 4 ex bats coming on the 17 or 19th july and already planing a big coop for when im not home .

Im also hoping My hens have a good chance to get away from mr fox alot of my garden has places they can climb ';jungle like; Well the got away from my collie when he tryed to eat them :P

[Peebels]

If the chooks have coop inside a completely enclosed enviroment do you still need to lock them up at night?

When i say enclosed, i am thinking dug in mesh not just a run placed on the grass?

[TPeers]

Some say yes - some say no. I think it boils down to a certain amount of personal choice.

If you leave the hens free to put themselves away and get themselves up then you may be sure they are getting the maximum amount of daylight and exercise - it also means you don't have to get up at a ridiculous time in the morning in summer while staying up until something equally daft to put them away. The risk, of course, is that the fort knox you have built for them may not be impregnable! This may mean foxes or it may mean rats - which is nearly as bad as they will bite chickens, steal eggs, kill chicks and generally do a lot of damage.

If you choose to lock your birds away each evening then they are undoubtably safer, but you must be available to open and shut as consistantly as possible and will need extremely good friends who are prepared to do the same if you are away.

My personal choice is a fort knox within yards of the house where I can clearly hear any problems and to let the hens have their freedom within that space. This is not for everyone.

Terry