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I know it's early days as we rescued our girls only yesterday, but they made such a good job of getting themselves up. We opened the pop hole at first light, and Ginger (the biggest bravest one with most feathers) who's obviously going to be top of the pecking order came half way down the ramp about two hours later and jumped the rest. Clarissa, who has next most feathers, stood at the top of the ramp and jumped off, hurting her foot in the process and she's been holding it in the air for much of the day. She walks on it, but only reluctantly. Those two were followed several hours later by the semi-featherless but very hungry Attilla the Hen and Hopsy (Hopsy already had a bruised leg as a result of her journey from the battery hell-hole to home). We didn't see them come down, but they seem fine. The ramp has a fairly wide standing platform outside the chook house, bu then a 90 degree turn to get down to ground level. I'm wondering if that's the problem.
They had a good day, and everyone has eaten and drunk themselves silly, not to mention having made dust baths (really! on day 2!) and made lots of contented clucking noises.
They had been peering up at the coop all day, so we left it until dusk hoping at least one of them might put themselves to bed. Ginger got half way up the ramp, then gave up, jumped down and made a nest in the corner of the run. Nobody else even attempted to put themselves to bed, so eventually we went out there and helped them. By then they were very stressed, and everyone except Ginger had congregated by the gate where we come in and out. We physically walked them up the ramp, as we did last night, and as soon as they saw the inside of the coop they all scooted off and settled down.
My worry is that because we both work full time and the clocks go back in a couple of weeks, even if we bolt out of work at 5pm we'll have very stressed chooks by the time we get home. We're complete beginners and have never kept hens before, any advice on how to train them to go to bed would be much appreciated.
They had a good day, and everyone has eaten and drunk themselves silly, not to mention having made dust baths (really! on day 2!) and made lots of contented clucking noises.
They had been peering up at the coop all day, so we left it until dusk hoping at least one of them might put themselves to bed. Ginger got half way up the ramp, then gave up, jumped down and made a nest in the corner of the run. Nobody else even attempted to put themselves to bed, so eventually we went out there and helped them. By then they were very stressed, and everyone except Ginger had congregated by the gate where we come in and out. We physically walked them up the ramp, as we did last night, and as soon as they saw the inside of the coop they all scooted off and settled down.
My worry is that because we both work full time and the clocks go back in a couple of weeks, even if we bolt out of work at 5pm we'll have very stressed chooks by the time we get home. We're complete beginners and have never kept hens before, any advice on how to train them to go to bed would be much appreciated.
I love to talk about nothing. It's the only thing I know anything about!! 
a gentle prod with the bamboo cane we use to make the pophole door slide down soon sent her through the pophole and all was done!
Only realised when we found her in the garden in the morning and the others were still locked up. Won't make that mistake again. We count them once settled now.
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