Chicken Memorials

[katieadams]

We have a rablu set up with eglu go, run, tunnel and zippi run which has until recently been fantastic - very happy rabbits, if eye wateringly expensive.  Last week though, in our suburban garden, mid morning, only 20 feet from our house full of people, a stoat attacked the bunnies, and managed to catch one before I got there and scared it off, although he didn't get hurt thank goodness, just very shaken.

Omlet advised me to wrap the runs in chicken wire but everything I've read suggests that won't be nearly small enough gaps.  Obviously wrapping the whole thing with any wire will make it super heavy and no longer adjustable which is the reason we bought it but we need to do something - they're indoors for now.  There's also a difficulty with the doors - we have one normal door and one where we have used the quick release catches on the top and sides.

Has anyone managed to successfully secure their run against stoats and weasels?

The question is really if it's going to be possible, if it'll result in a sensible set up and whether it's worth doing or if it would be better just to scrap it all and build them a run afresh from smaller mesh.

We've had hens in an eglu for years but in a more secure run with smaller mesh so they're fine.  We were days away from placing an order for an omlet walk in run for the hens with a view to scrapping the one they're currently in so I suppose I'm grateful we didn't waste any more money!

[Beantree]

I think build a new run to your specification. The Omlet stuff is so out of date with the predators and I don't rate any of their products as successful. Years out of date as if they were designed in the '70's when there wasn't a problem? Don't rely on their products to protect your animals and don't buy any more.

[mullethunter]

If you do want to shore up your existing runs, the suggestion to add wire mesh is the right thing to do, but it needs to be finer weldmesh rather than chicken wire. It will work, but you’re right in that it will make the run heavier and render it no longer adjustable. 
 

The Omlet stuff holds its value pretty well, so you probably are as well getting something custom made and then selling the Omlet bits and pieces to recoup some of the costs.

[katieadams]

Thanks for the replies. Feeling a lot of regret towards our decision to invest in omlet stuff just now! 
 

We’re going to mesh the lot and just choke on the wasted money and inconvenience of the heavy non modifiable runs. Absolutely not what we need or want but making the best of it. I did consider selling but I think I’d have sleepless nights over someone’s pet living in insecure accommodation since it was such an apparently unusual thing to happen but it did to us. 
 

Lots of work and expense heading our way!

[Tillsy]

I'd never heard of a Stoat before, what a weird looking thing!

I've had immense problem with small birds - the large gaps in the upper half of the Omlet runs lets them walk right on in, and they told all their friends within a 5 suburb radius.  The run was being utterly trashed - initially within a few weeks, then a week, and got down to needing a clean out every single day.

I wasn't keen on chicken wire so went with mesh instead.  Not happy with the amount fo work, but happy with the end result.  I'd certainly think twice about an Omlet run in the future unfortunately

[Beantree]

Is that just a smaller mesh but plastic? In which case it will just be eaten through and they will be in straight away. It needs to be steel mesh. But it will keep the small birds out.

[Tillsy]

Correct - it won't stop a meerkat cross ferret, but it has stopped those darned birds!  What was interesting were the number of unexpected spots they still got through that I had to mesh up too, the Omlet is definitely not designed to keep things out