finch Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 My Eglu and hens are being delivered a week tommorow and im so excited . We are preparing the garden this weekend, and planning on sectioning off an area and barking it... Any suggestions ???? or things that have worked well for you???? Also (this may sound silly) but it says on Omlet.com that we can leave the hens for a weekend - is it that important that the door to the iglu is closed overnight - or will I have to get someone in daily to do this when away? And, what do you do with youe hens whilst on holidays for longer periods? My mum in law will have them for mu main 2 week holiday, but cant on our spring holiday... I live in Somerset...can you reccomend anyone? Anything else you think may be useful to me will be greatky appreciated. Thanks x x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 welcome to the forum, getting chickens is so exciting! Chickens are fab! Lots of people have a "permanent" site for the eglu and some people dont - all your choice. We use stuff called "hemcore" in the run which is a horsey type bedding which works really well in the run, another type of item is called aubiose which is virtually the same stuff. It comes in bales approx £6-7 and you can buy from farm supply shops/horse shops/ or helpful petshops! Other people do use bark in the run, but its entirely up to you. We go away in our touring caravan quite often, which means we leave the girls for 2 nights. As long as they have plenty of food and water they will be fine for 2/3 nights. My sister will pop over and check on eggs and close the door for me, but leaving the eglu door open (but run door closed) is fine for 2/3 nights. When we go away for longer my 2 eglus, 4 chooks all go to my sisters house for 2 weeks, its really ideal as the eglu's are so easily transportable. You could do similar, or ask a neighbour or friend to pop to your house if you dont want to move the eglus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 I've just noticed you are in somerset! so not far from me. if you are near Wellington? there is a pet shop called Golden Hill pet supplies - they sell hemcore/aubiose. there is a chicken sitters list somewhere on the forum where omleteers will look after your chooks - not sure if anyone in your area though. I would offer, but at the moment no space in garden im afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robskyd Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Hello We've left our chooks for 2 nights when we've been camping and they were ok. It was summer and so the weather was better! If you are going to let your chooks free range then go and see each plant and say goodbye.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 I use hemcore on a permanent run and it's great. Re holidays, I left mine for 8 days and had friends popping round every 2 days to refill food/water. I left the door open the whole time with no obvious adverse effects (it was October so not too cold). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazygal Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Great- Finch has asked some of the questions that I have atm too. We are going away for 2 nights in a few weeks time, and I was wondering about the eglu door being open all night- won't it be really drafty and wet if its weather like we have now? I'm thinking would it be better to have someone come and shut it when it gets dark, then open it again in the morning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 You could try propping open the door with a stick through the top of the run so it just leaves them room to get in and out . That might cut down the draughts a bit. (I've never tried it but I believe others have.) I seem to remember someone "invented" a kind of flap for the door - can't remember what it was made of though . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 When I had an eglu I covered the eglu end of the run completely for the first couple of feet (Ikea shower curtain). So even with the door open, there was protection from draughts. Mine also used to kick their bark chippings into a heap by the door so you couldn't close it anyway. I just used to shut it partway and they pushed it open in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursechick Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 We got our eglu and chickens yesterday so I know how excited you must be.We were going to just put the eglu on to the grass and move it about every so often but with all this rain we deceided to make a permanent base. We followed the instrutions on the omlet site. Its plenty big enough and watching the girls scratching about you can see how quickly they would have made a mess of the run if we hadn't. Good luck. Have fun and hope the weather is kind to you on your delivery day; it certainly wasn't for us.Roll on summer. Ivy Mavis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goosey Lucy Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Hello and welcome. My hens are on a 3mx3m area which we cleared then covered with what we were told were wood chips...but I think they saw us coming and sold us bark chippings instead. These go very squelchy in this weather. I move the eglu every fortnight and am going to put some hemcore down in the run area and cover the run with an Ikea shower curtain when I finally manage to get there. Keep us posted how you get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little chickadee Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Hi - we've found that loads of people are really excited when they find out you have hens and would jump at the chance of looking after them when you are away - it's not like looking after cats etc, as you get the excitment of collecting fresh eggs. We've got someone down the road who pops over, but I know of plenty of other people who would jump at the chance. There's something so exciting about collecting fresh eggs! Oh - and welcome to the forum - hope you have fun on here and learn loads like I have Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Welcome to the wonderful world of chickens! I leave the Eglu door open all the time at night, they huddle up in a corner and seem fine. They will certainly be ok for a few days if you go away. If you're only away for a weekend you can fill up the Grub and Glug and it will last them 48 hours (you might want to leave more water in hot weather). Last year when I was away for two weeks (and the friend who usually looks after them was away too), I contacted a local pet-sitter - my vet had names and numbers. I invited her round to meet the chickens, she was really excited about feeding them and thrilled when I said she could have any eggs! I needed her to feed the cat anwyay, and I think she charged about £1 extra a day to feed the chickens. If I knew my neighbours a bit better, I'd have asked them, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 I only close the eglu door at night in the winter, when it's frosty and cold, as I know I'll be around to open it before it gets light in the morning. If you shut the door in the summer, you'll need to get up at about 3.45am to open it!!! I go camping alot at weekends in the summer. My girls have been OK for a couple of nights, but if it was longer, I would definitely get a friend or neighbour to keep an eye on them and fill up food and water containers and offer them the eggs they collect as "payment". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuttynora Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Hello - totally new here, and haven't even got the chickens yet!!! We are getting an Iglu, and were thinking having it on the lawn in the summer and moving it every 2-3 days - would this be ok - or are we going to lose the lawn? They will be free-range when we are at home. The worst of the winter they will be on the flower beds on bark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 If you shut the door in the summer, you'll need to get up at about 3.45am to open it!!! What?? You are kidding, right? I am too nervous about leaving the door open because of foxes, does anybody get up at 3.45 to let their chickens out in the Summer? Mine get let out between 7.30 and 8.00am and I was thinking I might open it at 7.00am in the Summer. Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Welcome to the forum Nuttynora (nice name!). They will wreck your lawn . You can certainly move the eglu every 2/3 days but I suspect that would become a real chore once the novelty's worn off. It's also a good idea to weight down the skirt with slabs which makes moving it harder (and kills the grass). You can easily have them on a flowerbed all year round with bark - or hemcore which loads of people (me included) use and rave about. That way they can enjoy your lawn when they're freeranging but won't ruin it completely . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Hi Tessa - Sorry if I worried you. I was half joking. I always make sure my girls are shut in their fox-proof run, which I have pegged down using run pegs (from Omlet), but I do leave the actual eglu door open most of the time. I've found that my girls start to get agitated to come out as soon as there is an inkling of sunrise, so I do it to prevent squabbling. I do sometimes leave the eglu door ajar rather than fully open, if the weather is cooler, so that they can barge it open. I've tried shutting it without locking it, but the girls haven't twigged that "shut" is different to "locked" so won't push it open themselves. I have read on the forum, that some enterprising Omleteers have worked out a sort of automatic opening device, but I haven't the skill to attempt this. You will find the best way of dealing with it for your own girls, I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 What?? You are kidding, right? I am too nervous about leaving the door open because of foxes, does anybody get up at 3.45 to let their chickens out in the Summer? Mine get let out between 7.30 and 8.00am and I was thinking I might open it at 7.00am in the Summer. Tessa I dont! I shut my eglu door all year round because I have noisy chooks and worry about my neighbours. In the summer when the mornings are lighter I cover the eglu with a dark sheet and I dont let them out till 6.30-7.30 am. They are fine in the eglu and sometimes lay an egg before they come out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
