Poorly chicken

[lardbutt]

Firstly, After many, many years my wife has finally agreed to having some chickens in the garden and I have bought a preloved Classic & 2m run to house them. I'm currently cleaning it and making sure everything is in order. I've purchased several bits from Omlet. From run clips and a run door latch to connecting bolts and a lynch pin. I've noticed that the fox deterring ground strip from the front (door) end of the run is missing and wondered if anyone can tell me if Omlet sell them as I can't find them on the site and I'm not sure what the part might be called exactly when searching.

If you are wondering why I don't ask Omlet, I tried that for ALL the above mentioned spares and after seeveral emails and despite sending pictures to show exactly what I needed I was told that they didn't supply ANY of the items. By chance a general search took me directly through to what I presume is an Omlet site in a parallel universe where I managed to purchase all of the above. So if anyone knows exactly what the part I need is called or can send a link on where to buy I'd really appreciate it. I know I could just use chcken wire, but having spent time and money to get all the other original parts I need it seems a shame not to finish off as I started.

Secondly, I wondered just how heat/coldproof the double shell on the eglu is? I have a couple of options of places to position the coop but want to make sure the hens are OK. Option one is near a hedge at the bottom of the garden, it gets sunlight most of the day so I'm worried about the heat. Will it be OK having the double shell and as long as I make sure most of the run is protected?

Second is virtually under my bedroom window (in a bungalow), It's shaded virtually the whole time but would put the door of the run about 5ft away from the house and the eglu itself about 12ft away. In this case I'm more worried about rats in close proximity to the building. Are rats a real problem when keeping chickens? Hearsay suggests they can be, but advice would be most welcome.

Thanks for reading this and in advance for any suggestions and/or solid answers.

[Cat tails]

You are looking for a skirting panel. As far as I can see they don’t sell those separate on the Omlet website. Since you already talked to Omlet your only option would be to buy a new run or try and find some spare bits online.

Chickens like us like a but of both. So shade and also some sun. A completely shaded spot can give some problems in winter with cold and mud/damp. Also chickens can be loud. I would never place them under my bedroom window…
Maybe see if you can add a tree or something like that near the hedge?

[DanTheChickenMan]

In relation to rats, either take your food in at night or but a treadle feeder, I have this which i vouch for massively https://www.amazon.com/PestOff-Rat-Proof-Chicken-Feeder/dp/B01LM6TRRC.  There are also treadle feeders.  I would start with the intention of eliminating food sources for rats rather than react after it happens.  (especially if you have to keep the missus on side!)