Storms and chickens

[CockADoodleDoo]

When i went to get my two new hens form Perfect Poultry the man there asked me what i kept them in and i told him an eglu, he said that he though they where ok if you where only going to keep a few hens but told me that one thing that they had got wrong was the roosting bars.

 

He has kept hens all his life and is very experienced, he said that the bars where too close together and that the birds in there will not be properly perching and will just be lying on them. he said that this can cause all sorts of health problems.

 

I have actually adapted mine so that the bars are farther appart and a bit higher from the poo tray.

 

i don't think that it would be too hard for omlet to change the bars slightly so that the birds could actually perch properly. is there anyway of mentioning this to them.

 

although it seems it i am not complaing about my eglu as i love it but i do agree with him. because i have seen the way my girls sleep

 

Sam

[iChicken]

Like your hens ours sit on the bars instead of perching, I'm not sure why because the bars are the recomended size for perching. Since adapting yours have your hens started perching?

[CockADoodleDoo]

i think so! they sit more like the new girls now the bars are the right size but they are too close together and the man said that they could be a little bit higher up aswell. i will show you my edited ones tomorow when i can take some pics!

[Egluntyne]

He is talking through his midden lid.

 

If I go out late to check my girls, they are happily perching in a row, snoring gently.

 

Another Luddite I'm afraid.

 

The Omlet Boffins had done a lot of research and were experienced hen keepers prior to designing the Eglu.

[feemcg]

What about the hens that ignore the bars and sleep on the floor of the run, the nest box or even the roof of the cube - they don't seem to be looking for individually spaced roosting bars )I've had all of these ).

[CockADoodleDoo]

mmm i see where you are both coming from but i am posotive that my girls dont perch as sometimes they sleep sideways across the bars and you knever know the hens that sleep on the floor or on the roof might be looking for a better place to perch. then they get and give up and sleep anywhere

[Olly]

I'm no expert on perching, but I do dispute the statement that '... it can cause all sorts of health problems'.

 

Eglus have been around for some years now, and sold in their thousands. There are people on this forum who've had them from the start, and if hens were developing leg or foot problems, or indeed any other sort of health problems, we would know about it.

 

I think there are some people who like to talk down the Eglu, they're usually people who don't have one. Some seem to find it hard to accept that something so radically different from a wooden coop can actually be as good (if not better). Or maybe this chap also sells wooden coops and wants to promote them?

 

Luckily we are very democratic on this forum, all chicken-keeping people are welcome, Eglu owners or not!

[CockADoodleDoo]

yes i am startign to think the same as you now. he doesnt have an eglu so mabye hes jelous lol but i think that my new roostng bars do let then perch more easily

[xScrunchee]

Hoping to see some pics of your new improved roosting bars

 

I know that somebody else adjusted their roosting bars and I was going to do it myself but never got around to it

[Bondinho]

I might do mine this weekend, especially seeing as one set is falling apart anyway I may as well have a play about and make two bars a higher perch, don't think the spacing is an issue though?? Though the Omlet guys worked out the spacing from loads of research but I have always thought it would be nicer to have 1 or 2 bars higher than the rest.

[CockADoodleDoo]

Here It Is

 

 

 

 

[xScrunchee]

That does look good

 

Where did you get the pieces of wood from to raise them?

 

 

 

 

(Just thought I'd mention that you may need to resize your avatar as it's a bit huge )

[ubereglu]

I would have thought if they perched that high near the sides of the eglu then they would hit their heads.

 

Anyway, I'm thinking about making another set of roosting bars for my eglu as they're a bit worn and am thinking of just having 4 perches on each section rather than 6 as it might encourage them to perch better and be easier as it would mean I don't have to s"Ooops, word censored!"e poo of the bars.