4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Tina C]

Fantastic flap Rona.

 

Sheik- I notice you have lost your first 3 chickens - apologies if you have posted about it elsewhere but what happened? (as I am in St Neots too I was wondering about Mr Fox)

[sheik]

Rona, that is really impressive!

 

Hi Tina. Unfortunately a fox killed all of our first three chickens one evening. It was entirely my fault, as I stupidly forgot to put the Eglu egg port door back that morning when I collected their eggs, and didn't notice in the evening when I locked them up. I still feel absolutely terrible about it.

 

We were quite complacent, thinking "our garden doesn't get foxes", but it must have been lurking around for months waiting for a mistake to be made. First and last time I'll ever do that, but a truly horrible way to learn a lesson...

 

That's why we went for a secure run this time around. Our first girls free ranged every day for nearly a year without any problems, but now we know we have foxes we won't be able to relax when we go to work. So, our new girls will be confined to their run, unless one of us is working from home and can keep checking on them.

 

/\dam

[sheik]

This is the link to the Glug / Grub holder idea that I used:

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4703&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=114

 

Also, this is the link to the Aviaries4u person who built my run: http://www.aviaries4u.co.uk (please note, I designed that website, but have no business interest in it, I just appreciate his work)

 

/\dam

[Eyren]

Nice website! I was a bit confused at first as I found Tony through ebay, where he is registered as aviaries2u

 

I've had a quote from him, but I haven't told the OH yet, and besides we have other more pressing expenses like fence repairs. Still, he's just down the road from us and I notice in the testimonials that someone got him to fit a garden gate as well - and we could do with a new one of those too

[Snowy]

Lovely run Sheik! I'd be tempted to create a bigger platform with MDF or something on the bricks. That way you could swivel the eglu on it's platform to reach the poo tray. You could also make it a bit higher to save bending!

[superjules]

Gosh Sheik, sorry about your old chooks How horrible for you.

 

I like the grub and glug idea - I've been trying to work out how I can use them when I finally get round to taking the eglu run away!

[cruisa]

I just have mine on the ground. I thought that's what the Eglu was designed for.

If you have them inside another run thing, do you not think its a bit expensive to have an actual Eglu in there?

If I had a big run like that I'd just have a little cheap wooden thing in there.

 

~cruisa~

[sheik]

Thanks for the kind comments everyone. I think I will try and build a small platform soon.

 

If I had a big run like that I'd just have a little cheap wooden thing in there.~cruisa~

 

I think a lot of people would agree with you.

BUT... a lot of us who have walk-in runs bought their Eglu first. I know I would never have had the confidence to buy a hard-to-move wooden run for my modestly sized garden if it were not for Omlet.

 

I could sell my Eglu now I suppose, but I'm not going to because :

 

- I'm soft, and like to think it keeps the chickens a bit warmer inside than a wooden henhouse (and cooler in summer)

- Wooden houses are more prone to redmite

- The Eglu is easy to clean

- I like the look of it

 

/\dam

[hilda-and-evadne]

So, if you've raised your Eglu, how high did you lift it?

 

My eglu is on a shelf about 70cms above the floor of the run.

 

 

I haven't built a ladder for the hens yet ':oops:' but they don't seem to have any difficulty flying up to the eglu.

 

The dust bath (garden compost with red mite powder) is in the tub trug (positioned where, I hope, it won't turn into a swamp every time it rains), and I am going to add perspex or wooden boarding to two sides below the shelf, so that the hens have somewhere to shelter from the weather without going back to bed - the run does have a perspex roof and is built close to a mature bay tree but in recent days we have had horizontal sleet and winds from the north, and I realised that the tree and run roof didn't protect the hens from those conditions.

[chelsea]

 

If I had a big run like that I'd just have a little cheap wooden thing in there.~cruisa~

 

 

BUT... a lot of us who have walk-in runs bought their Eglu first.

 

/\dam

 

Yes,we had our eglus on the ground for 15months. The problem with chicken keeping is that its addictive . So lots of eglu owners get lots of hens which means they require more room, so they build the bigger runs.

 

Also the eglu's are so easy to clean and move around - I dont have to rely on my hubby to move it - I can do it!!

[andrewandcarly]

i agree with you chelsea, i have just ordered another red eglu as i have now got 4 hens adn will probably get a couple more.

i have built a pen with the eglu run attached to the fence and i will do the same with the new one

[sheik]

OK, inspired by some of the excellent posts on this thread, my plan now is to build a proper platform, the full width of the run.

 

I haven't had time to do it yet, but I did recycle an old computer disk box into a stylish grit dispenser

 

 

/\dam

[sheik]

...and also added a new perch. You can see our Columbine using it for the first time in this pic:

 

 

The new corner perch isn't removable, it's screwed in place. That shouldn't be a problem there though.

 

The next "run additions" will be a shelf out of reach of the chickens, for storing odds and sods on, and the Eglu platform.

 

/\dam

[Snowy]

Great action shot of the columbine!

 

The run is looking great!

[chelsea]

 

The run is looking great!

 

yes and very clean aswell!

 

Hubby is always tweaking around with our run, I think he's addicted. All day yesterday he was modifying it and he added a little "hatch door" that you pull up for the chooks only so we can keep the main door shut.

[superjules]

We spent all day yesterday refitting the roof to incorporate a drainage system to the water butt!

 

Run-tweaking - it's the new DIY!

[sheik]

It is definitely addictive, especially when they immediately start using the new addition!

 

/\dam

[sheik]

I've now added a shelf. Not pretty, but that was the length of wood I had handy, and I didn't see any real need to shorten it just so it looked neater. So it uses the classic "diving board" design

 

It's quite handy though, we can store sealed containers of grit, food and corn, as well as a pot to scoop mess into.

I've also added hooks for trowels and things.

 

 

I haven't built the Eglu platform yet, but there is a reason - I asked Tony from Aviaries4u for some advice and he's thinking about making it as a flat-pack product. He's going to bring me a test version soon, so I can assemble it and give him some honest feedback from the perspective of a novice DIY'er . I'll post pics once it's up.

 

/\dam

[moomin]

That's looking really good sheik, some excellent ideas. My Elgu arrived today, a blue one, I LOVE IT. Can't stop playing with it, I am a happy woman. It just needs some little inhabitants now.

 

It's interesting Tony is going to start making the platforms, I was thinking of getting a quote from him but we were going to make our own platform. (husband is generally good at DIY but not if it's got anything to do with wood - which cuts out about 75% of DIY I guess!)

[xScrunchee]

Here is Tony's new platform http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bird-Aviary-Rabbit-Run-Chicken-Run-Omlet-Eglu-Table_W0QQitemZ300214795613QQihZ020QQcategoryZ46289QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

 

[moomin]

Thanks xScrunchee, that looks good, I hope it would be strong enough as I intend to put two Eglus on mine and they are quite heavy. The ladder is nice. The platforms I have seen on the forum look a bit sturdier.

 

Worth thinking about though.

[sheik]

Actually, I think that is *my* platform, because as far as I know he's only built one and it's arriving at the end of the week .

 

I'll post on how strong it is etc once it's up. He will alter the design if I find anything obviously wrong with it. For example, I've asked him to take the hinge off the ramp, as there's no real need for it and it will prevent me from easily removing it out of the run to clean. He's now replaced the hinge with a "tongued groove" - so the ramp rests securely in place on the platform instead.

 

It will be good to give my chickens another platform to jump onto. They have just started free-ranging, and are jumping up on everything - branches, chairs, tables and a plastic cold frame (which luckily hasn't collapsed yet!)

 

/\dam

[hilda-and-evadne]

Here is Tony's new platform http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bird-Aviary-Rabbit-Run-Chicken-Run-Omlet-Eglu-Table_W0QQitemZ300214795613QQihZ020QQcategoryZ46289QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

 

 

Twenty-five quid for delivery! ':shock:' If it were supplied as a flat-packed kit, would that not reduce the cost of shipping?

[sheik]

I said pretty much the same thing to him, but he's charging cost for the delivery, so can't really do much about it at the moment.

 

It is a flat pack kit already, but the wood is very heavy and Parcel Force charge loads .

 

He's phoned up several courier companies who are cheaper, but unfortunately they require a contract to be in place guaranteeing a minimum per-week spend. Obviously, he has no idea whether this product will sell yet, so he can't enter into a contract.

 

So, if you can recommend a Cambridgeshire courier firm that might be able to help, please contact him.

 

If you are having a run built by him anyway, there is no extra delivery charge for the platform of course, and he'll also assemble it as part of the main run.

 

By the way, he told me this morning that to test the platform's sturdiness, he had a 4 stone child repeatedly jump on it .

 

I'm looking forwards to trying it out, as my Eglu is currently sitting on some bricks, and isn't quite high enough for the chickens to easily walk under.

 

/\dam

[jjjj]

Great to see all your Eglo's and runs, you have given us food for thought.

 

Many thanks

 

jjjj