Manchester71 Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 (edited) I am considering buying an Eglu, But i am very conserned about wether or not foxes can get in, Has anybody ever had a fox break in/dig into their eglu? Also, Do chickens mind the rain? And do i have to bath them? How much noise do they make? What time do they go to sleep? Thanks, Tom Edited May 18, 2008 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 hi I've never heard of a fox actually getting into an eglu itself or an eglu run, it is quite secure. Someones chickens have got attacked through the eglu run mesh before. I would advise if you are prone to foxes in your area not to let your chickens free range unattended and always close the eglu door at night and they will be fine. my chickens hate the rain - and hide out in the garage - other people's hens dont mind it at all! my lot do make noise when they've laid an egg - they announce it to everyone, they do sound loud in our garden - but we havent had any complaints, its only a minute or two's noise and its not a bothersome noise and no louder than dogs barking, cars, normal garden/village noise. my lot go in after free ranging all day at about 7.30pm, they have a few treats and then head off to bed about 8.30-8.45. We then shut the cube door when its dark. We let them out in the morning at 6.45am -7am. We do bath our hens - but they have feathered feet which tend to clump up with mud, You dont have to bath chickens, they dust bathe themselves but our hens seem to enjoy a pampering bath! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manchester71 Posted May 18, 2008 Author Share Posted May 18, 2008 Okay, Thanks for the answers.. Im still concerned about what you said, The foxes can attack through the gaps in the wire?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 I have only heard of once incident where Gallina had her hen attacked through the mesh of the run, I believe the hen was standing close to the side of the run (feel free anyone to correct me ) I wouldnt worry about it too much as attacks like that are quite isolated, but I suppose its something you need to be aware of if you have a lot of foxes. City/urban foxes are very bold, a lot more than in a rural area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manchester71 Posted May 18, 2008 Author Share Posted May 18, 2008 Another question... Can they leap, if i let them free range can they leap over a fence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 depends on how high your fences are and the type of hen. We have 6 foot fences and heavy hens = no attempt to get out! We did purchase a very flighty chicken before who jumped on the roof of our caravan - needless to say we took it back to the breeder! we currently have non flying breeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battys Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 Hi i'm Batty's daughter, Elly. We've had some very, very close calls with foxes, and some unlucky ones too. We got 3 chickens to start off with, but we forgot to shut them into their cage one night and a fox happened to be passing. We woke up one morning and...you don't want to know! We got some more later that day, 4 of them. One of them was snatched whilst we were away on holiday. We left them in the care of our au peir. The rest of them are still here though. Chickens go to sleep at any time depending on when it gets dark. This is when they just wander back into the eglu - but remember to lock them up tight! If you take good care of your chickens and remember to lock up their cage at night then there's no way that they'll get snatched. They're wonderful pets. I reccommend that you get some! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 I am considering buying an Eglu, But i am very conserned about wether or not foxes can get in, Has anybody ever had a fox break in/dig into their eglu?I have never read about such an event. If you put the Eglu on paving slabs Mr Reynard will never dig his way in. Just weigh the "skirt" of the run down with boulders or similar. Also, Do chickens mind the rain? No And do i have to bath them? No How much noise do they make? It varies. Mine aren't to bad...they do Bok Bok if there is a cat or magpie or other alien in the garden. What time do they go to sleep? They make their way into their house at dusk, so they are in bed for 4pm in winter, and stay up till 10ish in Summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manchester71 Posted May 18, 2008 Author Share Posted May 18, 2008 Thanks for the help... My fences are about 3 ft High... And i would plan to buy the chickens that omlet supply, so would i need to watch them carefully when fre-ranging? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 Thanks for the help... My fences are about 3 ft High... And i would plan to buy the chickens that omlet supply, so would i need to watch them carefully when fre-ranging? A 3ft fence is no obstacle for a chicken! Consider adding trellis or new fence panels to increase the height.You really need to be aiming for atleast 5ft to keep them inside and thats without them finding a handy tree branch for their leap to freedom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WitchHazel Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 You can clip one wing which makes them unable to lift off easily. If you get the chooks from Omlet, they will show you how to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 3ft fence - it depends what it is made of as well - if a wooden fence a chicken could hop on and off the other side - the Omlet netting is only about this height (might be 3½ft), but as they cannot perch on it, so it is harder to get over it. I do not know where you are based and if there is anyone near you but hen parties are ideal to actually see how an eglu/cube works and ask lots of questions and actually to handle some hens for your self. Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 Thanks for the help... My fences are about 3 ft High... And i would plan to buy the chickens that omlet supply, so would i need to watch them carefully when fre-ranging? It would be advisable. A fox would have no trouble hopping over a fence of that height.....and neither would a chicken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manchester71 Posted May 18, 2008 Author Share Posted May 18, 2008 Do they like to be picked up... And would they be happy if they were left in their Run all the time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 I have two that like to be picked up and one that accepts it, but would quite hapily just interact with other chickens if she had her way. As long as they have sufficient room and activity in the run they are fine - I will spread corn on the floor for them to scratch & find, have thing dangaling for them to play with, etc. Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 mine both like to be picked up and cuddled, which is lucky for my sons really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emily95 Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 We weighed down the 'skirt' with some stones but on the first night mr fox came along and scratched the back of the eglu but no real damage done and the chooks were perfectly happy the next morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbey Road Girl Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Having ordered four Miss Pepperpots with my Cube, I was very worried that there being only one of me, that I would not be able to cope with a major breakout. It turned out that when they were released to freerange, they all were quite content with the contents of my small but weedy garden and the only flying was at about the one foot level. If something frightened them (cat or fox or merely a figment of their collective imagination) there might have been a different result. But so far, so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallina Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 I don't think that hens are aware of night-time visits by foxes, and if they are locked in, you don't have to worry either. It's tempting to leave the cube/eglu door open at this time of year (my hens were complaining that I was late at 6.45am today), but the early morning (approx. 4-6am) when no one is up except the hens and foxes is a dangerous time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggy Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 I have an eglu & urban foxes, once shut inside the run the girls are fine, I have had a couple of chickens taken when free ranging in broad daylight so you do have to be careful when you let them out & stay with them. I did find a fox early one morning on top of the eglu trying to bite through the weld mesh, he got a face full of water from the kids old supa soake, the weld mesh was fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallina Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 I agree that the fox can't bite through the weld mesh: but think of the terror of the hens inside watching him try, early in the morning when no one is up. They haven't the sense to run back in the Eglu. There is a very slight risk of a hen getting hurt or killed through the mesh when the fox lies on top of the run, but as this can happen during the day as well as the night I think this is something you have to stop worrying about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
