What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[Jules.]

It's going to be the walk in one from Grange Pet Centre

http://www.grangepetcentre.co.uk/C43-Arun-playcentre-p-252.html , but will be 12 feet long. Overall it's not that much bigger than the cube 3m run, but the fact I can walk into it ( I'm having the door put on the side wall, so will have to duck my head when walking into it, but at 4 foot 11 3/4 tall I'm not a giant ) clinches it for me. At least I won't have to crawl in on my belly.

The cube will go on the outside on the narrow end of it, to the left as you look down my garden so that I can see the entrance door. I have even marked out the run size in the dirt surrounding the current eglu & run ( I know, I know)

The run goes up to the fence on the right hand side, & the cube goes just a bit further in to the right hand side than the eglu does .

 

How much room do I need to have behind the cube to access the poo trays & take off the lid? Would 70cm be enough? ( That's from memory, it could possibl;y be 80cm as the shed is there on the left hand side of the garden, & is not being moved)

 

 

Where the run will end & the cube will join on has been quite unintentionally been highlighted by a cherry tomato! The cube will end where the bar across the bottom of the eglu is

 

The run will go to just to the right of the current eglu fox proof skirt

 

Where the cube wil end

 

 

The whole thing..... can you see what space I have between the cube & the shed?

 

Sorry for being so obsessed. The photo quality isn't great as they wee taken at 9.

20pm

[Scottie]

Looks lovely - -what wood treatment colour are you having? I can't remember the size you'll need to leave to empty the trays - I would go and measure, but it's half past eleven now and very midgy outside!

 

Sheila

[Olly]

gosh Jules, you have been working hard on this!

 

I've measured the poo tray and it's 80cm. So you would be a bit tight on space, as you need room to slide them out and then lift up - 85 or 90 would do it I'm sure. The lid actually slides forward so as long as you can get behind the Cube to undo the bolts you would be ok to undo it and lift off the back. Don't forget the eggport is on the right-hand side (as you look at the Cube), you'll need to access that, I'm assuming you will be able to walk up that side of the run.

[Jules.]

Olly, it's not quite come to a divorce, but hubby no longer wishes to discuss the matter

I'll go & have a measure of the room behind where the cube will go for the poo trays when I get dressed. I think it will just fit.

There will be room om the fence side to access the eggs, only just though!

[Olly]

hmm, I take it that OH doesn't quite share the chicken-obsession!

 

Sounds as if you are quite a small person, so you'll be able to squeeze in. If you can get behind and open the roof, you'll be able to get the eggs out through there anyway, without opening the egg-port.

 

It all sounds very exciting, I was torn between getting a Cube and a walk-in run, and getting the standard set-up. I couldn't decide where I would put a permanent run, and so I went for the Cube run in the end - but I do still wonder if I did the right thing.

[Cooks]

I cant wait to see piccies when it's all set up, I love seeing people setups..

[Jules.]

hmm, I take it that OH doesn't quite share the chicken-obsession!

 

 

He secretly does-when we first got the hens I was too scared to pick them up & he had to do jobs for me....

and he always puts the girls to bed for me if I have gone to sleep ( I tend to go to bed around 9.30) to make sure they are safe.

He just wants me to make up my mind about the run & stop obsessing about it

[bellekatz]

Jules just remember that the lid slides forward up against the run. I have got round this with mine by taking the brake off the cube on one side only so that I can tip the cube back slightly - then there is enough room to slide the lid forward, fit in a small hand and slide the catches on the back of the cube to take the back off. Works like a dream and I don't need to move the cube at all.