Cube mk2 and WIR

[ScottishMike]

I'm toying with the idea of designing and building a run myself..... hmmmmmm

 

Anyone done this? Any tips? Do's? Dont's?

 

Not sure yet if I should pursue this or fork out for an eglu (If I ever get agreement from the wife )?

 

Eglu might win out on the basis of ease of maintenance for the future, but loses out in the first instance because of high cost....

 

[Tweety]

I would go for the eglu - I have a wooden hen house and an eglu and, although the eglu is much more expensive, it is much easier to keep clean and move. Also, the eglu holds its value very well.

[abwsco]

Well, we converted a shed. We knew that we wanted more chickens than the eglu could hold but couldn't afford a cube. If you want to see some pics there are some in my signature link.

[NClaire]

We built two - you can see them on my blog which is http://www.hensandeggs.blogspot.com (you'll need to go back a bit to find the green run)

 

Pluses - we could build them to fit exactly into our garden - and paint them accordingly, it did work out a lot cheaper than an equivalent run/house would. Also we had to mod ours which was easier having built it.

 

The only 2 minuses were that with the first one we were making it up as we went along, and we did get a few things wrong, which are better with mark 2, and that it took a while to build them (although 2nd time round was MUCH quicker).

 

Definitely a good way of getting a nice coop and run.

[ScottishMike]

Thanks NClaire - nice blog, and interesting to see the runs - I'm potentially interested in making one with as many of the clever designs the eglu uses - only in wood

 

I like the idea of the removeable poo tray, and having an egg access hatch, plus whatever features woul make it as easy as possible to clean it out regularly with minimal fuss and hassle..

 

The main thing in favour of doing it diy is to save money up front, but the dorrollary of that is the amount of time it will take to do it.

 

Add into that the old rule of thumb for house building :

Build your first house for your enemy.

Build your second house for your friend

Build your third house for yourself!

 

I'm guessing that if you factor in the fact that eglu have been refining and improving their design, that is partly what you are paying for

 

On the other hand, I do love to build stuff!!!

[Hen Watch]

Can't offer any advice on coup building but wanted to say they are very pretty and there are lots of pics of lovely ones on this forum.

 

As hubbie and I don't do the DIY thing, it wasn't an option. But I just wanted to say, forgetting expense, once you remove the eglu pin, it comes apart in 5 seconds, power wash the plastic, leave in sun to dry, job done in minutes. No wood, no damp, no maintenance painting etc. But then wooden coups have that lovely traditional look and are so pretty. If you're handy and it will cost hardly anything to make then go for it.

[Willow]

Mike

Given you like building things and startup cost is one the main block to persuading your OH and assuming you reckon you'd be happy with the extra cleaning effort I'd definitely go for the diy option. Don't get me wrong I love my eglu and how easy it is but I'd rather have the chickens than not and you can always get an eglu/cube later when they are 'earning their keep'.

Let us know how you get on !