What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[beach chick]

I think I am going to have to get a cube... because then I could add some blue egg layers to my flock!! also I'm hoping it would be easier/quicker to clean one cube than 2 eglus.

 

it would stand on grass with the basic run (or I might not even bother with the run, not sure yet) inside my electric fenced area.

 

so:

- will it be ok on non-flat ground, or do I need to put slabs to level it completely?

- could I use stones/something to level it roughly?

- any foreseeable probs with not having the run, given that they freerange all day every day? presumably couldnt use the glug/grub, but could reuse the existing ones from the 2 eglus and rig up a support for them

 

and the fun questions:

- what colour????

- shall I keep one eglu or both?(!)

 

thanks for any advice...

Edited November 5, 2008 by Guest

[redfrock]

if you are near to us you are welcome to pop round and have a look at our cube etc - I'm on leave all this week, so you really are most welcome!

[chooklady]

Orange - it gives a nice sunny glow on a dull day.

 

I think level ground is best, the cube is pretty heavy and might get bogged down if it was wet and it's a bit difficult to move on uneven ground.

[alih]

Lilac! Mine only arrived on friday so am still loved up with it! If I had been able I would have kept the eglu for intros but we needed to sell it to afford the cube....

[beach chick]

thanks redfrock, I would have loved to and you are not that far from me - unfortunately we were away for halfterm, so am now kneedeep in emails etc and really cant do this week.

 

orange, lilac - I dont know, must admit the lilac looks lovely in the pics I've seen. we've got a purple and a pink eglu, so I fancy a change. ours is in a field next to the garden, and I'm almost tempted to go for dull green, so it blends in more, but then I think that would be a bit boring!!

[beach chick]

olly mentioned on another thread that the cube was easier to clean than the eglu (or 2 in my case).

anyone else got any views on this? I find bending down to hoick the bits out and then scrubbing on my hands and knees a bit of a pain tbh (only 47, got the knees of a 98 year old though!!) also hefting the roofs about etc gets cumbersome esp. when you do it twice over.

[redfrock]

I totally agree with Olly - I find the cube so much easier in every way, and with hindsight wish I had bought a cube from the outset.

[beach chick]

ah hindsight, such a marvellous thing...! right, will tell the OH tonight that I am buying a cube and selling an eglu - think I've got to sell one, just to justify myself really. will keep the original pink one as it was a birthday pressie, but only got the purple one this summer so hopefully someone will want it.

[alih]

great plan and you will sell your purple cube in a flash!

[beach chick]

oops, havent actually told him - but have ordered a blue cube tonight!!! (thought it was a nice compromise between zingy colour and subtleness, and would go nicely with the pink eglu).

no delivery details as yet, but anyone want a purple eglu in xx weeks time, or any advice on where to sell it/how much I should expect? would like to sell to a fellow omleteer if poss, or otherwise will ebay it - will check out the section on here.

[alih]

I went on the wanted bit here and found a lovely lady near me who was looking for a green eglu. she collected it on saturday. Mine was not quite a year old with a converter so good for 4 chickens really. I sold it for £300. Most people get nearly new value whether on here or ebay but I preferred to sell it to an Omleteer as you say....

[Olly]

Worth posting it on the 'Eglus for sale' section on here, of course you don't know, but I felt I was more likely to get someone genuine who would turn up, and not mess me around.

(I was right, because lovely Louisewomble turned up with her delightful son and daughter, and we had a nice chat before she took mine off my hands!)

 

You might get more on eBay, but it depends on the bidding; I just asked what I thought was a realistic price, and was happy to get such a good return on it. I'm not being coy about the price, I honestly can't remember what I asked for it now! Less than £300 but that was without a converter, which I sold separately.

[beach chick]

I'll start off on here when I get a delivery date for my cube... which I guess could be quite a long wait.

[beach chick]

ooh, it's not a long wait at all!!! Wednesday November 26!!!!!

cant believe it, just got to tell OH now, as never quite got around to mentioning it last night... oops, silly me, didnt I tell you darling?! and by the way, you'll have to build it for me...

[redfrock]

Wonderful news! Only 3 weeks to go! How exciting! Photos please

 

I sold both my eglus on here and they went to lovely people. I immediately regretted selling them both and ended up buying another one second hand in an emergency

 

I loved my eglus (my purple one was a present) but they significantly helped me to fund my 2 cubes, which I do love more - if only for how easy they are to clean and take apart.

[beach chick]

bless him, he took it like a lamb, didnt even blink!! (although there was a slight mutter about the most expensive eggs in the world, it was just a token mumble...!!!)

piccies to follow come the end of the month!