My eco solution to rat problems

[Cooks]

it looks SO good in your garden doesn't it!, I said to hubby about your design, and he said well done your husband, thats a tricky design.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Well when I spoke to hubby he didn't diss the quote straight away. In fact he said that if we're going to do it its worth doing it properly We're going to have a chat when he's back from his trip.

 

That's great news . That's the argument I'm using on my OH and it's working so far . You obviously have a very sensible OH .

[Chook n Boo Mum]

He's very modest, & says thank you for all your kind comments!

 

Once he sets his mind to something, it always has a great end result - one of the lads who works for us doing decorating/special maintenance jobs said the other day that when J says he wants something done one way, even if you try another you always come back to his way in the end, so why bother changing the plans...how right he is!!!

 

And the "if a jobs worth doing..." comment is so true & one DH lives by

 

Sha x

[elpolloloco!]

HI

still in the design stages of our WIR

 

Can i just have suggestions on the following:

 

Is 16 or 19 guage wire the best?

Is it better to have the wire on the inside or outside of the frame?

Door opening inwards or out?

Eglu inside or outside the run?

Are your runs freestanding or fixed to the ground?

Any other tips?

 

Thanks for your patience, but i want to get it perfect first time round.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

In an attempt to pass the time till my run comes *drums fingers impatiently* ..... I've been foraging .

 

Stick shaped like a perch (kind of!), a pallet (I'm sure I can find a use for ) and 3 logs (the girls aren't really interested in them, I think it might be the mealworms I put on them .

 

[Cooks]

elpolloloco! -

16 guage is the strongest, I myself have 19 though.

 

I have my cube on the outside, wire on the inside and door opening outwards although this is totally a personal choice and there is no right or wrong IMO here.

 

As for fixings mine is freestanding however it does have some fixings to stop it blowing about in heavy winds, although my run is very sturdy so I doubt it would go far..

[Cooks]

In an attempt to pass the time till my run comes *drums fingers impatiently* ..... I've been foraging .

 

Stick shaped like a perch (kind of!), a pallet (I'm sure I can find a use for ) and 3 logs (the girls aren't really interested in them, I think it might be the mealworms I put on them .

 

 

 

awww and there was me thinking they were really taken with those logs!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Is 16 or 19 guage wire the best? 19 guage is the one always mentioned on the forum! Aviaries4u uses that, I believe.

Is it better to have the wire on the inside or outside of the frame? Not sure. A4u runs seem to have it on the inside. I suppose the staples (or whatever) would be slightly more protected from the elements on the inside. I had a thought that tarpaulins would be easier to fix if the mesh was on the outside .

Door opening inwards or out? Opening inwards helps prevents sneaky chickens sneaking out between your legs .

Eglu inside or outside the run? Mine's going to be inside with a stable type door for access. You can put it on a table in the run so you still have the same ground area. Outside requires some kind of hole/access point which would need securing.

Are your runs freestanding or fixed to the ground? Mine's going to be fixed to the garage wall (as it's only 3 sided). It would probably be heavy enough to be freestanding - depends on how windy your garden is!

Any other tips? I'm getting a roof and guttering put on mine and have plans for glass clear tarpaulins. You need to decide on a soil/concrete/slabbed run floor too. (I'm going for soil with the run resting on slabs.

 

Have fun . It's exciting (and a bit addictive!)

[Redwing]

Loving your pile of chicken toys ANH, it will be like chicken Alton Towers in your run! those logs look lovely and chunky

 

My run is coming along nicely (I can't back that up.....)

[Redwing]

HI

still in the design stages of our WIR

 

Can i just have suggestions on the following:

 

Is 16 or 19 guage wire the best?

Is it better to have the wire on the inside or outside of the frame?

16g wire is better but lots of people have 19g (I have bought 19g for my own run)

 

I am putting the wire on the inside as it is my theory that a fox would be able to pull better than they can push and I dont want my wire being ripped outwards by a fox (like I said - only my theory!!)

[Chook n Boo Mum]

HI

still in the design stages of our WIR

 

Can i just have suggestions on the following:

 

Is 16 or 19 guage wire the best? Not sure, but it was VERY difficult to fold for the skirts whichever it was (prob 16 though as DH is a belt & braces/must do properly kind of man!)

Is it better to have the wire on the inside or outside of the frame? Ours is on the outside as it goes up & bows over the top to form the roof

Door opening inwards or out? Door opens outwards & hangs flush with the wall when open - haven't yet rectified the fact that if you shut the door behind you, you are stuck until someone comes & left you out (DS's party piece on Saturday am !!)

Eglu inside or outside the run? Batties eglu will be inside, but the cubes are both outside

Are your runs freestanding or fixed to the ground? Fixed to the ground with 3x3 fence posts in metpost spikes - unlikely any wind through our garden will move it !!

Any other tips? Roof is covered with corrugated plastic sheets which are slightly misty not glass clear, partly to give a little sun relief, mainly they were reduced in Homebase!! Held in place by luggage straps, like you'd use on a roof-rack.

Thanks for your patience, but i want to get it perfect first time round.

 

It'll be an ongoing project, a little tweak here, a small addition there.....! I agree though get it as right as possible for you the first time, no point in having to rehash it in a few years time.

 

Sha x

[Falkor]

Ooooohhh, I am moving the home office around cos we got a new desk and now we have a SPARE little ikea table. OH was going to dump it but I am thinking table for in WIR!!!!

 

It is like this one http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S79831622 except has matt silver legs and wood laminate top. What do you think?

[Ain't Nobody Here]

That looks pretty similar to the table I snaffled from the school where I work. The dimensions of mine are 112(l) x 53(w) x 70(h). It's not quite wide enough for an eglu but I'm hoping it'll be OK even if it hangs over the side a bit. I might try to attach the old wooden roosting bars somehow.

 

You can always try it out & see how it works .

 

[Falkor]

It seems a shame to throw things out and seems silly buying wood to build a table.

 

The could go underneath I spose. *****runs outside with tape measure*****

 

YEP....underneath it is

 

ANH I think I must have had your earlier post about your snaffled table lurking in the back of my brain

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I'm thinking on top and extra nestbox underneath (well, my new girls need somewhere to lay their eggs ). ES has a lovely wooden box which he keeps his trumpet music in (he'll never notice it's gone ).

[Falkor]

Tell him Oscar ate it!

[Ygerna]

whilst I was reading this thread, hubby was reading over my shoulder.

 

another seed is sown

[Falkor]

whilst I was reading this thread, hubby was reading over my shoulder.

 

another seed is sown

 

It`s all about making them think it was their idea

[MitchB]

Well brace yourselves I got the quote from the handyman today re my WIR 12ft X6ft on a paved area 14ft x8ft, using 16g weld mesh etc cube on outside etc......

 

OMG OMG £1340

 

You can guess what OH said to that.

 

Needless to say I have asked Avaries4U for a quote to see what they reckon minus them doing paved area may have to get someone else to do that or have major rethink!!!

[Falkor]

That is ALOT! What did he plan making it out of!!!

 

I have a quote from Tony for the same size and it was ALOT better than that

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Blimey . That must be a record for a quote . (He was quoting for weldmesh and not silver filigree ?)

 

I hope Tony can do a better one for you (although you'll be at the end of a long queue!)

[MitchB]

I know some of the expense is the paved area, and he probably didn't price the weldmesh from hillsofdevon and it includes him doing all the work and building it etc but was still a heck of a .

 

Will wait until Tony quotes before I go back to him though.

 

[Cooks]

I am stunned at such a price.

[Redwing]

Blimey . That must be a record for a quote . (He was quoting for weldmesh and not silver filigree ?)

 

 

 

That made me laugh out loud I am not very well so tucked up on the sofa and this really cheered me up, thanks

[Seagazer]

Could you not do the paved area yourself? We did ours for the cube and run and it was quite straightforward. Just level the ground, bung some sand down, level that and then lay the slabs. Its obviously heavy work but we managed to get it done and it looked quite good.

 

Our walk in will be partly on an existing concrete base and also on the slabbed area. Thinking about taking up some of the slabs inside the run so they have a bit of earth to scratch around on.