4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Nu2chicks]

Greetings.

After a couple of years of looking fondly at Eglus I bought a secondhand one recently and have been cleaning it up and reading up on the details.

With the half term week coming up I'm determined to buy my chickens (Probably Domestic Wildfowl, Evesham...)and get going at last!! Here are my Qs...if anyone out there can answer any I would be very grateful.

 

1. The plastic around the egg port on the Omlet logo is slightly holed...is this normal wear and tear?...it is less than 2 yrs old...I have just scrubbed it once with a scrubbing brush...is this too harsh? Have used washing liq...what is the reason for not using Jif type products on the eglu..it strikes me the plastic must be tough if it is outdoors in all weathers? Should I tape something over the holes to avoid water entering...anyone had anything similar??

2. Readng the posts, I deduce that I may need a bigger cover than the winter cover provided, the clear ones sound good and I'll investigate.

3. I'm thinking of starting out trialling grass and moving it each week. We have a medium size garden and have the run and converter...will this work or will it ruin the grass?

4. I'm presuming from what I've read that I can have 3 full sized hens in the eglu (M2) with run + converter...I'm thinking of hybrids...poss Rhode Island/Plymouth Rock.. Or should I stick with 2?? (Intending to free range only when we are in the garden..

5. I'm hoping to use recycled bedding...thinking of newspaper sheets in the poo tray and shredded paper in the nest box...or should I be shelling out and buying something else?

6. I've really enjoyed reading up on everyone elses tips about treats and entertainment...got the mesaage about raisins, grapes and tomatoes. Will also sort dust bath, perch and hanging material to peck at!

 

Aologies for the length...that's all my questions for the moment...thank you for reading thus far!!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Welcome to the forum . Congratulations on getting a second hand eglu . Good choice of colour .

 

1. The plastic around the egg port on the Omlet logo is slightly holed...is this normal wear and tear?...it is less than 2 yrs old...I have just scrubbed it once with a scrubbing brush...is this too harsh? Have used washing liq...what is the reason for not using Jif type products on the eglu..it strikes me the plastic must be tough if it is outdoors in all weathers? Should I tape something over the holes to avoid water entering...anyone had anything similar??

My is less than 2 years old too and doesn't have anything that sounds like that . Could you post a photo so we can see what you mean? I suppose people try to use products like Ecover so that you're not getting chemicals seeping into the soil or run. I know lots of people use power washers, I just use an old washing up brush and Ecover!

 

2. Readng the posts, I deduce that I may need a bigger cover than the winter cover provided, the clear ones sound good and I'll investigate.

2m lengths of corrugated plastic from B&Q (about £6 each) work a treat. You can use 2 (or 3 to cover the run completely from one side to the other). It's not quite long enough so you can use the Omlet shade or a bit of plastic to fill the gap.

 

3. I'm thinking of starting out trialling grass and moving it each week. We have a medium size garden and have the run and converter...will this work or will it ruin the grass? At this time of year, yes they'll ruin the grass . It obviously takes longer to recover too . It's really easier and more practical to have it on a permanent site.

 

4. I'm presuming from what I've read that I can have 3 full sized hens in the eglu (M2) with run + converter...I'm thinking of hybrids...poss Rhode Island/Plymouth Rock.. Or should I stick with 2?? (Intending to free range only when we are in the garden..The forum advice is usually to get 3, then if you lose one you still have two and don't have to introduce a lone hen. I nearly got 2 then got 3 and am really glad I did. I bought a converter too though, so they would have a bit more room.

 

5. I'm hoping to use recycled bedding...thinking of newspaper sheets in the poo tray and shredded paper in the nest box...or should I be shelling out and buying something else?

That's exactly what I use . It works really well (although a bit of hemcore or aubiose in the nestbox too stops it getting soggy).

[Nu2chicks]

Many thanks for the comments...very useful. Haven't got around to a photo yet...but have realised that as the wear is on the egg port if the worst came to the worst I could just replace it. Still can't believe I found a secondhand eglu within 40 minutes of home at a fair price with extras within 24 hours of posting...was my lucky day!

[Lesley]

Welcome to the forum - and have fun choosing your new chooks!

 

Take wellies if you want to have a look around at the DFT - it can be quite muddy there. The shop is usually really well stocked though.

 

I'll just move this to the Chickens section as most of the Qs are chicken related - and I'm sure you will get replies re the Eglu as well.

[Hen Watch]

Hi and welcome from me. Congrats on the eglu.

 

1. Can you post a photo? My Omlet feeders have little "pits" in them which scrub up ok - is that what you mean or actually big holes????

 

2. In winter a full run cover is best (either shower curtain or Wickes/B&Q clear corrugated plastic). This is especially useful if you dedide to use run bedding which needs to be dry.

I use Auboise (hemp based horse bedding).

 

3. Grass doesn't grow in Winter and needs to be a certain temperature before it does grow. So moving your chooks around the garden now will mean they will eat it and it won't regrow. This is a good idea for Spring/Summer though.

Last winter, I bit the bullet and let them eat one area then put Auboise down on the mud. Reseeded in Spring. But this year, I have put them on my patio slabs instead.

 

4. I have 4 hybrid hens in my mkII eglu + run + converter.

 

5. Shredded paper is fine. 3 of my chooks ignore it, but 1 eats it, so for me it isn't an option, but plenty of people on here use it perfectly OK.

[Nu2chicks]

Thank you very much for this experience! I had hoped to avoid the phaff of a permanent site...but can see why you end up doing so now.

 

The plastic is slightly broken around the omlet logo...not big holes....must take a photo...forgot today again!!

 

Have bought the feed today, along with worming and mite stuff, so beginning to feel like it is going to happen!! (Sat is D day after we have returned from a day away, so hope there are still some POLs left by then!!)

 

What do folks use as disinfectant for the eglu....is Ecover enough?

 

Was also trying to think through the organic side of things...must look at posts as I'm sure there'll be something here about organic/non organic feed...not sure I appreciate the difference at this stage! Am presuming I'm going to have to give up my use of slug pellets... don't use them very often...but they do protect the veg bed when I plant out young beans etc. Oh dear...hope I haven't shocked you all now and that you will still speak to me... I'd like to be organic honest!!

[Hen Watch]

You don't need to build a permanent site at first. Perhaps like me, opt for a semi-permanent Winter position in the garden. Let them wreck that and then move them round the garden come spring when the grass grows.

 

Poultry Shield is good for cleaning.

 

Organic debate is a personal thing. There is quite a price difference. If you go for a good brand name you should be fine. Personally mine have standard Dodson & Horrell in both pellets and mash (which is powdered pellets). It is GM free and I am happy with that. Plus they eat all my non-organic kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s.

[..lay a little egg for me]

Welcome from me too. I can't answer your questions about eglus as we have a wooden coop from the DFT in Evesham. But thought I would put in my twopennyworth about buying hens from the DFT!

 

We got our birds from the DFT along with the coop...they are very helpful there. They tend to have a range of birds for sale but these vary from day to day. For example, they had several black rocks (RIR/Plymouth Rock hybrid) when we were there but only one goldline and no speckledy hens but a few days later they had a speckeldy. The goldlines and black rocks were £10 last year and the speckledy was £20, so even between hybrids there is quite a price difference. They also have some purebreeds but these are more expensive.

 

I would go for 3 hens so if something should happen to one of them (God forbid) you will not have a lonely hen. One of our first hens developed a nasty cold within a few days (seems very common when they move to a new home) and the DFT were v good about taking her back and swapping for a different girl.

 

We use shredded paper in the nesting box and it seems to work fine. We tend to use wood shavings under the perches as it is more absorbent but I think shredded newspaper would be fine (our shredded paper tends to be old receipts and the like so not very absorbent).

 

Good luck!

[Nu2chicks]

Thank you for these thoughts...my kitchen veg s"Ooops, word censored!"s would be non-organic too and I had clocked the price difference, which was why I was asking. I have decided to buy standard feed available nearest to me (Countrywide Layers Pellets)...to avoid food miles! and I'm hoping it will be OK. How easy is it to switch feeds....I've read they don't change readily to new feed?

 

As I'm starting out so near to spring I've decided not to make any permanent run decisions as by winter next year I will hopefully be a fount of knowledge!