What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[Solara]

Hi all - I hope someone can help me....

 

I tried to put my run together today and set everything up, and because I was having difficulty I read the instructions that are in PDF at the top of the forum.

 

I thought that I had followed the instructions pretty carefully, but I just can't get the run to fit together properly, or to fit the eglu properly. If I were to put any small bantams in there they would be able to get out quite happily!

 

I am wondering if I have the bits of the run nearest the eglu the wrong way round, but they look as if they would be even less likely to fit that way...

 

Is there a way to tell which bit goes where, and should the runs fit together as snugly as the instructions imply, or are 2" - 3" gaps between the panels normal? I would guess that since the run is supposed to be fox-proof the gaps are not meant to be there......!

 

[Cooks]

something sounds amiss.... it's been a while since I had my eglu, so I will let others reply but it doesn't sound right to me..

[Redwing]

Hiya, is it a new Eglu or second hand? if second hand do you have the run and converter piece or just the standard run?

 

The run is shaped like a funnel so you need to figure out what are the 'small' bits and what are the big bits

 

If the run is secondhand then there may be tale tell clips on the edges of two sections indicating where the end panel attached so they are the big bits

 

The smaller sections have a bit on one edge where the normal mesh is divided in half. these are the bits the screws go through that connects the run to the Eglu

 

If you ahve the added extra metre converter it does complicate things when you are trying to figure out what panels are what

 

No. gaps are not normal it should all fit snugly

[Solara]

It's second hand, which is why I didn't have the instructions, although I expected it to be pretty easy - I'm rubbish at DIY!

 

I had a close look at the downloadable setup instructions and I saw the extra bit of wire on the run panels. Thank you so much for confirming that it should be there. Certainly the bits I was attaching to the eglu didn't have those extra bits of wire, so I think that I've put it together the wrong way round. Hopefully all I need to do is turn around the section nearest the eglu, and not disconnect the larger bits from the end with the door in it!

 

Thank you SO much for your quick replies - this seems a really friendly and helpful forum - I'm looking forward to learning a lot from being a member.

[Redwing]

I always find it odd that there are two small bits and two big bits yet deconstructed they all look the same! I tore my hair out at my first attempt too

 

Glad all is well now

[Solara]

Well, the mystery deepens....

 

I went out this morning first thing and checked, and none of the run panels have that extra bit of wire that should be there to attach it to the eglu.

 

I am going to email the previous owner to ask how she put it together, but she must have been able to, since she had her rabbit in it.

 

I'll take some photos this evening and post them so that perhaps you can tell me what I've done wrong - a picture is worth a thousand words.....I hope!

[Cooks]

I pressume you are taking the eglu top off and then trying to attach the run? Otherwise you would have problems sorry just trying to picture how it's not working for you.

[Solara]

Yes, I've taken the purple lid off and screwed the two pieces of run to the grey part with the screws and washers supplied, but when it is in place there is a gap at the top and then the two bits of run cross over along the length of the run. Making them meet creates a pointed wire tunnel rather than a smooth arched one like in the diagrams.

 

The big parts, which are connected up to each other and to the door section at the end is 2-3" higher at the apex of the arch than the highest part of the run nearest the eglu. It isn't possible to get the two parts to meet, even with the clips, because if you bend the mesh down at the top the sides bulge.

 

On the PDF instructions there is an extra wire strut at the bottom on the side where it should be attached to the eglu (which Redwing pointed out for me) and none of the panels have this extra bit of wire.

 

Does the rablu not have these, or have I been given an extension unit but not the part that should connect directly to the eglu?

 

It's very gloomy here today but I'm going to try to take some photos for you all shortly.

[Solara]

Done!!

 

I dragged OH out into the rain and he had a close look at everything. There isn't an extra piece of wire on any of the panels, but it does seem as if I had put it on the right way.

 

What was wrong was that the panels themselves have been bent out of shape at some point and that way why it wasn't fitting together properly.

 

Between the two of us we managed to bend everything back to vaguely where it should be and with the help of one of the few level bits of grass in our garden, we managed to get it looking like the run in the picture. It hasn't got any holes now, either.

 

It is going to be a pretty difficult thing for me to manage on my own (I'm 4' 11" and have partial paraplegia, so moving things around and reaching across the top of the run to do the clips is hard) but now it is all together, it looks very impressive.

 

Thanks again, everyone! I am definitely going to get the rabbit to chicken conversion kit and I'm also thinking seriously about asking about a reconditioned one......

[Redwing]

well done my Eglu run also looks wierd and pointy until I put the end panel on then it all looks a lot better