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

[mountainboarddude]

i have had chickens now for around fpur years and started off with a wooden ark from forsham cottage arks as it was the next best alternative to an eglu as i oculd not then afford one. but i have had problems with red mite for the last 2 years and this summer seems to have been even worse. despite taking the house apart and pressure washing it monthly, spraying weekly with red mite kill solution and using stalosan in the house each week the problems just seems to be getting worse. the house is tongue and groove and this can remain damp even when dryed for a day in the sun. so after burning the worst section and rebuilding usig just one bit of wood i am wandering if an eglu would be a more suitable alternative. i know that it will not be a solutio to my problems but from experience does anybody think that red m ite is a lot easier to control in an eglu. also as i am going to uni in under a year my parents would be looking after the chickend so easier cleaning out would be a lot easier for them when i am not here. sorry about the lenghty text, any opinions would be appreciated, matt

[Space Chick]

I notice from your signature that you have 4 girls, so if you were to get an Eglu, you would need to get run extensions, or alternative get a cube (which is also easier to clean because of the height).

 

Good luck with what you decide, dreaded red mite

[Falkor]

Sorry to here that you are having problems with the dreaded red mite, I think this summer has been a bad one for it.

 

As Space Chick says if you have four girls then an eglu run will need extending or a cube and run may be an option.

 

I recently purchased a second hand cube which came with a bad infestation of red mite However we pressure washed it (it was all taken apart) and treated with poultry shield. That was a week ago and yesterday I took it all apart again and can see NO nasties. I washed and poultry shielded it anyways to be sure

 

To make sure that you get all nooks and crannies clean both the eglu an cube do come apart but i would say that the cube is more time comsumming if you are doing this.

 

General cleaning where you leave both as is is easy, just a bucket and scrub brush OR pressure washer but i prefer the cube as don`t need to bend down.

[mountainboarddude]

thanks for your help so far, um i forgot to mention that the chickens hav a large walk in run that they live in with house in it o they would only be using the eglu run if they had to be moved if we went awayon holiday

[Falkor]

Then four (providing they are not jersey giants or LF orps etc) should be fine in an eglu. the cube obviously allows for expansion of your flock.

 

Also many of us have out cubes on the outside of our walk in runs so we can open them up and get eggs without having to go into the run. Great for me as I get ready for work before I let the girls out and great for our pet sitter as she doesn`t have to get maulled by my greedy orps

 

 

[mountainboarddude]

thanks for all of the feedback. yeh the cube does look bigger and better but i am nom longer allowed to increase my flock unless there are casualties and i do not really have the money to spend on a cube

[Redwing]

I had red mite in two of my Eglus, it took three weeks to get rid of them but on the plus side the Eglu is a lot easier to clean than a wooden house!

[mountainboarddude]

yeh well because fo the tongue and groove design it is ot really very easy to take everything apart every week to clean it all and it means that the house is gradually becoming more unstable because of the number of times it is being taken apart and put bck together again. so i have have requested an eglue brochure and am awaiting its delivery so that i will be able to have a proper look before buying one.

thanks

matt