Elderly cat breathing difficulties when purring

[egluowner117]

We love our 5 day old Eglu and chicks, but I was wondering why couldn't the wooden bars have been made of plastic for even easier cleaning? I know that wood is supposed to let the chickens feel they're actually sleeping 10 ft up some old apple tree, but surely there's a textured plastic that would do the job nowadays? Any suggestions??

[AnnieP]

I agree!..unless there is some explanation why it HAS to be wood, its the only difficult bit to clean! Any answers? (not about cleaning: I use a scrubbing brush and pressure washer which works very nicely), I mean as to why wood?

[Katie]

I know i thought that when my hens got red mite - it would be far easier to get shut of them with plastic bars because they can't burrow into plastic...i dont think.

[Guest]

they might find it a bit slippy and chickens need to grip onto something but i must admit it would be a good idea

[Cinnamon]

Surely they can do a textured plastic, which is nice & grippy for the Chickens?

I think palstic would be a great improvement!

[ali-s]

i asked this question a while ago in the survey - problem with eglu bars.

plastic bars could be scrubbed or even put through the dish washer! only joking!

[sarahm]

We need a dishwaher... Any recommendations for one big enough to put the eglu in? And the dog's getting a bit smelly too - dont want to mess up the bath...

[AnnieP]

We need a dishwaher... Any recommendations for one big enough to put the eglu in? And the dog's getting a bit smelly too - dont want to mess up the bath...

 

My Airedale gets shut in the shower cubicle when she is smelly, and loves it!! She actually tries to get in there with me when I take a shower now!

[Jangle]

My OH works in plastics, and when I asked him about this he thought it should be possible to make eglu bars in plastic with some sort of coating (like an elastomer) to give it the correct feel. However, he also thought that this would end up being more expensive than wood in the long run.

[egluowner117]

Does anyone else have chickens that actaully prefer to sit on their nest when they go to bed?? The bossy boots always makes a beeline for it, leaving Bella to snuggle up on to the nest as best she can. I thought they were supposed to sit on the perch!?

[Mrs Frugal]

Yes, Jenny's a nest sleeper too! Bit of a nuisance as the nest is full of poo in the mornings !

[rachel19]

Mine too!! Think I'm going to have to get another bag of straw soon..... I have to change it every day now!!!

[Popcorn]

Hi rachel,

 

Get a pair of marigolds on and just pick up the pooey bits of straw! Will save you having to chuck all of it out.

 

Louise (the Chook - don't want to start rumours here and upset Louise the human!) is terrible for pooing the bed, as she insists on sleeping in the nest

[james]

Hi,

 

The designers answer to the question is quite simple. We thought it nice for the chickens to have wooden perch. The wood is soft on their feet and warm to the touch. Also it is rather like the wooden flooring that is so fashionable and in our chicken focus groups this came top of the list!

 

James

[Mrs Frugal]

 

Straight from the horse's mouth!

 

....so to speak!

[AnnieP]

No, no! Lets not let them get away with it that easily! Remember, Architects and designers are there to pander to OUR needs!! A rubberised plastic would be warm, AND it could be coloured!!!

[Lesley]

.....but that wooden flooring is soooooo noisy - good job there aren't two tier Eglus

[Gallina]

If the bars have to be wood, couldn't the rough bits at the sides where the mites hide be plasticized?

 

The red mite get down inside the rough edges, and if you only wipe them you go right over the top of their heads.

[The Dogmother]

We need a dishwaher... Any recommendations for one big enough to put the eglu in? And the dog's getting a bit smelly too - dont want to mess up the bath...

 

My Airedale gets shut in the shower cubicle when she is smelly, and loves it!! She actually tries to get in there with me when I take a shower now!

 

Don't laugh Annie, my friend's big French lop rabbit gets into her walk-in shower with her!

[The Dogmother]

Does anyone else have chickens that actaully prefer to sit on their nest when they go to bed?? The bossy boots always makes a beeline for it, leaving Bella to snuggle up on to the nest as best she can. I thought they were supposed to sit on the perch!?

 

Mine start off with Ruby (boss) in the nest and the others on the bars, but in the morning, they are all huddled in the nest.

[egluowner117]

well - Bella and Hetty are style-conscious girls who keep up with the news in their chick-lit. They assure me that Trinny and Susanna say plastic's fantastic and wood's no good for birds in da hood..

[The Dogmother]

I must say that plastic seems a great idea, perhaps it will feature in the mark 3 Eglu, or as spare parts in the online shop.

 

Sure beats the (big) pants off scrubbing the daylights off the wooden ones!

 

Still no s....

[Louise]

I am a bit more chilled these days when it comes to the perches a s"Ooops, word censored!"e with a trowel is all it gets as the chooks don't care about a bit of poo

[motherhen]

I am a bit more chilled these days when it comes to the perches a s"Ooops, word censored!"e with a trowel is all it gets as the chooks don't care about a bit of poo

A convert to the 'laid back approach to eglu cleanliness'

 

Yes, I just s"Ooops, word censored!"e off big bits and the little bits dry and then can just be banged off with the side of a trowel. Really dry chicken poo has no odour at all - even without deodorising garlic powder

 

I did try and wash the bars before sending the flowery eglu down to Kaz - apart from not wanting to frighten her with dried poo I wanted to make sure the whole eglu was really clean since I'm sure the poor battery hens will have no immune system to speak of. I can see how people who like keeping their eglu really clean would welcome plastic bars since they would scrub up to look like new.

 

btw I believe Kaz is collecting the hens today - very exciting, but I'm a bit dreading the first photos - some battery hens look awful and it can be hard to look at them and think about what they have been through. But at least these 3 are in for a wonderful life now

 

ps - have you seen Kaz's new eglu icon - brilliant!

[freerange]

Maybe the wooden bars could be sealed/waxed/oiled or something? Also, have omlet considered selling replacement bars?