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[sadietoo]

After Sunday's horrible events, when I lost poor little Not to the fox, I have done much soul searching, and decided I really do owe it to my remaining girl to make a go of this Chicken Keeping and provide her with the happy life I promised her when I bought her and her sister back in September.

 

It seems to me that the best way forward is a WIR. Not only will it make spending secure time with my girls easier in the winter months..it is one more step removed from the attentions of the Fox which today returned during the daytime ..in spite of the foxwatch and ripped the cover off the run.

 

So with this in mind I have been looking at Aviaries 4U...does anyone have personal experience of their products??/ was the quality as good as it looks ...and what about delivery time....? how about putting the run together yourselves??? any little niggles with the run in use?

 

Alternatively does anyone have a supplier of runs in West Sussex/Hants that they would recommend?

 

My problem is that I can't quite persuade OH to get on board with this WIR idea ( although I have promised pretty plantings and hanging baskets even to make it look as good as possible)...I already use Aubiose so I think I have the cleaning thing under control...but do find poo-picking in the Omlet run tricky at the far end (fortunately Betty usually goes in and does it for me

 

All thoughts very very welcome...x

[debbier]

I was fortunate enough to win a wir from aviaries4u.

 

It is very solid, and a joy to use compared to having an Eglu run. If I was starting again from scratch, and had the room, then I'd go straight for it, and not bother with an Eglu run.

 

I put mine together with the help of my teenaged son (he's nearly 6' and that definitely helped!). I had a cordless drill/driver, which really helped. You do need to drill some holes to assemble the panels together, but all the screws and instructons are included.

 

The slight problem I had was with the roof being a bit fiddly to fit, but that was when it was in its temporary position, which was uneven ground. When it was put into its permanent place, with a slab border, it was much easier.

 

Pics etc. on my blog, link in sig.

[sadietoo]

Hi Debbier thanks for that ...It does look fab..and how wonderful to win the run. I've spent so much time looking at them today.....I have a 6' tall teenaged son too..who has already promised me help putting up the run if I get one so I am hopeful.... that he will be awake to assist!!!

[alih]

I have one and would thoroughly recommend it, having had an eglu then a cube with runs. Tony is fantastic and will answer any questions so do give him a ring.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I too have a "Tony" and wouldn't choose anything else, given a second chance . He is so helpful and will design a run to your personal specifications (I wanted a stable type door & only 3 sides).

 

I would have struggled to put mine up but that's because I don't have the right tools (and am not good at DIY anyway ). A friend's OH put mine up with relative ease.

 

If your OH worries about the look of a WIR tell him to look at my signature - I hope you'll agree it's a thing of beauty .

[Olly]

Aviaries4U runs are fantastic, and Tony is one of the nicest guys you could meet - very helpful, as said above give him a ring if you have any questions.

 

He and his colleague put up my 2mx3m run in just over an hour, complete with roof, stable door and guttering - he said that was a record even for him, but he was under pressure to get back for an appointment. I am no DIY expert, but I would imagine anyone with a bit of experience and a cordless screwdriver would be able to do it fairly easily.

 

I would recommend them wholeheartedly, I'm thrilled with mine and Tony says he has never had any reports of a fox getting into one. It's not just the security, it gives my hens a much nicer environment and makes looking after them much easier and more pleasant.

[atsw]

I can only echo what others have said, A4U runs are great! I got mine in February 2009. Building is straightforward, but will require two people for the most part. I created a little web-page at the time showing each step in the process ***Click Here ***. There's a much more detailed edition (many more pictures) as a slideshow ** here **.

 

It is the only way to go in my humble opinion.

 

Andrew

[annieblue]

I got an eglu cube in October together with a 2m run but I struggled so much with it that I've gone for WIR which a local joiner has made for me.

The Runs are okay but so impractical to clean and get in and out of, in addition to that, for a couple of days a month both me and my OH are working at the same time and no one is home all day so the thought of the girls being in such a small run come the summer made me go for the WIR.

 

It's so much more practical and about 14' x 9' so got plenty of room with a sturdy roof on too. The bottom of the run has wire embedded and covered with a layer of hard core so I can't imagine anything getting in underneath. The floor has wood chip (as advised by you guys and gals) and a small paddling pool filled with a mixture of soil conditioner and play sand and the girls JUST LOVE IT. I've also put some perches across the corners and an old wooden chair which they take in turns to sit on.

All in all, despite the extra cost of having bought the extra run and then built the WIR, I'm thrilled to its with it.

 

Err, just one other thing - I thought the ladies were supposed to stop laying in the winter?

 

I'm still getting between 3 and 5 eggs a day from the six of them, what's going on?

[atsw]

Err, just one other thing - I thought the ladies were supposed to stop laying in the winter?

 

I'm still getting between 3 and 5 eggs a day from the six of them, what's going on?

It does depend on the breed. The original 'Pure' breeds are known to stop laying at the onset of Autumn, re-starting again in the Spring once the days get longer. The more common hybrids (i.e. the classic Red Hen) have been engineered over the years to lay all the time.

 

Like you though, someone has clearly not told my young Partridge Pekins, two of whom started laying a few weeks back (at 21 weeks old) and are still going! Between them they do an egg every-other-day so we get one egg every day . Very small and sweet, just 28g to 32g .

 

Andrew

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Sadie, I'm sure that Pam (Hillfamily) has a "Tony".......try PMing her!

 

Sha x

[sadietoo]

Thanks again for all your input everyone..sorry for the delay in replying.. my post had been correctly moved to the runs section, but took me a while to work it out Thanks for the tip Sha, will pm Pam Hillfamily after Christmas..and use Christmas holiday to talk Mr Sadietoo round to the idea of a WIR!! So far my little girl is doing ok on her own..she is still laying bless her. I bought her a snuggle safe which I have been using these cold nights, and will get on to finding her a couple of new friends after the Bank Holiday on Monday. ..

[sandyhas3chucks]

just to agree with all the above, If you ask Tony will make it with the next thicker grade wire than normal.

I needed protection potentially for dogs also and a known fox family very close.Your fox does seem pretty hungry & determined.

she will love her riends even if not so immediately. bless her.