Chicken bald back

[Saronne]

My Eglu door has been frozen shut for the past couple of days. I have tried 'defrosting' it with hot tap water, but nothing's happened - it won't budge! Fortunately, I have a cube and a 'Go' which are working fine and the hens have just redistributed themselves into those. Any advice?

 

 

Saronne x

[Christian]

Is it the front door or the egg port?

 

If it's the front door, then lift the handle and push from inside the egg port (or take the lid off and push that way)?

[Saronne]

Hi Christian,

 

It's the front door - but I can't lift the handle up as that is the bit that won't budge!

 

 

Saronne x

[louise1976]

Hot water works well for me so I'm not sure what else to suggest. I tip a little hot water on the handle as that seems to be the bit that sticks the most and then it comes free.

[Saronne]

I'll try again tomorrow. Do you think VERY hot water would be okay (e.g. just off the boil?) as hot tap water didn't seem to do anything. Also, once defrosted, can I spray anything on it to stop it happening again? I just think that the water I pour on it will turn cold and freeze it again.

 

 

 

Saronne x

[Egluntyne]

Why not leave a hot water bottle over the top for a while and see if that shifts it. A squirt of WD40 might be useful when its loosened (so long as the hens are out of the way!)

[atsw]

I suspect the problem might at the bottom of the door where metal bar slots down into the base of the Eglu. If there's any muck in the slot, then if wet, it will freeze and act like a glue between the metal bar and plastic of the Eglu base. This used to be a problem for me, as the girls would trample mud into the slot when the door was open, which then acted like concrete if/when it froze.

 

Andrew

[Saronne]

Good ideas everyone! Will try hot water bottle and WD 40 tomorrow, Egluntyne.

 

Andrew, I think you're right about muck at bottom freezing hard like concrete.

 

 

Saronne x

 

P.S. Egluntyne, do you think a tiny little squirt of WD 40 would stop them getting egg bound? (kidding)

[Egluntyne]

P.S. Egluntyne, do you think a tiny little squirt of WD 40 would stop them getting egg bound? (kidding)

 

[Raina]

I got my Eglu a year ago yesterday, a few days after getting it the door just wouldn't open, i didn't have a clue why so used some WD40, not had the problem since.

 

Will let you know if it still doesn't stick when i get my girls back in a couple of days

[chickweed]

The door on my Eglu has been frozen in the open position for several days now. The hot water I used initially is obviously now the cause of the problem. Nothing will budge the handle. All the extra water sloshing around is not helping the general condition of the run either

 

The chickens don't seem to be suffering the effects of the sub zero temperatures though, one of them is going through a major moult at the moment too

[Patricia W]

Would the hot water bottle idea work? It sounds as though continous heat is the answer - and we aren't going to get that naturally for a while yet!

[Sheilaz]

A really good tip for prevention, is to use a carpet off-cut as a porch for the Eglu, covering both the door handle & the eggport. Mrs Frugal's idea & it works!

[kevtheplumber]

one of my favourite tools I have to carry for work in the van is a hair dryer comes in really handy, especially when the van door freezes every morning this week

[chickweed]

Kev, I have thought of using a hair dryer but it would mean trailing a very long extension lead through the snow and then plugging the hair dryer in....not a good idea.

 

I can't remove the egg port without using loads of hot water too.

 

My chickens survived last night's temperature, but Daisy is moulting and looks ghastly. I am concerned that I won't be able to get at them if necessary, so tonight I have put them in box complete with Omlet roosting bars in the shed. They are looking quite cosy.

[Lesley]

We're having problems with all the eggport doors as well - I came to see what everyone else was doing.

 

The rubber seals on the two Mark 1 Eglus have frozen and ripped as well now

[Patricia W]

i just take a knife out with me when I go out to the eglu in case the eggport door has frozen! I hope I don't slip......

 

Tricia

[Sheilaz]

A really good tip for prevention, is to use a carpet off-cut as a porch for the Eglu, covering both the door handle & the eggport. Mrs Frugal's idea & it works!

 

I don't make a habit of quoting myself, but this prevention tip really does work!

[Lesley]

A really good tip for prevention, is to use a carpet off-cut as a porch for the Eglu, covering both the door handle & the eggport. Mrs Frugal's idea & it works!

 

I don't make a habit of quoting myself, but this prevention tip really does work!

 

Not much fun for 11 Eglus - I'll have to stage a break in at the carpet shop!

 

We will actually have an offcut of carpet that we've been using as a rug while the new puppy is house trained that will be redundant shortly - I'll cut it up ready for next time it snows or is really cold. We don't have any runs attached to the Eglu so I'd just have to cover the top of the Eglu and the eggport door.

[chickweed]

A really good tip for prevention, is to use a carpet off-cut as a porch for the Eglu, covering both the door handle & the eggport. Mrs Frugal's idea & it works!

 

I am going to do this when the eglu and run have thawed out, been cleaned up and dried off. The door and the egg port have freed up today but the tray remains stuck fast. I found a frozen egg today.

 

I am still putting the chickens in the shed at night till I can properly sort out this problem.