baberella Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Hello there, have been on the site for a few weeks trying to gather as much as info as i can before i take the plunge! I think my first job is to sort out how i am going to keep them-after much uming and aring in an eglu but i need advice on what would be the best set up for this. I dont think i can let them have free range of the whole garden as have two younh children who run bae foot around the garden! So what is the best set up for an eglu e.g permanent, movable, surfacs bedding etc. any suggestions much appreciated so i can set it up right to begin with!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figarogir1 Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Congratulations on your decision. My four are in a cube that I move around the garden every 3/4 days - as they destroy the grass in that time when they arent FR all day. But that does leave a mess You will probably be better with a permanant site for your eglu so that the children can run around without getting covered in chicken poo My boys are older so have learned to avoid it most of the time Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickichicky Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Hi Baberella The fact that you've been looking into it before you take the plunge is the most important thing! So much of the actual stuff and how it best suits you is down to to trial and error. If you're not going to let them free range in the garden because of the understandable poo + bare feet = yuk then you're best of moving them around the garden once the grass is eaten down or getting a bit mucky. It doesn't take too long to recover if you don't let it go too far. I've got a permanent top covered run and wooden house, so I use straw on the floor of the run, and rake it out every few weeks once it gets yukky, especially round the feeders. The girls come out into the garden evenings after work and weekends when I'm about to keep an eye on them. Personally after using straw in the house at first I now use dust extracted sawdust. It's much easier to see where any wet patches are from soggy poops. I have 3 exbatts as well as 5 "normal" (loosely applied...) chickens, the exbatts never figured out perching, and so sit on the floor.... as I had them first - the others as they joined the gang all followed suit. So I 'poo pick' the droppings each day with a plastic bag or disposable glove so they don't sit in them. I could go on, but you're likely to know loads already! Have fun with your girls once they arrive, but be warned - they are infectious, and my promise of 2 or 3 exbatts only to my partner has ended up with me having 7 chooks and him having to extend my run twice...... Vicki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C&T Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Hi, I can only tell you what we do, that works for us after a bit of trial and error. We keep our eglu/run in a permanent place, and use Hemcore (a horse bedding) in the run and in the nest box. This means the run has to be covered, and we have used sheets of corrugated plastic from Wickes kept on with bungees - inexpensive, and last for ever. Moving it around was never an option for us, as a) we do not have enough room and b) we needed to put the eglu itself in concrete slabs, due to a small rodent problem (a few doses of poison, all gone!). Omlet netting is really useful stuff, for keeping the chooks either contained in an area, or off an area. Depending on the size of your garden, this could mean half for the children, half for the chooks. Or you could use the netting to keep the chooks off the grass, and only allow them in the borders (assuming you don't mind what they get up to in there!). And of course, if your run is big enough, you do not have to let them out at all. Ours get limited time, so that they don't trash the garden. In the winter, they were only allowed in the veg patch, and not on the grass at all, and only for a few hours at the weekend. In the summer they are definitely kept out the veg patch! But they do get more time in the rest of the garden at the weekends and some evenings. And if the grass starts to look worse for wear, the chooks are confined again for a few days to give it a break. As long as they have access to green stuff (cabbage, broccolli, etc) in their run, they will be fine. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagazer Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 What a good decision you have made. I think if I had the space and young children then I would put an eglu on a hardstanding area and either have a run or a netted off area just for the girls. This way you don't have to worry about your children standing in anything smelly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baberella Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 Thanks for the replys! Is it ok to put the auboise just on the grden if the run is covered?! ( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MargotT Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I would put a layer of pond liner between the auboise and the ground, otherwise the auboise could get wet very quickly. it's a system i've been using since January and it seems to work really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C&T Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I would put a layer of pond liner between the auboise and the ground, otherwise the auboise could get wet very quickly. it's a system i've been using since January and it seems to work really well. We don't need to do this - but then our soil is pretty well draining! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baberella Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 OMG just ordered the eglu-now to find some chickens!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicken bark Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Oooh I find this so exciting and it's not even me getting the eglu and chickens. I must get out more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagazer Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Well done!! You will probably go through a really nervous time, wondering what on earth you've just done (I did and a lot of other people have) but once they arrive, you will be wondering how you lived without them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baberella Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 yes how strange, i do feel a little sick- probably the cost!!!!!!!!!!! £500+ to get started, eek better not tell hubby how much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figarogir1 Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 If he is anything like mine he will moan about the cost but then be the proudest chicken mummy you have ever met It took me two years to convince him we needed an eglu and hens and now he is addicted to them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarlettohara Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I did lots of research too - I chose my eglu in December and then waited for better weather, I also got lots of books from the library. I am now saving for a cube - they are totally addictive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ISCA Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I know what you mean about research! I have waited years ( many, many years) to get round to actually getting my own hens. I feel like I have read almost every book and website on the subject and once someone gets me on the subject of hens they can't shut me up My coop and run arrive this weekend. I am not sure if I should rush out and collect my hens the same day or wait a week and get them the following weekend. I do feel rather apprehensive now after waiting so long, so it is good to hear that is a normal feeling amongst new hen keepers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I still dont know how my wife convinced me to get the girls! whats stranger is how she made me say that we need a walk in run then 2 weeks ago she some how made me suggest a cube so we could get some ex batts!.. she is a witch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figarogir1 Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Chicken keeping is addictive you see, for men as well as women It isnt your wife who is a witch but the chickens who have a hypnotic hold over us all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagazer Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I've gone from a cube and normal run, to a WIR and I'm now trying to talk OH into buying some netting so that they can get out just down the bottom of the garden He's getting really fed up with me!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie50 Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 have read lots of links re what to put on the ground...........I do not think we will be able to move the house and run around garden very much so is bark okay to put down or should it be concrete slabs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicken bark Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I wish my chickens would have the same hypnotic effect over my DH as they have over me. He might then understand why I keep getting them little bits and after having 3 for a month am now saying 'I need a cube and lots more chickens'. He is a chicken widower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickichicky Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 If he is anything like mine he will moan about the cost but then be the proudest chicken mummy you have ever met It took me two years to convince him we needed an eglu and hens and now he is addicted to them Yep, same here. He even offers to let them out/shut them in! Have even caught him talking to them when he thinks I can't hear... lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagazer Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I've got mine on a concrete slab, I find it easy then to scoop up the bedding and dispose of. It also means a fox can't dig under and get into the run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
