Stoat killed hens asleep in the Eglu

[Sageandonion]

...just wondering what your cleaning/red mite prevention regime involves - in terms of time and what products you use etc. Also do you treat the wood with preservative from time to time? Sorry still mulling over whether to follow my heart and go for a wooden coup or follow my head and go for an eglu . Hope choosing the chickens is easier !

[Helen]

I have owned both, currently have a wooden coop which I much prefer. It is high off the ground to easier to clean, huge door opens so I can clean out easier, base that slides out to clean, I keep it clean by pooh picking up off the thick layer of auboise every other day. Have 5 chooks and it isn't a problem. It was very expensive from framebows but bought it as an investment and combined birthday and xmas pressie. I only ever had an eglu not a cube so to be fair am not comparing like with like but do love my wooden coop.

Helen

[patsylabrador]

I clean their coop out once a week. I always have a thick layer of newspaper which I put horse bedding type stuff on(I'm using elephant grass at the moment) and it all just rolls up and out. Easy.

I brush out and wash the coop with fairy liquid, leave it to dry, then spray it with poultry shield, leave it to dry and then dust the coop with diatom or mite barrier.

When I put the bedding in I sprinkle that with diatom or mite barrier.

It takes 15 - 30 mins depending on how quickly the coop dries out. I don't absolutely soak it and find it dries out quite quickly.

 

Once a month I give the roof and outside crevices a good scrub.

Once it has been inspected by the chickens and found to be at an acceptable level, we're done.

I pick the poo out of the coop every morning which keeps it fresh all week anyway, so only have to clean it out because of bugs, mites etc.

[joza2210]

All My houses are wooden ... I clean them out about every 3 weeks (Full removing all sawdust and then filling back up)

And then every month i dust each house with red mite powder ...

Hope This Helps

[Guest]

From what i know they are easier to keep.

 

I do what joza does.

 

It also is much cooler in summer and you don't get the melting like an eglu (sorry eglu guys).

 

They are also cheaper so are used by young and new keepers.

 

They also look SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better.

[tom123]

All of my houses are wooden ( all 37 of them, I counted last night! )

 

I treat each one inside and out with a creosote substitute every January to keep them nice and neat and this seems to help with preventing red mite. I clean out once a week, take out all the bedding, disinfect with poultry shield and leave to dry. Dust with red mite powder and put new bedding in.

 

Honestly, if I was starting again and knew about both houses I would go for the wooden coop although it is personal preference as to whether you like a traditional or modern style coop. And before anyone says you don't know until you've tried an eglu, I have! I had a little mark 1 and didn't really get on with it

[Helen]

This thread does seem a little one sided to wooden coops and I know there are 100's out there that would swear by an eglu or cube as they are easy to keep clean etc, my one disappointment is they fade so quickly in the sunlight and resemble sad old Little Tyke toys whereas a wooden coop does deteriorate but not as obviously and can be freshened up with a coat of chicken friendly gunk. The choice I think is Totally personal to which you prefer.

Helen

[ISCA]

I chose to have a wooden hen house and run and have to say I love it!

 

I have had mine 11 weeks, so not long. I clean the coop out completely every fortnight, but remove poo and feathers every other day. I use Diatom (especially on the emds of the perches where mite can congregate) and BioDri to keep it fresh and use Poultry Shield every clean out time. It is too early to say if this regime prevents mite. Mine has an Onduline roof and great ventilation, which helps reduce the risk of red mite I believe. Felt roofing is not recommended as mites love it.

 

Mine was from Woodenart.

[madchickenlady]

I love my wooden coop (aka the Chicken Palace). I clean out the sleeping area every other day (just use a layer of newspaper) and poo pick the nest boxes if necessary. In the summer, I wash it out weekly with a weak disinfectant solution, then dust with mite powder. The covered run is filled with a good layer of aubiose, which I replace monthly. Pics are on my blog (link in signiture).

[Redwing]

Eglus are not hot inside in summer - a common myth

 

I have Eglus and wooden houses

 

I like both

 

Wooden houses clean:

 

I use a feed scoop (kept for just this) to get the bedding out then use a wallpaper s"Ooops, word censored!"er or shave hook to get little bits out of the corners and s"Ooops, word censored!"e any stubborn bits off the floor

 

Any perches are s"Ooops, word censored!"ed off too

 

I then spray the corners down with red mite spray or poultry shield

 

then new bedding goes in

 

Every now and again I will empty the house and thoroughly spray it with mite spray leaving it to dry out before new bedding goes in

 

I have a couple of houses treated with creosote replacement which seem to fare better when it comes to red mite so I plan to use this on all my wooden houses now

 

The design of a wooden coop is all important, removable nest boxes and perches are a must as is a nice big door to get at the inside for easy cleaning. A house raised up to knee height or above is a lot easier to clean

[meezers]

I had both my coops made for me by my father to my design. They are plywood , with the frame on the outside, doesn't look too pretty, but means there are less joints for red mite to hide in. So far ( fingers crossed ) I haven't seen any red mite. I clean out once a week.I have a large plastic seed tray as a nest box in one of the coops, that gets emptied and dusted with red mite powder before being refilled. I have a layer of newspaper on the floor, or an opened paper feed sack is just the right size. Under that and in all the joints I sprinkle red mite powder. I put a thin layer of easi bed under the perches. The perches are removable, I s"Ooops, word censored!"e them down and put red mite powder in the brackets holding them. When cleaning out, I just roll up newspaper and bedding, takes about 5 mins tops.

[chicken bark]

I've not got a wooden coop but I think they can be excellent and not necessarily the 'heart' choice if they are well designed and maintained.

 

In my short chicken keeping time I have had three plastic houses. I currently have a Solway house which is easy to clean and I have recently purchased a Green Frog Design house which looks like a more traditional house but is made of plastic. It all comes apart if required and is very easy to clean - it also has perches which I prefer to roosting bars as I find them easier to clean.

 

As Redwing says plastic does not mean it will get hot inside. Any house can get too hot if it doesn't have adequate ventilation.

 

So really it is only a choice of which you prefer - both wood and plastic can be a 'head' choice. For me it was plastic as I was unsure about the redmite thing - but you can use products to prevent them in both wood and plastic houses. Also I wanted a house I could drench with water and would dry quickly and I wanted a house that did not need 'maintaining'. Only time will tell with that one though.

 

You'll end up getting more hens and buying both anyway.

[jennydavies]

We have a wooden hen-house as well and we love it. The height is good so I don't have to bend down at cleaning time and the big zinc tray under the sleeping perches pulls right out so cleaning each morning is simple. I change the aubiose in the nesting boxes each week and do a thorough clean with disinfectant and red-mite concentrate at the same time. After cleaning everything is dusted with Diatom and I haven't seen any red-mites or bugs.

[donald]

Hi

 

No wood anymore for me. I had a Forsham(have a look at the prices for indication on the web) looked very quaint etc and it was eventually full of bugs (some tasty others not) It ended up on the bonfire, so it was a big meltdown. The roof was full of woodlice despite my treatments.

 

The door also in the wet swelled up and wouldnt shut properly.

 

I have a cube on wheels so not an eglu(although this could be put on a raised surface as others do). I dont have to bend down as I just slide the trays out (takes a couple of minutes).

Have owned it over a year with no mites whatsoever, south facing garden in direct sun no problems and no hot chickens as it is double ...bonded?? It survived the snow unmarked etc and I am very pleased and am now looking to expand to have a little eglu.

 

I still have a little wooden house for introductions but it is soaked at the sides after the shower last night. I can understand people building their own as they are pricey but I am sure I would end up getting through two or three wooden houses as opposed to one. Perhaps go and see one locally as thats what I did prior to purchase.

 

I have mentioned my omlet to some long term chick keepers and their immediate reaction is oh no!! However I have seen the omlet van around my area a few times lately First class product ten out of ten.

 

Good luck great little chickens

Donald

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I don't have a wooden coop (although I think they look lovely ) but in defence of the eglu, mine hasn't faded or melted in 3 years (might be that pathetic Scottish sun, though ) and as I have mine up on a table, bending isn't an issue either .

[Jules.]

I'm an & myself

[Isabel]

I've a wooden coop - again, it's the right height for cleaning with a slide out poo-tray and removable nest boxes. I've only had my chickens for a couple of moonths so am just trying to find the right intervals between my big cleans. I'm that so many of you do a complete clean-out each week - I feel like a messy housekeeper by comparison! Tom, it must take you an age to do 37 houses!!

 

So far, I'm poo-picking every morning (have about 1-2" of aubiose under the perch bars) - the bedding stays really clean if I am careful to take all the little bits out! I've done the big clean twice in 8 weeks - once after 3 weeks and then (due to weather, children and visitors rather than my laziness!) after 5 weeks. Big clean is remove all bedding and brush out. S"Ooops, word censored!"e anything which needed s"Ooops, word censored!"ed (very little thanks to aubiose) then drench the whole kit and caboodle with Poultry Shield. Once it's dry I put it all back together with fresh bedding liberally sprinkled in Diatom. However, this time I did put Diatom under the perch bar and also along it as well.

 

Now having read, and learned from this thread, I'll be puffing the diatom over all the internal surfaces and shall make sure my big clean is maybe at 3-4 weekly intervals rather than letting it drift. Obviously, if I get mite, I'll have to rethink!

 

Oh, and having been window shopping on the Flyte So Fancy website I'll be sealing the house with marine-seal before winter!

 

Isabel

[Jools]

I feel like a messy housekeeper by comparison!

 

So far, I'm poo-picking every morning (have about 1-2" of aubiose under the perch bars) - the bedding stays really clean if I am careful to take all the little bits out! I've done the big clean twice in 8 weeks - once after 3 weeks and then (due to weather, children and visitors rather than my laziness!) after 5 weeks. Big clean is remove all bedding and brush out. S"Ooops, word censored!"e anything which needed s"Ooops, word censored!"ed (very little thanks to aubiose) then drench the whole kit and caboodle with Poultry Shield. Once it's dry I put it all back together with fresh bedding liberally sprinkled in Diatom. However, this time I did put Diatom under the perch bar and also along it as well

 

Well if you are, then I am too, but after over seven years of chicken keeping in wooden coops, I can only say it works.

 

I do the same as you, except I use Barrier Red Mite powder instead of Diatom and I only spray with Poultry Shield twice a year (at most).

[Isabel]

Jools Thanks ... feel like I can drop the guilt trip now. If you're doing it with no problems, then brilliant!!

[Jools]

Glad to be of service

[Sageandonion]

Thank you all so much for your replies - the cleaning regime doesn't sound as arduous as I first thought, just need to convince hen dad in waiting .

[abwsco]

When I had my wooden one my routine was the same as Jools.