Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[Happily]

ok, so we have only had the girls a few days but already my brain is thinking about the option on a WIR!!

 

We currently have a cube and the standard run that came with it. My question is how easy in reality is it to build a WIR, I have some DIY experience but nothing like this and hubby is not talented in that way (his talents lay in baking!! ). I mentioned it to hubby and he is concerned that I wouldn't be able to make it to a high enough standard - he doesn't have much faith in me!! I would like to do it myself but am worried that it's alot more difficult than it looks. Also how much does it cost roughly - is it cheaper to do it yourself or to get one from somewhere like averies4u?

 

I have looked at the all the inspiration pics which are all fantsatic and have given me loads of ideas so thanks to everyone who posted their pics x

[migsy]

I have ordered a 6ftx12ft WIR from Bay Animal Housing and I am hoping it will come in the next 2 weeks so I can't tell you how easy or not it is to build it. It will come in panels that have to be screwed together. It cost £287 inc delivery. You can get an more expensive one from Flyte so Fancy which I think would probably be easier to assemble. The lady there told me you only need a cordless screwdriver and it comes with all the fittings and instructions. She reckoned it would take 2 hours. In fact, I'm beginning to wish I got it there as I think it would be much simpler to assemble but that one which I think is about 9ft x 9ft costs around £500 inc delivery. If you email them, they will send you the instructions so you can judge for yourself if you could do it. You could also check out Chirpy Chicks or Chirpy Coups (?) website which do a similar one to Bay.

[furball]

We built a walk in run for our eglu. We had previously built a fenced in run no roof and only 3 ft high and got the fencing second hand. This easter we made the fence posts higher and put a corrugated perspex roof on and put wire mesh all the way round with second hand slabs on the floor of the run. It took 2 of us a week so i dont know where they get 2 hours from. It cost us about £250 and that was including the original fencing etc. It is 21ft long by 4.5 ft wide so our 4 girls have plenty of space. I certainly wouldn't say it works out cheaper if you take the labour time and sweat into considerateion. It might be worth contacting a local joiner and asking for an estimate for him to put it together.

[Happily]

Thanks guys, maybe will contact some joiners locally and see how much they would charge to build one for me.

[chicken bark]

TBH I think it is the base that could pose the problem. I've no problem putting it straight on grass and then when the grass has gone (in about 8 minutes) putting some other bedding down. The problem I see is if the ground is not level.

 

If you have level ground then I know you can buy the panels ready made from some places so you just have to fix them together.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[Redwing]

I made my own, it was oretty straightforward, I made it in panels then screwed it together

 

I'm in the process of building a second one but this time I am putting posts in the ground and putting wire over it

[the-real-tinkerbell]

ive just got this one

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200474311324&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

they were really good the run was £230 and for £40 they dilivered it and put it together im very impressed

[furball]

ive just got this one

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200474311324&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

they were really good the run was £230 and for £40 they dilivered it and put it together im very impressed

Ohhh i wish i had got this, dont get me wrong i love my run, but the idea of someone actually building it for you oh bliss

[sezra]

We have just built a kind of walk in run. We were restricted with the height because of a tree but the principle is the same!

 

We basically made wooden frame panels covered with wired mesh (strong stuff!) and copied the Eglu idea of having a 'skirt' to make it fox proof. We also added paving slabs over the skirt which made it nice to walk on and a bit stronger. It took my husband and I two days to build it and I can assure you we are not experts!

 

[Happily]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, I will save my pennies and then decide which route to go down (do it myself or get someone else to do it). It would be nice to be able to just walk in the run