Eglu Cube Coop and Accessories

[katek]

I am having my first hens on Saturday . They are ex-bats and we are all very excited.

 

I have an eglu.

I have food for them (ex-bat crumb and some pellets)

They will be in the eglu and run when I am at work but will be able to FR in our enclosed garden when we are here. We have a number of foxes around this time of the year but other friends with hens say they are not a problem in the spring/summer so i will set up a larger run for them to use during the day in the new year.

 

How often do I need to use grit, and where do I put it?

How often should I clean out the coop?

How much should I feed them and when can I start giving some corn and other things.

Should I put straw in the nest box and under the perch to collect the poos.

I have some stuff for parasites that says you need to add to the food for three days every month, is this correct? Should I do this straight away or leave it a few weeks?

I have some stuff for parasites that

My mum says her parents used to make their own chicken mash, which their hens went mad for, with cooked veg and some pellet things (not sure what they were, she thinks it may have been barley) has anyone made anything like this.

 

Any basic advice would be appreciated.

[katek]

One of my friends with hens also suggested to have woodchip on the floor due to the bugs it attracts,is this a good idea and should it be removed if mould appears?

[Purplemaniacs]

Welcome to the forum Katek

 

How eggciting

 

I have not had any ex-bats, on the list for the future but I can answer some of your questions.

 

I put grit in a little pot that attaches to the run and they help themselves.

 

I poo pick from the nest daily or you get poo on the eggs two of my girls like to sleep in the nest.

 

I give the eglu a good clean once a week, the poo tray may need emptying every few days depends on how many girls you get, they do poo a lot

 

I put the food in the eglu grub and they have what they want, I think with ex-bats you start them off on ex-bat food and then when they are stronger you can change them to ordinary food, I am sure someone will be along with more knowledge of this.

 

I put a thin layer of Easibed in the bottom of the poo tray and a good depth in the nestbox, Easibed is a type of horsebedding there are other types but I can get Easibed locally, it makes cleaning much easier

 

Good luck

 

Chrissie

[Mercedes55]

I'm fairly new to keeping hens, having got my first lot of ex batts back in July. It really is an exciting feeling waiting for them I know and I'm sure you will give them a very loving home.

 

I let my girls have access to grit and oyster shell mix all the time. I have two small metal dishes that are hooked onto the side of the run and even though they don't need so much of it when they are FR I just like to know it's there for them.

 

I clean my Cube out on a daily basis as in taking out poo from overnight. I have read somewhere that when it's cold it's important to remove the poo regularly as it gets very cold and isn't good to leave in at night when the girls need to get warm. In the warmer months I had an Eglu and I was cleaning that out every week with hot soapy water, steam cleaning the perches, spraying it all with poultry shield and then when it was dry sprinkling some diatom powder inside too. Now that the weather is colder I am only doing a thorough clean every few weeks.

 

I wouldn't recommend using straw, I can't recall the reason why but it's not recommended for use with hens. I use rapport which is a horse bedding and that's in the nest and also under the perches. However you can use just newspaper under the perches or even cross shredded paper. I would imagine when it's really cold that it would be a good idea to put a deeper layer in to keep them warm.

 

The stuff you are talking about that you put in the food sounds like that VerminX which I think is a herbal type of product to protect them from worms, although I haven't used it, but I do use the Flubenvet for worming. I wouldn't think they would need worming right away though as I was told when I got my ex batts that they would be fine for a couple of months and then to worm them twice a year with the Flubenvet powder.

 

The ex batts crumbs and pellets are great for them and it's also good to give them some mixed corn in the afternoon as apparently that will warm the hens up for the colder nights.

 

I'm sure someone with better knowledge and experience will be able to offer you more help.

[katek]

Where can I get flubvenvet from?

[MarkBevBen]

Hiya Kate

 

Welcome to the forum and the fab world of chickens!

 

Like you, we're also new to chicken and Eglu ownership

 

I got some Flubenvet from a website I use regularly for worming/flea things for our doggy, here you go:

 

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/

 

As for maintenance of the Eglu, I use newspaper and shredded paper (great use for all the junk mail we get ) in the nest box. I line the droppings tray with newspaper and empty it every day or two, depending on circumstances.

 

I give the Eglu a good thorough clean every week or so. It's easy enough to maintain I think

 

Good luck with everything and let us know how you get along

[daxigirl]

Hi there,

You can get Bliss (it's a horse bedding about £8 for a bale) for the nest box and I sprinkle it in the poop tray as it stops it sticking it can then go in the composter. The grit is in a plastic galley cup (about 70p) so they can get it when they fancy. I pick out poop daily and give it a wash out once a week and a thorough was once a month. A plastic shower curtain works well to keep the run dry as the sides can be pulled down when it's really pouring.

 

They do get a bit pongy so you might want to invest in some powder disinfectant (Bio-Dry or Stalosan F) to sprinkle on the ground and in the poop tray or think about making a run base with bark chippings if your grass takes too much of a bashing.

 

I hope you have a great weekend chickening. They're so funny to watch and will all have their own personalities too. I always ask on here if I'm unsure too, someone with experience will always be able to tell you.

[katek]

where do you get the cups for 70p!

[Purplemaniacs]

I got mine from Regency Poultry

 

http://www.regencypoultry.com/cagecups/galleypots.htm

 

not sure if link will work but if you google Regency Poultry you should find it 4 pots for £2.50 Large Galley Pots

 

Chrissie

[katek]

thanks

[daxigirl]

I don't know where you are in the country but the SPR centre near Chichester in West Sussex has all sorts of chicken things and lots of advice. They have a good website & mail order system too. I've also bought quite a few things for my girlies on ebay. Lots of the larger poultry breeding places will have bits and pieces too. Hope your collection goes well, how many are you going to get?

[BocBoc]

Ooooh how egg-citing!

 

Straw is ok...it's hay that's not suitable for chickens.

 

The Eglu is exceptionally easy to clean - we give it a good clean with soapy water once a week at the weekend, the straw in the nesting box gets changed then or in the week if it needs it, same with the droppings tray. The tray is wipe clean plastic so we don't line it with anything, the poops slide straight off into the compost bin. The grub and glug get topped up as required and cleaned thoroughly when the Eglu gets done.

 

We have our Eglu and run run on a bed of wood chips (the grass is long gone!) but this needs changing every few months and the earth underneath a good digging over which is a right pain. I'm looking at other options for this when the garden gets an overhaul in the Spring.

 

Good luck with your girls!!

[chicken bark]

Good luck with your hens. It is a wonderful thing you are doing.

 

Lots of people use straw but I avoid it - being hollow it provides a lovely home for red mite if you are unfortunate enough to get them. There is plenty of alternative cheap bedding to use as others have suggested.

[katek]

Well we now have three hens who are lovely

 

They have been named, Samantha, Clucky (who clucked going into the box)and little Jilly

 

Two are much bigger than the third (Can you guess which is the small one?) and have a few missing feathers but not too bad. We put then in the run and one started pacing but soon calmed down. The two larger ones are quite active and explored the whole run quite quickly and kept putting their heads through the bars and upturning their mouth to the sky, I expected this was for food or water so I put some crumb on the floor in front of them and they soon found it and started gobbling. They also found the water quite quicly. Little Jilly stood by the eglu door for about an hour not moving or pecking at all. She has the best feathers of all three bu as I said she is quite a bit smaller. I put some food in front of her, and actually on top of her by mistake! The food on her was eated by Clucky but she still stood still! I was quite worried but we went inside for our tea and they were all pecking when we came out with our pud.

 

So all looks well I put then into the eglu just before dusk as it was raining. Other than when I have held them they don't make any noise at all but I hope they will start clucking like normal hens before long.

 

My only concern now is that Jilly has sneezed twice. Well I think it was a sneeze but very quiet. As I said she before she was pecking I was really quite concerned about her though she seems ok now but I will obviously keep a close eye on here is there anything that I should look for due to the sneeze.

[Plum]

Congratulations and well done for rescueing them.

 

Sneeze may just be stress but watch out for discharge from the eyes or nostrils and any sounds of wheezing or chestiness.

[katek]

They have been great today. My daughter was in the garden with them since breakfast and came running in at 9am shouting 'an egg, an egg' and in deed Clucky had laid a 80g egg in the middle of the run!

 

They already have a pecking order with Samantha on top then little Jilly and poor clucky being pecked by every one. She takes a subservient pose when ever Samantha comes near. I hope they sort this out soon but then seem mostly ok and all are eating and drinking from the correct containers.

 

They have all found some worms and really enjoyed pulling them out and gobbling up!

 

Jilly is the only one brave enough to leave the small run she came out for a few minutes then ran back but again ventured out again later.

 

I wonder if we will get eggs again tomorrow?

[green]

Oh, how exciting! I'm still waiting for my first egg...

[katek]

three eggs today and also a cracked one that my daughter may have missed yesterday. It was quite soft shelled but cracked and covered in poo so had to go straight in the compost bin.

 

I actually thought all three were laid this am, one in the nest and two on the roosting bars, but then another appeared in the run at 10am.

 

Are they laying still due to the conditions in the cages so this flurry will stop soon?

[chicken bark]

Now you can start thinking of delicious ways to eat those lovely eggs.

 

I think they will carry on laying frequently - I don't have ex-bats but of my 5 laying hens I get 3/4 eggs a day. I expect this to tail off over WInter as some are pure breeds but I'm hoping to still get a couple a day off my hybrids. Fingers crossed.

[MarkBevBen]

Well done on your lovely girls and for them giving you eggs too Katie

[chickanne]

The eggcitement of collecting the eggs never wears off.

 

Once they have got used to their new life you are going to have to move them around on the grass as they love to scratch. Thelma and Louise have a large garden to roam around in when I'm home, but the boundaries are leaky to wildlife and they have to be shut in whilst I'm at work. Over the summer I could get away with moving them twice a week but now the grass has stopped growing I will be moving them into a WIR. Last week they did not get moved cos I was away for a few days and it looked like a war zone! When they get locked in for too long they retaliate by throwing food out of the Grub and then scratching it up!!

 

Found tip about the galley cup v useful - am going to get one for their grit. Have been amazed from day one by their ability to walk poo through other bowls......