Different brand auto door??

[clucker1]

We put our wir up last Easter with the intention of putting bracing on to prevent damage by a heavy snowfall and wind...but haven't yet. So far, we have not had a bad gale hit us and the snow was only 4 inches or so and the run was ok. However we do intend to put the bracing on, especially for the snow.

[Plum]

A lot of us have built runs using panels so didn't have to think about it.

[mampoer]

Hi

 

We're the proud owners of a new WIR

The Design: http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=44fcb82e898f14c75bbae50cb28cf854:

 

 

 

 

The old girl, Hilary, took a while to find her home but all are happily tucked up in bed

 

Cheers

K&J

Edited March 2, 2012 by Guest

[Plum]

It's beautiful Looks so fresh and clean, tell the chooks to keep it that way

[Ain't Nobody Here]

That's bootiful . Well done .

 

(I'm glad I'm not the only one who went as far as a Google Sketchup design .)

[mampoer]

That's bootiful . Well done .

 

(I'm glad I'm not the only one who went as far as a Google Sketchup design .)

 

Thank you all - yes, any excuse to use Google Sketch up

[scubababe]

WOW. That is fab. Well done. It looks really well made. Hope the girls look after it and not have too many parties

[scubababe]

Soooooooooooo happy....my WIR is being delivered tomorrow We still need to clear out the area and lay the concrete base but once my husband keeps falling over the WIR he will get it sorted

[Plum]

You'll start getting excited soon

 

I was the same for weeks

[scubababe]

lol...just been so busy haven't had time to think about it and we've been decorating the sitting room ready for new carpets tomorrow so just been in a flat spin but it has now hit me.... I must calm down...it's bedtime...& breath

[SueChick]

Have been quietly planning behind the scenes and reading post after post about WIR's and now am pleased to announce I'm getting one!!! Had to wait until tonight before I started celebrating as the builder had to have a look at the job of removing this raised terrace in our garden to allow space for the run. Had a slight sticky moment when he said it would be a massive job and loads of money but after seeing my forlorn face he stood there for a while having a think and the next thing I know I'm having a chicken stage!! They are going up on the terrace area which will be mad bigger and slabbed across the top so they will be about 4 foot above the rest of the garden on a custom built chicken terrace.

 

So excited!! I'm going to order the omlet run with 1 extension and connect the Eglu and standard run to it - so that will give my 2 pepper pots and 1 gingernut ranger a total of 7 metres scratching ground in a run with a bird's eye view! (Sorry couldn't resist).

 

The work starts 1/5/12 (wish it was tomorrow but oh well) and I'll of course take before, during and after piccies!

 

Now, for all you ingenious chook owners out there.... I'm trying to go 100% plastic on entire thing including enrichment ideas so if you have some ideas on plastic roosting bars/shelves I'm definitely interested in hearing them.

 

Looking forward to planning it all!

[IanT]

Hello everyone!

I am new here, but have been lurking - enjoyed looking at the various runs and coops people have.

Thought about getting chickens 4 years ago, but we were planning on moving, and only now have settled in our home where we plan to stay for the forseeable future. Anyway, we were at a farm in Fife with our three children at Easter and saw an Eglu cube display. The children were excited and we thought, why not? We dont have any other pet as I am alergic to dogs and also away from home most of the day, so not fair on a dog. So we came home and looked at the price of Eglu Cubes. I realised I couldnt afford one! Ouch!

I then went through Ebay, and all the other websites selling Coops and runs, went round and round in my head for days, changing my mind....and came back to Eglu. I need a large secure run and so I have now bought all the wood and fixings to build a 2.5m by 2.8m walk in run. It is at the back of the garage, and against an iron railing on one side, on a bit of a slope, so its certainly a one off. I took a days holiday as most of the bits had arrived, its half decent weather and I was keen to get cracking!

I am off to Southside of Glasgow on Sunday to buy a second hand Eglu Classic, so saving some money there. However, all the bits and pieces for this run are costing an arm and a leg! I think (hope)

 

Only when everything is ready, will we go off to look at some chickens to fill the new home! We are looking at getting four, one for each child, and one between wife and I. Suggestions for starter birds would be much appreciated!

 

If anyone is interested, I'll keep you posted on progress.

 

Regards

Ian

Edited April 13, 2012 by Guest

[IanT]

Meant to say after "hope" above - hope it turns out well!

I'm obviously so excited I cant type properly. Can't sleep either as all my plans are in my head and I keep thinking about how to do this!

Arrrg!

[NannyOgg]

Hi Ian and welcome to the forum...be warned - chickens are addictive! You may do better to post here Intro thread as you'll probably get more of a response

[Plum]

Welcome Ian let us know how your run planning is going, ask ANH for tips she's our Guru.

You can't beat a nice brown hybrid to start with but any of the hybrids are great. Have a look at your local supplier then look up the breeds before you choose is my advice. There are differences in nature between breeds.

 

SueChick how many days?

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Hardly, Plum, but thanks for the compliment .

 

Welcome, IanT, another Omleteer in Scotland . I well remember that feeling of excitement . I couldn't sleep for days before my WIR was built . Absolutely love it now and really enjoy making little adjustments even after 2 years (I think it's been 2 years!)

 

You can have a look at it in my signature link (if you haven't come across it before)!

[IanT]

Hello NannyOgg, Plum and ANH! Many thanks for the warm welcome.

 

I did a fair bit of searching and thinking before starting this and ANH, I did look at your pictures before buying anything.Love your setup ANH! Being in the same part of the country is helpful as it gives you an idea of what is available in your area. Like you I was interested in getting a run delivered from the same place, however, I think they are now under new management as they wouldn't deliver to Scotland. So, nothing else for it to build it myself!

 

I've had a great weekend of working on it, and also saved some money by picking up an Eglu Classic - from a lovely family in Glasgow this morning. They also gave us feeders, drinkers, grit, straw and wood shavings. Emilia our eldest was delighted with all the goodies we came home with.

Anyway, pic of progress here:http://

Chicken Run by IanT530, on Flickr

 

The pic seems to be too big, and has cut off half. If you click the link you will see the rest. Not great with computers!

 

I've got mesh under the grass on both sides of the run where there are no slabs. The family I got the Eglu from had their flock wiped out by foxes, and I am determined that that is not going to happen to ours.

Ill keep you posted - just waiting for hinges, roof panels, me building a table, putting in more soakaways for drainage, perches etc etc.

Thanks again for all the info I have been able to glean from your posts in this forum!

Cheers Ian

[Plum]

Wow that run looks so good and love the colour, well done

 

You have got a vulnerable point though along the edge on grass and border a fox could dig underneath. I would consider putting a couple of slabs down or burying some weldmesh in the soil to stop digging.

 

When are the chooks entering the palace

[IanT]

Thanks Plum,

Wife told me to paint it that colour!

We've only been in our house since December, so didn't want to annoy the neighbours by building a monstrosity so it had to look as good as possible.

Thanks for the tip. I have a slab other side of the sleeper where the border is, will that be enough or should I have one on the other (out) side too?

 

Plan is for us to go and look/buy some hens next Saturday. Currently e-mailing local(ish) suppliers to find out who has what in stock.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

That's looking really good .

[scubababe]

WOW. That is really good. Yes as Plum says, if you could get either some mesh or slabs on the outside it will deter foxes from digging underneath.

 

To give you an idea of what we are going on about, if you have a look in the Omlet shop site at a run you will see that they have a 'skirt' running around the outside edge to stop digging underneath. If you could put something in place where you have soil that would greatly help your security.

[IanT]

Thanks for your help everyone! What a nice bunch!

I've now put a slab down outside, which overlaps the weldmesh under the grass and goes up to the stem of the hedge, so that should sort it. We are off to look at some Chickens on Saturday and a Brown hybrid or two are favourite.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

If you can find a couple of different breeds of chicken who lay different colour eggs, it makes working out who's laid what much easier . Just a thought! Also, getting 3 hens rather than 2 would be a good idea so if you lose one, you're not left with a lone hen (hopefully wouldn't happen, but if you've room for 3 ... ).

[IanT]

Hi,

Thanks ANH, we plan to get 4 in total, and are off to get them today. The plan is to let the 3 children choose one each then we will pick a different one depending on what they have already chosen, so we have a bit of variety. So we are off to Hens Made Easy as soon as breakfast is finished! I'd thought it would be nice to get a couple of good layers as a start but I guess you cant tell kids what they should buy!

 

Been working through the showers this week to finish off the run. The large door is a bit wonky. Was concentrating on making the mesh taught when I attached it and lost sight of the fact that in doing this, my door was pulled out of square! Anyway it is solid enough and safe. Also made a change to design after talking to neighbours, they wanted a fence up, so I've blocked it in at the back where it was open before. Good to keep them onside.

 

Inside I have attached wire to hold the glug and grub, and have a cat litter tray full of fine sand for dust baths - left over when I bought our aquarium etc. I have the Eglu on a table so that they can use space underneath, and have scattered some bark down. Not all over as there is still some turf there, might as well let them pick at that first, then once it is bare I can completely cover the floor in bark. Have yet to set up the external run, hopefully do that this afternoon. Or is it best just to leave them in the covered run for a couple of days until they get settled? I thought I'd read that somewhere?

 

Run by IanT530, on Flickr

[scubababe]

WOW. That is fantastic. You must be sooo pleased with yourself. Well done. have fun choosing your ladies. Can't wait to see the pictures