2009 Omlet cube and run for sale

[Olly]

I wasn't sure whether to put this in 'Eglus, Cubes and Runs' or in here! I'm planning some structural work on the garden - the existing patio keeps flooding as it doesn't drain properly, so it needs relaying and I am going to take the opportunity to change the very awkward shape and expand it a bit. I am thinking of having a sort of drain in the middle, so that in winter I can hose the Eglu down more easily. Has anyone else done anything similar? Any other suggestions for things to incorporate into the design?

 

My garden is quite long and mainly planted out with established shrubs, as my hens only f/r for limited periods they don't do too much damage. The vegetable plot is fenced off with Omlet netting, although I'm considering whether a more permanent solution would be better. Obviously I need a path to the WIR and the compost heaps, just wondered if anyone else had designed their garden around the hens?

[Cinnamon]

We too had a 'wet patch' & that is exactly where the hen pen is situated now......Hubby dug a well & bricked it out,so the excess water goes there rather than seep up through the soil.

If we have excessive rain then the pen can get wet from the ground up, but to be honest it has never really been an issue & the hens seem to love the puddles

The well is very handy for watering the garden in the summer,too.

If you had a ground level well,it could also act as a drain,if the ground sloped into it,but it would obviously need to be lidded to help the local wildlife to avoid it.

[Olly]

Mm, the well is an interesting idea. Sorry, I think my earlier email wasn't clear - the WIR is situated halfway up the garden, in its own site. The patio is directly outside the back door, and it's a bit too small and not very well-constructed.

 

On cleaning days, I dismantle the Eglu and lug it out of the WIR and stand it on the lawn to hose it down, but in winter this makes the lawn very soggy, and of course if it's very cold it then freezes which isn't great for the grass. I was thinking maybe if I had a larger patio with a drain in, it could double as a sort of hosing-down area. I think in my mind I've got a sort of 'wetroom without walls' idea!

 

I do however need to improve drainage around the WIR, and your 'well' idea is a great one!

[Cinnamon]

Ah right,I see.

 

I get around the winter problem by not hosing it down at all in those months,I am afraid

Yes,an outdoor wetroomy type thing would work,but you would need to have it sloping slightly into the drain area,or it would pool up.

[Christian]

I don't hose mine out in the winter either Olly. Virkon and water in a squirty bottle, with pan scrubber does the job just fine. The area that my eglus gets very wet in the winter, even though they are on slabs.

 

If you would like a drain in the patio, then you would need a soakaway, which is quite expensive to dig (unless you are handy with a spade)

[Olly]

I'm getting a man in to do this! the patio needs drainage anyway, it's going to be quite a lot of work and as it abuts a retaining wall where the garden slopes upwards, there will be an awful lot of digging to do. I know my limitations!

 

I don't clean mine every week in winter by any means, but the poo trays and the roosting bars still need hosing down? I did scrub the whole thing out a few times more this winter because I found traces of redmite. I've got someone coming round to advise on garden design, so I'll see what they have to say.

[chickencam]

We have a very wet back garden because we are on heavy clay. Your drain idea sounds good so long as it leads off down the garden.

 

Our garden is totally designed around the hens. We have old dcaffold planks edging all the borders to stop too much soil flying off when the ladies are out, and we have mainly tough shrubs and fruit trees with a small lawn and a greenhouse in the bottom corner.

 

Our Eglu only has 2 older ladies living there at the moment and in the winter they just get their Aubiose changed in the poo tray and the nest box weekly. I give it a quick wipe if it is particularly grubby, but I don't find that it gets too dirty. We then jet wash the whole thing come the spring.