Single hen

[Groovy Chick]

Hi there, HELP!!! My eglu is due next week plus the extended run and converter. Is this enough room for 3 chickens? My garden is not secure for them to roam free yet and I am worried that they will be cramped. Please advise so that I can sleep again. I have never kept chickens before let alone fed, held or talked to one.

[AnnieP]

Yes! Its loads of room! I have the run, with converter and my three girls are perfectly happy in this space all of the time. We let them out for maybe an hour a day when we are around, but they usually take themselves back in there even with the door open! They enjoy feeling safe and secure!

 

Good luck with your girls!

[Groovy Chick]

Hi Annie P

Thanks I feel much better now. We will try plan A and hope for the best. We will be getting our chickens in the middle of June if we can decide on colour and breed. The only trouble is we have too many possible names and not enough chickens.

Do you think keeping them on grass will be ok? I haven't planned on getting bark but lots of pictures in the gallery have bark.

If you have any other pearls for a first time chicken family please pass them on.

[theherd123]

The only trouble is we have too many possible names and not enough chickens.

 

Im afraid the only way out of this one is to buy a cube and get more chickens!

 

 

Do you think keeping them on grass will be ok? I haven't planned on getting bark but lots of pictures in the gallery have bark.

 

Keeping them on grass will be fine but be warned - the grass wont last long!

Bark is ok to use as a base but a lot of us use Hemcore /Aubiose as a base. It is infused with citronella and dries very quickly when it gets damp. You can find it at horsey shops and is approx £7 - £8 a bail.

[MisHapp]

I think the reason so many people have woodchip or aubiose/hemcore as their base, is that they started off with grass and it was decimated!! Seriously, chooks have an amazing lawn mower type skills, and coupled with scratching claws, I'm afraid the death bell tolls for many a beautifully manicured lawn!! LOL!

 

During the summer, most lawns seem able to recover, but during the winter, they can turn into mudbaths. Also, I think the recommendation is actually for woodchip rather than bark and it harbours less mouldy type stuff. We got a tipper truck full of woodchip from a local tree surgeon for £35. (Some tree surgeons are still offering it for free, I think - it just depends on who is in your area and if you strike it lucky with a generous one!)

 

At the moment, my 3 pekins are almost permanently in the Eglu run (woodchip on top of slabs) and are absolutely fine. We did set up a much larger area with woodchip for them and our ducks, but rats seemed to find a way in. BUT, they cannot permeate the Eglu run and slabs, so we are busy redoing their larger area onto slabs at the moment.

 

Yesterday, whilst out in the garden, we let them out for a roam. Our garden is huge and I'm sure has a few hole here and there for escapee artists, so we fence a little area off with easy to move stakes/netting. Omlet do some netting like this that you may want to consider.

 

Hope that helps!

 

MH xx

 

ETA - Cross posted with The Herd!!

[Groovy Chick]

Thanks for the advice. The netting and posts sounds interesting. Please can you provide more info if you get chance. I have looked at all sorts of wire mesh and fence posts and ithe price started to escalate. I lokked at the omlet netting but it looked a little flimsy. Too many options and not enough time!!!!

Thanks

GC

[Egluntyne]

Hi Groovy Chick...I have 4 hens in each of my Eglus which both have a converter and extension. Plenty of room but I do let them play out as much as poss.

[Olly]

I looked at the omlet netting but it looked a little flimsy.

 

It's not flimsy, as my shortsighted cat can testify! It's quite tough, but the poles are slightly flexible - I think this is an advantage, as it stops predators being able to climb it. It's not foxproof, but it keeps chickens in/out of areas of the garden very successfully.

 

It does seem expensive, I hesitated before buying it, but I think most people who have it will confirm that it's worth the money.

[chocchick]

During the summer, most lawns seem able to recover

Not mine, except the area we've banished chickens from and reseeded

 

Flimsy netting is not foxproof, BUT chickens can't land on it, whereas they can perch on thicker chickenwire.

[Groovy Chick]

Has anyone made a netting system similar to the one sold by omlet? I think this will be my plan B.

 

Getting nervous of delivery date

GC

[MisHapp]

Before I purchased my Eglus, I studiously avoided the Omlet website for fear of great temptation.... (we had a wooden chook house) So, for our removable fencing, we used chicken wire and stakes. The chicken wire clipped onto the stakes which could be easily placed into the ground.

 

I think it worked out a little cheaper than the Omlet fencing but I am going to get the Omlet fencing when I can, I think as having the poles already attached seems easier. I got the chook wire and stakes from a garden centre - have also seen them in B&Q/Focus type places.

 

HTH

 

MH x

[Chicken Licken]

it works out at almost identical cost. I have the slightly cheaper B and Q alternative, but it does not have the flexibility of teh omlet stuff and I shall order some when I can afford to.

[beach chick]

I checked out various costs, and the Omlet fencing was certainly not bad value for money. I've found it very easy to set up and move about on my own as necessary (OH not always around when I want him!!).

only thing I would say is order extra pegs, because the gap between each pole is quite long, and if the ground is bumpy or you have long grass you prob want to peg it down in at least 2 places between poles. on short grass, one peg per space seems fine to me.

[Olly]

or just buy tent pegs, which do the job - not quite as cool as the Omlet pegs, but cheaper

 

I wish I could say I found it easy to set up and move around, though - I always end up with an armful of netting the wrong way up and a pole stuck in the wrong place! I do recommend it though.

[beach chick]

olly, I followed someone's advice on here: poke first pole in ground. unwind net to 2nd pole. poke that one in ground. etc etc. once it's up, you can move it in sections... (famous last words!!) you do look quite odd tho, as you end up kind of jigging around the garden!

[Olly]

thanks, it has got a bit easier with practice but I always seem to end up with armfuls of netting and the poles all at the other end of the garden! I'll try that suggestion. It works best if you lay it all out horizontal and then put the poles up, but that's not always practical.

 

I spend most of my time in the garden retrieving escaped hens and plonking them back inside the netting!

[beach chick]

ah yes, all but 1 of mine had made bids for freedom so far, and my chicken catching technique is now honed to a fine art! still havent worked out how they do it, as eglu is in the middle of the run, and the edges never look as if they have been dug up.

I think if I laid all my fencing out in one go, I would still be there now... pole to pole works for me!

[Jukebox Tim]

We've just got one extension and it's plenty of room for our four chooks.