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

[UKMARCH]

Hi, we have taken the plunge and ordered a cube after visiting the shop at Barn Plants. We will have to modify our run and want to fix it to the outside being able to slide the roof forward whilst in place as there isn't a great deal of room to wheel it backwards. I wanted to ask everyone who has done similar does the space where the roof slides in leave a gap when the roof is in its normal position as I am worried about mice/rats going in through the gap as I suppose there will need to be some tolerance to enable the roof to slide without catching.

Then we need to choose what new hens to get

Edited August 19, 2011 by Guest

[Plum]

Sounds a good plan. I haven't got enough space to wheel it back so we made a shaped piece to go over the roof and it can still slide forward and leaves minimal gap

 

 

You could make a door that hinges upwards to move the roof forward then latches down for normal use.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Cookiemonster has a fab WIR that accommodates the cube roof - it's about 1/3 of the scrollbar down (on my laptop, at least!) in this thread.

 

Her OH is a joiner though .

[UKMARCH]

Thanks for those ideas I got the call today and the cube is due next Tuesday so we need to decide! My OH suggested a whole panel of plywood but I thought that would be too dark. I think we can go with an entrance like Plum's we can then reuse our steps with a new shelf I will show OH photos tonight. I agree Cookiemonsters also looks fab very smooth wood I think that might be out of our league our run is made of something more rustic looking although OH did try to round off corners a bit and I did paint it green to blend in with the fences. It might mean I need to start another round of painting last time it took me about 3 years to paint all round the garden and not because its big but because I only did a few panels at a time

[Plum]

Cookies' is good Clever hubby.

 

Show us what you do anyway

[UKMARCH]

We have nearly finished now the cube is in use still some snagging to do but the chickens have spent a couple of nights in there and yesterday there were 3 eggs in the nest box so I was well pleased. We have left the ladder and shelf that they had before with the eglu so they were used to it and went straight in we kept the same colour so I guess it was no big change to them. My DH is going to finish off this weekend and we are hopefully getting a couple of speckled sussex

 

Edited August 20, 2011 by Guest

[Cooks]

oooh I wondered my my ears were ringing, I thought I had an ear problem

 

I have to admit I do love my run, but I wasn't the first omleter to do this, I stole the idea from someone cant think who now.

 

Oh you;ve done a really rice job

 

What mine doesn't show is I also have a piece that slides over the slidey hole to prevent anything craling in

[UKMARCH]

Thanks Cookie I want something to cover the hole too hopefully we will finish off soon its not that big as we have put the cube on a table instead of the wheels so we don't need to raise it up to move it and the holes in the bottom are then blocked. Do you think anything could get in the ventilation hole on the right hand side as that is quite large I notice that on wooden houses the ventilation holes are covered with weld mesh. I think I've got a complex as we had something trying to gnaw its way into the hole in the nest box of the classic so don't want to take any chances.

[Cooks]

I dont thinkI have ever read of anything getting into the cube via that ventilation slot

 

it's looking really nice and I love the bushes and statue, I am

[UKMARCH]

Thank you David was passed to me when my mum died he is not my dad's cup of tea although he kept the scantily clad ladies He keeps telling me that I have him in the wrong place he should be in a border surrounded by large shrubs but I like to put him there where I can see him and the chickens from my kitchen window and when it snows he wears a nice big snow hat!