Eglu Go With 2m Run For Sale

[counturchickens]

Just back from Hols in France where there was a heatwave, 36 plus every day. Too hot for me! Anyway got back to blighty and it feels like the winter is coming, so I just had to order the new clear cover for the cube (plus extension). Hopefully the girls will get all the light they can then.

[squiffs]

I'm worrying about keeping them warm, I work all day, leave at 7 and back at 6:30pm so I won't see them to give them corn or mash porridge during the week days

[Olly]

No need to worry - chickens are well-suited to cold weather, in fact they are more at risk of over-heating in summer. As long as they have enough food, they'll keep themselves warm moving around.

[fluffy chick]

Last winter was really bad for us. I live in the wolds and our village was snowed in, we had no power (heating/hot water) for 3 days. I live in an old stone cottage and it was awful, we had ice inside the windows It was -12 outside in the daytime so I had 2 snuggle safe pads which I kept swapping over for the chickens. They huddled over it.

[JS1]

Was about to start a similar thread

 

Last year we have very heavy snow storms from November onwards - poor chickens were completely snowed in and I had to dig a path to them! They basically stayed in the run, which we covered in a heavy duty tarpaulin, so it was pretty dark.

 

This year I'm planning to be more prepared. Assuming we have similar weather, they'll probably be confined to the Cube run, so I'd like to make it as cosy and safe for them as possible, but also pleasant to be in So I've been thinking about combinations of heavy and clear plastic covers. I have the run extension, so I was wondering about getting the full-length plastic cover, but getting the heavy duty cover to put over it in extreme weather. Also, the end covery bits.

 

And (writes very small in case husband reads this) if I manage to get some more ex-batts for the Eglu Classic before then, I'll need to do something similar with that.... my classic shades are needing replaced anyway - they're torn and faded after two years' hard duty in the Highlands!

 

What combinations of shades/covers to other people use?

[Bramble]

The winter was a hard one here too. The chucks seemed to cope well, though the big problem I had was the chucks' drinking water constantly freezing, not something I really found a solution for ...

[JS1]

The chucks seemed to cope well, though the big problem I had was the chucks' drinking water constantly freezing, not something I really found a solution for

 

I'm lucky enough to work from home, so was able to replenish it several times a day. I used a small coop cup attached to the run as it was easier to keep flowing, as it were - and a couple of old dessert bowls. Their actual drinkers weren't much use, although the glug was fine, so long as I didn't put too much in it at once (very heavy to handle when full of frozen water). Little and often worked for me, but wouldn't be any good for people away at work all day

[counturchickens]

Last winter I filled up the glug with warm water every morning. Some days it had frozen on the top, but they pecked through.

[fluffy chick]

 

What combinations of shades/covers to other people use?

 

I've just ordered some clear tarpaulin, you can get much more for your money than the omlet shades. (Sorry omlet )

[ali-s]

I used Omlet shades on the WIR last Winter but the wind ripped a couple of them to shreds.The snow blew into the WIR even before the shades were shredded. I am wondering if sheets of corrugated plastic could be bolted to the run to make it more weather proof this Winter I would only do the North and East sides of the run as that is where the bad weather comes from.

 

Need another feed bin so I can store more pellets. I ran out of pellets a couple of times due to the impassable roads.

 

The plastic gravity drinkers froze to solid blocks and one of them cracked and I had a glug that cracked as the water froze and expanded. I think some one on the forum suggested a galvanised metal drinker up on a square of house bricks with a large 8 hour burning tea light in the middle to stop the water from freezing. I have seen the large tea lights in Asda so I will buy a few bags of them and a metal drinker when i am next in town.

[fluffy chick]

I think some one on the forum suggested a galvanised metal drinker up on a square of house bricks with a large 8 hour burning tea light in the middle to stop the water from freezing. I have seen the large tea lights in Asda so I will buy a few bags of them and a metal drinker when i am next in town.

 

 

You can do the same thing with the snuggle safe pads. THey are about £20, you microwave them for 6 mins and they give out heat for 10 hrs. They really work well.

[hammy72]

me too! although I am still waiting to go on my summer holiday (which will now be an autumn holiday unless we have an Indian summer). Have just been on to Omlet and ordered the clear plastic cover and I am going to move the eglu into a more sheltered spot, which will also give the previous ground a breather. I have also ordered a dustbath (as figure the ground where they currently dustbathe might get muddy) and a Winter Health pack. Oh my girls are spoiled!!! Good tip about putting warm water in the glug too.

[Chooksrus]

We had the same problem with a frozen glug but got over it buy filling with warm water in the morning and adding a small water bottle wrapped in tin foil and also filled with warm water. Seemed to do the trick. I emptied the water when I got home so that it was clear for re-filling in the morning. On the coldest days, and there was some shockers, the worst we got was a thin film of ice on top by the end of the day.

[counturchickens]

Fitted the new clear cover today, really happy with it. Mind you I nearly did myself an injury as our run is almost up against a wall, with a climbing Rose all over it. At one point I was completely tangled in it. I'm not sure the girls appreciated my sacrifice