Door too small for Jersey Giant?

[karena]

Hello

I'm thinking of getting a WIR. I let my chooks free range when I can, but last year I hated the winter when they were all cooped up. It made me pretty sad. They also have feather pecking issues, so I don't want to give them more ammo for that to be worse. So, do people think that a WIR will make much a difference to them? If they have extra space in terms of levels etc. At the moment they are in an extended Eglu run (there are 3 of them), and I'm looking at a 9x6x6 WIR.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

[Olly]

I think extra space will probably relieve some of the pressures, but it won't necessarily stop feather-pecking, I still have this despite all sorts of distractions.

 

I can guarantee 100% however that a WIR will make YOU happier - it makes chicken-keeping so much easier.

[karena]

That sounds good as I could have cried by the end of last winter!

[poppy ben grace]

I am sure and i think most people would agree that hens are happier with as much space as we can give them! At least with a wir you can build some perches to make life a bit more exciting. I have a large wir for my big girls and they seem very content. Personally i think your chooks would be very happy, its hard during the winter months keeping them warm and dry, at least with a wir you could but a roof on it and they would be nice and snug if the winter is as bad as last years! Good luck whatever you decide. p.s we will want pics of the finished creation!

[LunaKiw1]

We originally had two chooks in a standard Eglu Classic run and they free ranged most of the day as well. They had plenty of room in the run but did used to pace up and down a lot. We then bought an Omlet WIR and attached that to the run. They did immediately just seem more 'chilled' and moved about the whole area rather than clustering at one end. They even used to happily wander back inside and make dustbaths even when they were officially free-ranging which made me feel they liked their bigger home much more. We now have 3 chooks (new ones after the original 2 were PTS) and i am so glad we have the WIR. They too seem to use all the space and not feel hemmed in. And for me it is unbelivably better to be able to stand up inside to do their food and poo pick. So if you can afford one, go for it!

[karena]

Cheers both - that's useful

[Space Chick]

Simple answer... Yes, you can add tables in, perches, and they have so much fun. I have a large plastic pasting table from B&Q which they love, I also have smaller plastic table. There are so many more options when you have WIRs. I have (in both of mine) a rabbit run which can be open most of the time, but can be closed off for intros, but gives a fab upstairs/downstairs mezzanine level

[karena]

Ooo just realised we were wondering earlier what to do with our wallpapering table when we've finished with it