Ariella26 Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 I'm seriously considering buying the cube but it would need to slot into a space where I wouldn't have all round access to it. I'd be able to clean the cube and would have access through the run door, but looking at the photos of it, one side of the cube has the 'egg hatch' and the other the control to the door. Would I be able to control the door opening on either side? Could I access the eggs from either side? If we absolutely couldn't function with it like that then we could move it away from the wall by about a foot, but that would be about it. Does anyone else have a cube up against a wall/fence/shed? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 I think you would struggle tbh, as the door thingy comes out quite a way when in use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loumabel Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 would it be possible for you to visit someone with a cube and see how it works. There is a list of willing people on this forum and there may be someone in your area. In my opinion you really need to be able to access all sides of the cube to clean it and collect eggs etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 You could leave the pop hole open all the time so wouldnt need access to the handle all the time though it would be useful to be able to shut it ocassionally Is it an option to get an Eglu on its own and have a purpose built run made? that may be a more efficient use of space if its a bit hemmed in so not suitable for a cube? Bay Animal Housing runs start quite cheaply and the difference in price compared to a cube and 3m run wouldnt be very much at all if any a 9ft x 4ft run with an Eglu on a raised platform would do for 4 chooks and you dont have to have it made 6ft high if you dont want to (though its a million times easier to deal with chooks in a full height run!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazzy73 Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 maybe you could access the nestbox through the back,or just slide the roof and you can get to the nest box quite easily, so just have door control side not against the wall and the nestbox door against the wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutti Frutti Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 maybe you could access the nestbox through the back,or just slide the roof and you can get to the nest box quite easily, so just have door control side not against the wall and the nestbox door against the wall. Good idea! You could leave the pop hole open all the time so wouldnt need access to the handle all the time though it would be useful to be able to shut it ocassionally That's exactly what we do and exactly what we thought (about wanting to close it occasionally) so DH "somehow" managed to disconnect the handle from the door on the inside (fiddly and we have some leftover bits ) but at least I can easily slide it shut with just my fingers underneath it at the bottom - we figured we'd need to for Guy Fawkes Night...!!! I just hope he still has the bits and can refit them, should I ever decide to sell my Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariella26 Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 Thanks everyone. I phoned up Omlet to enquire about this and they recommended that if we have a gap of about 40cm between the cube and wall, that ought to be enough to get through and access the eggs. Failing that, to slide the roof open to access them. The handle would be on the other side, away from the fence, so we'd have plenty of room for opening and closing the door. I'm going to get hubby out in the garden with me and the tape measure to see if we can rearrange the garden a bit to make more room. There's no problem fitting in the cube and 3m run in the spot that we're planning on but we also have the tortoise, rabbit and guinea pig enclosures, two sheds and the kids playcabin in the garden. There's not much space left anymore but I'm determined to have some chickens! In all honesty I'd like to see if there's any way we could place the cube to have the option of adding on a further metre in the future if we wanted to, making it a 4m enclosure. The chooks won't be doing much free-ranging, so the more space they have in the run the better. Oh for a bigger garden!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
counturchickens Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 These pics might help, we have a very small garden too, but managed to squeeze a cube in. The cube is just off the wall, we can open and close the door. And now the 'after'! [image]http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h377/callereal63/Cube/IMG_1502.jpg[/img]Had to adapt the cube to allow a side entrance, but there is room at the other side to open and close the door if you don't mind being attacked by the rose! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariella26 Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 Thanks so much!!! The width of your garden looks really similar to the part of our garden we're planning on having the coop. Is that the run that comes with the cube or have you made your own? A side door into the run would be great. Fab photos. It's great to know it can be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
counturchickens Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Hi, it doesn't come with a side gate for the run, but it can be adapted. If you search cube with side entrance you will find it. Plum did something similar. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariella26 Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 Thanks - I've had a look at the side door thread and although I'm finding it a tad hard to understand what's been done as I haven't got the cube and run yet, it's nice to know it is possible to do something. Do you know if the side door involves buying new pieces or whether it was just rearranging the parts that come with the cube and extension. If it's possible to do this with the extension pieces, we'd be able to have a 4m run instead of 3m, which would be perfect! Thanks again...I'm getting excited now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
counturchickens Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 We started with the standard 2m, which is why I have a bit of a thing about omlets chart and how many hens you can keep, but that's another story. We then swapped the end panel which has the door when we added the 1m ext. I could possibly go for another 1m but that would involve getting rid of the bushes, which the girls love to dust bathe under. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariella26 Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 So did you just swap the end panel with a side panel? Is it as simple as that? Please say yes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
counturchickens Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Not quite, it leaves a gap, which filled with part of the 'skirt' the good thing is it's all held together with run clips. I might be tempted to get an extra pack if I were you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariella26 Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 Right, okay - an extra bag of run clips added to the list. Is it still fox-resistant though? I'm sure once it's here and hubby and I are putting it together we'll see what you mean. Thanks so much for your help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
counturchickens Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Ours is on a slab base, and not had any issues. It took some figuring out, but where's there a will there's a way! Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariella26 Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 Ours will be on a slab base too. It can be hubby's new project. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
