Soggy run

[ThinkingChickens]

We currently have six girls and two Eglu Go houses. We would like to merge the girls into one home and didn't want to have to give up our Eglus. How many girls live in your Eglu Cubes? I know the site says up to 10, but that might be a lot for full size hens. I'd love to hear some owner input. Sometimes our girls are trying to all go in one Go. Six girls in a Go is NOT happening. Ha ha.

 

Oh, and the run is of no importance as I have a 9'x12' walk in run and a 25'x 30' area the girls can also roam when we're home.

[chuckmum6]

11 in mine, although it isn't full, I think it is at capacity for well being. I have four big girl and a bantie cockerel who take up the most space the rest are small bantie Wyandottes and tiny Pekins. They have a garden to free range in, although if I move they will be in a WIR

[poppy ben grace]

Hi, i have 9 in mine, did have 10 at one time but sadly lost a girl. They are are mix of hybrids and a big old orpington who is twice the size of her friends! I have never had any problems with this amount of ladies in the cube, i think the main thing is the run space, mine have a massive wir a bit like yours. Good luck with whatever you decide to do, i have to say it would be much easier to clean just one cube rather than the two gos you have at the moment.

[clucker1]

6 here in mine, all hybrids and there is plenty of space for more Planning on another 2 soon, getting posh Burford Browns hopefully. I too am lucky with a nice big run and lots of fr space when they are allowed out under supervision. The HUGE plus point of the cube for me is NO BENDING down. It is all done at hip height.

[Patricia W]

I have 8 big ones in one cube and 3 bantams in another. The 8 free range all the time, (no run) while the 3 little ones have a 3 metre cube run to themselves.

[fluffy chick]

I have 10, 5 huge cochin/orps and 5 tiny bantams so I guess they equal out as 10 normal sized chooks Still a bit of room but it would be a problem for the nest box for any more as one of my cochin fills the nesting box and sits in there for ages before laying

[Mum]

I've had 12 girls all squeeze into one Eglu Classic Not ideal, granted! Not a massive problem during the colder months - the extra heat is a snuggle safe However, I've had to train them to divide themselves between the other 'Lu's at their disposal ... why? ... because when the summer heat strikes, 12 into 1 will not do! By training them in the colder months = health and hygiene in the hotter months

 

The main concern is 'run' space during the daylight hours. I am extremely fortunate (counts blessings!) that I have a quarter acre of land for my girls to FR on a daily basis - the downside is, it also attracts foxes; so, I only FR when I'm around (even though that isn't a deterant to a determined foxy, as I learned to my cost last weekend!)

 

My ambition is to have a cube and keep my 'Lu's as introduction/hospital/incubation wings - but that is some time in the future of dreams and aspirations land

[Purplemaniacs]

I have 6 at the moment but they all sleep in nestbox so I think I could fit another 10 in if they promised to use the roosting bars

 

Chrissie

[Lewis]

I have 3 hybrids, 2 CLB and 9 bantams in mine

Always 2 and mostly 4 sleep in the WIR all year round but I put them all in there when its cold and the littlies all squash up so there is still room for another 5 pekins!

 

They can sleep in the Go but they prefer to squash into the Cube, occasionally lay in there though.

I'll take the 5 pekins and Cilla the Silkie out for Summer and put them in the eglu attached to the standalone Cube run

[ThinkingChickens]

Thank you guys for your comments. Our girls have a HUGE predator safe walk in run (designed after seeing some of yours) and access to two Go's. I want a Cube, but as there aren't any used in the US it's about $1200. That's a lot when we're coming up on growing season. Perhaps, if the girls want to sleep in one GO, being winter, I should just leave the door open and let them sleep where they want to sleep. Perhaps I can create roosts in their run for summer and maybe train them to sleep outside. For seven months they separated at night. I don't know what changed.

[sadietoo]

I only have three girls in my cube but they are all LF... asI am limited by run size (currently we only have the 2m run) during the day when I am at work because I can't FR unless I am there due to foxes. I do worry about them a bit when the weather is as cold as it is, and so I have put a box filled with insulation (screwed up newspaper actually) to fill up a bit of the spare space at the moment...not that the little darlings liked it much to start with!.... Hoping to extend to the 3m run in the summer and will add to the flock by maybe one or two smaller girls if possible.

[goodinparts]

Hi...I have 7 in mine (have been up to 9 before a couple of sad demises)...but there's TONS of space as the Barbu d'Anvers roost on the division between the nesting box and the roosting bars & the hybrids insist on sleeping in the nest box. This means there are just 4 little bantams in the main space - so at some point I will encourage the ex batts to move in with them (they offered hospitality to the rest of the flock in the go the other night, when the door to the cube run blew shut and "Ooops, word censored!"ody could go to bed!)...so that I can, please God, finally achieve a couple of faverolles come the spring...

 

I have 4 run extensions, and they all FR most of the day...so it really feels fine.

[MaggieMcHen]

I have 8 at present but have had more and will again in the future as I would like to hatch some fertile eggs under one of my girls this summering - they have free access to the 24' x 12' WIR 24/7 and access to an Eglu too but never use it

[Chucky Mama]

5 in mine but they only really sleep there, they are out and about all day.

[NannyOgg]

Five in mine at present - Big Ol' Esme the Orpington, a Wyandotte, Araucana and 2 Pekins. Hopefully the brood will be added to this year, as I've already got a Classic ready for when my WIR is built...then I can put those broody Pekins to work with some fertile eggs!

 

Plenty of room in the cube, in fact all five of them bundle into the nest box to sleep, so I could probably fit another 10 in there to actually use the roosting bars!

[daxigirl]

11 until recently, currently 9.