3.6m Omlet Chicken Run for sale, Brand New in Boxes, Milton Keynes (MK19)

[Haehnchen]

Just wanted to share some things we've found work to help the flock weather the weather:

 

1. We had a blanket we used to use for the beach that's polar-fleecy on one side and has space-blanket foil on the other side. We set that on top of the Eglu and weighted it down with a few pieces of firewood. There's frost on top in the morning, but it seems to retain heat well.

 

2. We bought a 30W heating pad we believe originally purposed for placing under a terrarium and hung it in the back of the Eglu with 2/3rds in the roosting area and 1/3 in the laying area. It's washable, keeps the ambient temperature above freezing and remains cool to the touch so it doesn't jeopardize the Eglu plastic nor the hay in the laying area. http://www.conrad.de/ce/de/product/561172/WAeRMEMATTE-THERMOLUX-30X50-CM-30-W .

 

3. We fought with a completely-frozen-over Glug for a few days, and then thought "we're idiots ... the chickens go inside for the night and can't drink anyway, so why not take the Glug indoors overnight and fill it up with hot water when we let them out in the morning?" Today it's been c. -5-7c all day, but the combination of the sunlight, hot water, injection-molded plastic and chicken drinking has kept it ice-free (albeit slushy) all day.

 

They all seem content and continue to lay their daily quota.

 

The long-range forecast says we might remain below freezing until 20 February. "Cor blimey!", I believe is the appropriate colloquial English phrase.

[Lewis]

Cor blimey indeed!

 

How cold is it at night? Not sure they need the heat mat but won't hurt

 

Good idea to bring the glug in at night... One thing though, try filling it with cold water rather than hot as that takes longer to freeze!

[Haehnchen]

It's been getting down as low as 16-18c at night. The heating pad seems to keep the temperature just a touch warmer in the Cube, but not so warm that there's any sort of shock to the system when they're let out.

 

Our only issue now is that the manure drawers have frozen in, so we may find ourselves having to poop-scoop from the top until they free up. Perhaps we should have put some petroleum jelly on the bottoms. Oh well, live and learn.

[gongladosh]

When it gets that cold in the UK (which pleasingly isn't that often), we tend to put an old bit of carpet on top of the cube. i've got a hot water bottle but I tend not to need it unless I have a hen on her own with "Ooops, word censored!"ody else to cuddle up next to.

 

How many hens do you have?

[Old Speckled Hen]

When it gets that cold in the UK (which pleasingly isn't that often), we tend to put an old bit of carpet on top of the cube.

I see Omlet have a quilted jacket for the Cube for sale.

It got to -15 ˚C for quite a few days here last winter and the hens were quite OK with no extra insulation; I just took the precaution of closing the pop hole at night.

Emptying poo was a doddle.........it was all frozen solid.

[Haehnchen]

Four hens (two white, now equipped with home-made denim poultry saddles) and two brown, we believe all sex links, and one big-ass grizzly rooster who's starting to look like an American Thanksgiving turkey! See some of my earlier posts for the full story. http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=77512&hilit=jackson

 

After a -14.8c evening yesterday, we only had two brown and one white egg today as opposed to the usual 2x2 quota.

 

The heating pad appears to be doing eactly what we hoped it would do ... keep things just warm enough that it doesn't throw them off their rythm.

[Old Speckled Hen]

I hope it doesn't get much colder for you.Looking at the forecast Europe seems gripped in a deep freeze. Keep warm

[gongladosh]

I see Omlet have a quilted jacket for the Cube for sale.

Really?

[gongladosh]

I'll have to go back to Germany on holiday at some point in the summer. We went to Heidelberg a couple of years ago - lovely place. We spent some time in the other towns and villages of the region- really enjoyed it.

[Old Speckled Hen]

I see Omlet have a quilted jacket for the Cube for sale.

Really?

http://www.omlet.co.uk/shop/shop.php?product_id=11989&product_name=Extreme+Temperature+Jacket+for+Eglu+Cube

[gongladosh]

would have had it for £40-50 but not for a hundred quid! I can get bits of carpet for free

[Old Speckled Hen]

Yes it seems a bit steep. I don't think you need anything unless you have maybe just two or three chooks in a Cube.

I'm sure you could do something with a couple of these

http://www.diy.com/nav/build/insulation/hot-water-tank-jackets/Mangers-Cylinder-Jacket-4-Panel-9273779

at £3.00 from B&Q

[WitchHazel]

It looks like a good idea...but for £99 I would expect it to have a separate opening for the egg port, something to accomodate the door (and the door k"Ooops, word censored!")

[Old Speckled Hen]

According to the product description

The extreme temperature jacket for the Eglu Cube simply slips onto the main body of the house for a snug fit. It has zip openings for easy access to the eggport and dropping trays too!

[gongladosh]

fair enough, but it's still a bit expensive!

[Haehnchen]

Still -8c. Everything's freeze-dried. A few more observations:

 

1. The blanket we're using appears to be similar in construction to the Eglu OEM model, albeit shorter. If I'm feeling flush at some point, I'll spring for a shipment from Oxfordshire to Germany.

 

2. Found the frozen chicken manuer problem was an easier fix than previously thought. Whilst the chickens were out feeding, I popped open the lid and used a garden trowel to *carefully* pry loose the rooster bars and knock off any frozen manuer bits. Then I used one hand to hold up the clips and the other gloved hand to deliver a gentle knock on the *inside* of the trays against the back wall and they each came right loose. I then knocked the frozen chunks off into our designated garden trash bucket ... again gently to not crack the plastic. Worked a charm.

 

3. They're still cranking out their 1/hen egg quota and they're USDA Grade AA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_(food)#Grading_by_quality_and_size .

 

Now off to skate on a nearby frozen lake!

[Patricia W]

It's pretty cold here too. Mine have stopped laying totally - not one egg between 15 last week. So you're lucky that yours are keeping going.

[Haehnchen]

It might be our 30W heating pad discussed earlier on the thread, but it's also pretty clear that upping their meal ration a bit, continuing to give them kitchen vegetable s"Ooops, word censored!"s for some greens in their diet as well as keeping their water de-iced has helped.

 

Oh, and another cold weather tip ... The pins that keep the fox-proof run gate closed can be a a bit of a pain to remove and reinsert with gloves, especially when it's cold and dark. I added some short doubled-up lanyards out of indestructable milspec parachute cord http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute_cord and looped them onto the side of the cage, which makes removal and re-insertion a doddle (instead of falling off accidentally into the snow, they just hang there ready for use).