fantasticjudyann Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I have currently got a ' Tony ' but have been looking at the Omlet WIR for when and if we have to move. They look good but I have one or two reservations. What do Omleteers use for the bedding? I currently use aubiose but I see that the Omlet WIR does not have a kickboard so that would mean the aubiose being kicked out. Can the Omlet WIR be used straight on to the earth? My present one is , but Tony put me in a mesh floor so it keeps out foxes and rats. I see that you can now buy covers for the roof and the sides. How robust are these? If any one has got one of these WIRs please can you advise me. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superkitty Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I recently got one (pic on the Welcome to the PleasureDome) thread in Chickens. Im sure I'll change things as i go on but I've started off with link-a-bord around the bottom to stop stuff getting kicked out (which mostly seems to be working) and use woodchip for the floor, just onto the bare earth. The run is fox-proof supposedly..and (touch wood) we don't have a rat problem so I don't know about the latter. I've got the roof covers which seem pretty heavy-duty and am just about to order some side covers which presumably are made out to the same stuff. I love it and the girls do too Oh and they say it takes a few hours to put up...that is a little optimistic! It took me probably 7 or 8 hours work..but I was working in the snow which was hampering things a bit The instructions were pretty clear apart from for the door - I had to call Omlet to figure that out but they were very helpful and it was pretty simple when they explained it to me Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaKiw1 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Ours is on bare earth with just a bit of gravel. We did put wood chip in to start with but the girls seem happy to just dig up the earth. It never gets wet in there as we have a 2m x 6m tarpaflex tarpaulin over the roof and down two sides, held down with bugees and another clear tarpaulin across the back and the front (which folds back as the door opens). We just roll the side and back 'flaps' up to let air in when it is dry (there are obviously lots of gaps too so it's not airtight!) but when they're down they keeps anything but absolutely driving rain out. I prefer the tarpaflex ones as they work out much cheaper than buying the 1m square Omlet ones plus you don't have gaps which i'm sure on the roof would cause a lot of drips. I agree about 'a couple of hours' being optimistic by Omlet - we took a whole afternoon and morning. But it was well worth it. The Omlet WIR looks neat and doesn't 'stand out' like a wooden WIR would, plus if we did want to move it or extend it then it should be (relatively) easy to do. Our 3 girls are really happy in it and often go back in to just mooch around or have a nice dust bath even when the door is open for them to free range - and it is SO much easier to get inside to poo pick and clean! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffy chick Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Mine is still on bare earth too. I keep meaning to fill it with wood chip but so far the bare earth seems ok. Every so often I sweep it out and throw some powdered disinfectant about. I too got a 2m x 6m glass clear tarp for my cover which covers the top and both sides. I bought an extension after this and just got an omlet 1mx2m clear cover for this bit but the tarp is much better (and works out cheaper too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticjudyann Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 Thanks for your replies everyone. You have answered all my queries and more. I am very grateful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaKiw1 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I should have mentioned that we also sprinkle the magic pink stuff - Stalosan - freely over the ground on a Saturday when we clean out the Eglu itsellf properly. It soon gets scratched in. I can't believe how much of the pink dust the girls must consmue as they root around so thank goodness it isn't poisonous! We have lovely mulch in some of our shrubberies which the girls turn to a fine tilth during their free-ranging sessions so every so often i empty a bucket of that into the WIR to give them something fresh to root around in and it quickly dries out and makes them a nice area for a dust bath too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillybettybabs Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Has anyone got photos of their Omlet WIR? I'm trying to persuad OH that i NEEEEEEED one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasperaliceuk Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Here's mine which I set up in September, having only had the Eglu Go five months. We set up a 2m WIR and immediately decided to buy an extra metre - its a lovely size - although I would like it even bigger if I didn't have to chop yet another branch off my apple tree. I've put wood chip in mine - its certainly not as clean now as in that photo. I'm intrigued to know how pea shingle works - silly question - but doesn't it hurt their feet. If it stays cleaner than the wood chip I'd be tempted to change it. Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superkitty Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Welcome to the PleasureDome by Faith Al-Egaily, on Flickr I got this and put it together a couple of weekends ago. Ordered another 1m extension today... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeky Chooky Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Here is my setup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia W Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 How did you do the sideways extension? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeky Chooky Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 A clever OH and some spare panels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
