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

[Isobel]

To my delight my bantam has taken to a clutch of 6 eggs (3 of hers and 3 from my other girls) and has been sitting on them for a week now. I took the other girls (and George!) out of the Eglu and put them into another coop to give her some privacy. However my concern is for when (/if!!) the eggs hatch (I have candled them and they seem ok so far). Clearly the slats are a no-no! I was thinking maybe as the day draws near I should try to cover up the floor and slats with newspaper or something to try and prevent gaps that the chicks can fall through. Althernatively I could try moving her into a suitable broody box (rabbit hutch?) but I am scared she will go off the boil!

 

Can anyone give any advice? I have three questions!

1. Does the risk of her going off the boil reduce the longer I leave her peacefully in place on the eggs?

2. Would it be a bit mad to try and make the inside of the Eglu suitable? I have no experience of what chicks get up to nor how small a crack they can fall into! and

3. I take it I won't need any extra heat source if the mother hen is caring for them after they hatch?

Thanks for any help.

[chuckmum6]

1. She should sit well if she has remained on the net for a week +. I do remove the roosting bars, use newspaper topped with sawdust. Just make sure the floor is flat so the chicks can get back to mum if they come off the nest. I move my broodies into the larger space and put her nest in a cat litter tray, to stop any rolling away from her, but remove this when the chicks start to hatch.

2. Eglues are fine, I have a small ramp I use for the chicks to get up after they go outside.

3. Yes mum will keep them warm and she'll do all of the work too!

 

Good luck

[Isobel]

Thank you very much for the advice. Only problen with my Eglu is that I have the old type with fixed wooden bars so i cant remove them. But I'm reassured by your comments and will try covering up the surface as best I can to plug all gaps!

[Olly]

The wooden slats have always been removable for cleaning, even in the Mark I ... are you quite sure they don't lift out?

[sjp]

I find chicks will cope with a 4inch/100mm step from a couple of days old (mine have no choice as the feeder and drinker are on concrete blocks) my current brood were move into the growers pen at 2 weeks and were jumping up and down the steps to the coop no problem coops raised about 16+ inch off the ground

you'll need a chick drinker and a feeder I use one with an anti scrather ring in it to reduce the feed wastage broodies like to find the food for their chicks so flick it all over the shop plus you'll need chick crumb for about 6 weeks