heth1986 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 1) My wonderful, lovely, super, brilliant, perfect hubby has built my girls a WIR But for some reason I told him I didn't want it covered The girls have a huge lilac bush at the back of the run but I'm thinking of making some sort of rain shelter within the run rather than putting huge tarps over it because I want to grow plants up and across it. Any ideas? (pics welcome for inspiration!) 2) I've been leaving the girls door open at night but the last couple of mornings at 04.30 sharp, I have been woken up by Felicia squaking her head off . My coop (a doodle house) has a 2 inch (ish) square (well, heart actually) in the front which will obviously let some light in. If I shut them in at night, will the light coming through this wake them up anyway and cause her to shout to be let out? 3) I can't remember what question 3 was, i'll come back to you on that one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heth1986 Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 I remembered!..... 3) The WIR is at least 6 x 4 metres square and I have a spare house I can pop in too... guess where I'm going with this . I currently have 3 small hybrids in there and would LOVE to get a couple of blue egg layers, what do you think my maximum chookage would be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan08 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 The other problem with no roof is that it wont keep the chucks safe from predators. Would that be a problem for you? I am also having some problems with wild birds in the girls outdoor run, trying to grab food, they bother me just because they spread disease. You could set up a nice canvas sail with some bungee hooks to offer some shade and rain shelter, no pics but have you seen those triangular ones that they string from posts on the garden shows. Or how about a bit of a gazeebo frame, which you could add some sort of roof, the brushwood screening would look good, a bit like a tropical beach shelter, I would avoid reed/bamboo screens which will be hollow and tempting to mites, Macro have this on offer at the moment £14.39 for a 4m x 1.5m peice. (plus VAT) You can't cover up the heart as its for ventilation, but it will let in less light than having the door open, it is probably worth a try. You could try placing the house so the heart is not facing the rising sun and rigging up a bit of shade across the top to keep the light levels lower. The recommendation is one sqm per bird, so with 24 sqm you have room for a couple more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heth1986 Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 Thanks for that! I wasn't that clear re the roof, it is covered in mesh so it is predator proof, just not waterproof because I thought they'd like to see the sky!!! I'll try shutting them in tonight and see what happens, I'm up at 6 by any means so it's hardly a late start for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan08 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 You have got me thinking now........I would like to add a bit more shelter in the Outdoor run and could rig something up that would look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
