Poorly chicken

[AndyRoo]

Hello all,

 

I've noticed with the new style of Eglu Cube it says that it can hold up to 4 large breed hens, or 6 -8 medium sized hens, so my question is: what breeds constitute medium size and large size hens respectively?

 

Thanks,

Andy

[sjp]

I think most hybrids are classed as medium breeds along with leghorns possibly cream and gold legbars through that depends on the strain both of my CLBs have been/are small. mos of the 'Mediterranean breeds' are medium sized.

large breeds could include marans sussex RIR dotties barnvelders welsummers naked necks

then there's the Orpingtons, Brahmas and Cochins which are extra large

but as size is relative other folk will have different ideas

[mullethunter]

Ive always assumed that by large they mean something Orpington / Brahma sized, and all other large fowl are medium. But that's just an assumption and in fact SJP might be nearer the truth.

 

You could ring Omlet and ask them (in my experience they're very helpful on the phone but rubbish at replying to emails).

[Lewis]

It'll be fine for 6-8 hybrids, chickens tend to squeeze up at night anyway. I usually say a large hand span of perch space per chicken.

 

Large breeds I would say are Brahma, Orpington and Cochin.

[AndyRoo]

We were thinking of getting the following (mostly for a mix of egg colours to amused nieces and nephews etc.):

 

Cou cou maran

Partridge leghorn

Cream legbar

Bluebelle

 

And then possibly in a year or so introducing another 3 hens to add to the flock.

[emmalou]

Personally I would not get a Maran,Sussex or medicis in an eglu, now that mine are a decent size. I think they are much suited to a self built coop. They (Eglus) just look too small for a hen of that breed/size. As far as our red and blacks they would be fine. Of course this does depend on how many you have too.

[AndyRoo]

Personally I would not get a Maran,Sussex or medicis in an eglu, now that mine are a decent size. I think they are much suited to a self built coop. They (Eglus) just look too small for a hen of that breed/size. As far as our red and blacks they would be fine. Of course this does depend on how many you have too.

 

Okay. I might have a look at an alternative to the maran then.

 

Thank you!

[Cat tails]

I think quite a number of people here happily keep Sussex and Marans in Cubes.

[Chickabee]

Sounds like a lovely mix to me. I've got a Marans in my cube and have a a medecis, which is a type of Sussex. Not caused any problems at all. Looking forward to seeing pictures of your new flock

[mullethunter]

I would not get a Maran,Sussex or medicis in an eglu, now that mine are a decent size. I think they are much suited to a self built coop. They (Eglus) just look too small for a hen of that breed/size.

 

Are you thinking of an eglu classic Emmalou? Because I think a Cube would be plenty big enough.

[AndyRoo]

It'll definitely be one of the Cubes, just not sure which one. I always feel like bigger is better... ummm... that sounded better in my head...

 

But I figure the more room they have to share, the happier they'll be.

[emmalou]

Go bigger for sure AndyRoo. Like you say they will be happier and secondly if you want to get more which is inevitable something with a bit of extra room is good. I do think a self build is cheaper and allows you to tailor it to suit yours and your chooks needs. I am not keen on Eglu designs but that is personal preference. They are quite expensive too. The size of the run too is a massive thing for me. There are so many runs on the market which are so small I would not entertain getting hens in and what's more are beyond ridiculous cost wise. We have a 13 metre run and I guarantee it was half the price of a small run.nThe coop was designed with tongue and groove wood and is easy to clean, at waist height so no bending over or struggling to depoop.

[Lewis]

We've had Marans and Sussex in the Classic and Cube with no problems at all

Don't know what a medicis is so assuming a hybrid and similar size.

[sjp]

We've had Marans and Sussex in the Classic and Cube with no problems at all

Don't know what a medicis is so assuming a hybrid and similar size.

looks like a silver Sussex hybrid from the pics I've seen also seen it refereed to as a magpie hybrid

[Chickabee]

 

Here's a picture of mine Andyroo. Behind it you can see my Go, with extension, which houses 4 bantams. Next to it is my low rise WIR for the ducks. Down the garden I have an extended classic for my black tails. In the stable I have a pekin frizzle, 3 quail and a Jasmine.(and the cat)

 

The whole thing needs a good jet wash, but mines broken . It all looks very eclectic, I'm just animal mad. My chicken collection is equally eclecltic

[AndyRoo]

Here's a picture of mine Andyroo. Behind it you can see my Go, with extension, which houses 4 bantams. Next to it is my low rise WIR for the ducks. Down the garden I have an extended classic for my black tails. In the stable I have a pekin frizzle, 3 quail and a Jasmine.(and the cat)

 

The whole thing needs a good jet wash, but mines broken . It all looks very eclectic, I'm just animal mad. My chicken collection is equally eclecltic

 

It looks great!

 

We're getting an Eglu Cube (the original ones, not the brand new type) with a 6M WIR. We're planning on getting our hens from a place called Charlotte's Poultry: http://www.charlottespoultry.com which is local to us, and has a good reputation.

 

We're going to get 4-5 of their hybrids. Because of the nieces and nephews, we wanted to get some hens that will lay a range of different egg colours, so we're now thinking:

 

1 Hillcrest Blue (for the blue/green eggs) - we might get two of these for the novelty of the colours

1 Tri-colour/Partridge Leghorn (for white eggs) - I'd read that, compared with a regular white Leghorn, that these hybrids tended to be a little less flighty, although I've no idea if that is true

1 Hillcrest Ranger (for dark brown eggs)

1 Red Star (for the medium brown eggs

[Chickabee]

Sounds great. My white star isn't flighty, but isn't a great layer either. I don't mind that though, as long as she's healthy

[UKMARCH]

We have Marans and Sussex too in our cube we have our own ladder though. We have had various hybrids and my favourites were the Sussex reverse and the Amber Star who was cream with brown she was very friendly laid lovely eggs too!