My eco solution to rat problems

[sparkleeeeee]

My lovely green cube came this morning, i am so excited as its wasnt due until tomorrow.

hubbie called me when i was on my way to the bank after dropping my little boy at nursery. he said the box was really damaged and should he send it back!! ohhhhh noooooo!!!! ... i told him to sign for it as damaged and i would come straight back. so i came racing back!! as i pulled into the drive i saw a row of perfectly complete and undamaged boxes. i was really angry that he got me so worried and that i could have at least gone to the bank first as now i have to go out again and he is not in the good books for breaking my lovely le creuset gas kettle this morning.

anyway i looked in horror when it said two hours to assemble and i only had a normal screwdriver. luckily it only took less than 40mins because i dont have the run (so that must be a pain to fit together)

i do have big gaps on the sides like people have already mentioned, i am hoping it will not leak as we are due for alot of wet weather this week. also the roosting bars fell to bits immediately they need to find a better way of fixing them together.

i do have some photos but the camera is charging as it ran out when i was putting the roof on. i will add the photos to my album later. i just have to go and cut a hole in the mesh now so the chooks can get in.

 

do we have a cube dance??

 

now how many more chooks can i get in the cube as it is huge!!

[moochoo]

What a naughty hubbie!! Great news about getting your cube a day early though, congratulations!

Obviously piccies are a must

[Snowy]

Woohooo! Great news Sparkleee! Omlet must have had words with Nightfreight as mine cam a day early too! (well actually 3 days early as it was due Monday and arrived Friday! ). Didn't take long at all to put together - I agree, it must be the run that's a pain.

 

Make sure you have room to pull it away from the run for cleaning otherwise you can't push the roof panel forwards to remove the back panel. I was worried about securing it to the run, but it is so heavy I've just left it pushed against the netting. I have used short bungees to attach the cube legs to the netting though. Easy for me to undo, but means nothing else can push the cube backwards to get between cube and netting.

 

Can't wait to see the pics!

[sparkleeeeee]

oh snowy....... i almost cable tied the legs to the mesh and then realised i needed to be able to pull the cube out to get the roof of.

bungies are a great idea, i was going to use carabinas. i have managed to do the mesh hole for the door but i had a bit more difficulty than you did because i have some wood supports in the way so i had to double mesh a bit. also my mesh is super sharp when cut so i have tried bending it around so the chooks dont get cut.

i am going to go and take some more pictures if the camera has charged.

its great as i now have a couple of days to scrub the eglus before the ebay auction end

[sparkleeeeee]

photos are going on my album now

all nine chooks are sunggled up in their new home, babies in the nesting section and the big girls on the roosting bars. there is loads of room.

[Chocobo]

Congratulations

[Snowy]

Looks great Sparkleee! Your run looks fab too I had a selection of small children in mine while it was being assembled - they love it don't they.

[sparkleeeeee]

yes they do love it but trying to keep them out now the chickens have been in there is a problem.

it looks like the chooks all had a good night but there was a bit of fighting this morning. i have attempted to fit a bumper bar on the worst mikka but just couldnt get it on. she fell asleep in my lap waiting for me to get it on. might resort to getting the antipeck spray instead.

[Jules.]

[Guest]

Gosh - congratulations - seeing mine must have done it!

[sparkleeeeee]

yes Dilly yours is lovely and when i built my run i knew it was the best thing to do. i did a pros and cons list and my little boy can just manage to get to the egg port (not that we have any eggs!!)

the roosting bars are a complete pain and they constantly fall to bits so i have hammered more nails in and i am going to be making a new set this week. and my new cube leaks!!! which i am not very happy about so i am going to try to seal up the gaps with door insulation strips.

[Guest]

I think we all have the same issues with the roosting bars And the sealing strips 'are in the pipeline'.

 

But apart from that the cube is great - and today I cleaned mine out again - a weekly easy job that needs doing with so many chickens - and just thought - wow - this is brilliant and is so much better for my back!

[sparkleeeeee]

oh dilly

i love mine so much, it is easier to clean and i am lucky that the compost bin is just behind the cube (although the compost bin is full, so i might have to make another one). i am at the moment trying to make some plastic roosting bars because they will be much easier to clean and i am going to change it into two smaller ones. i will let you know how i get on. the wood thay have made the new ones from is really hard to clean and they look dreadful already.

it is really nice at bedtime the chooks all line in a que to go up to the cube and they sit and wait ofr my little boy to come out and shut the door.

i do miss the eglus as they did look really nice in the garden but it is nice having a bigger run for the chooks

[Egluntyne]

The reason the roosting bars are wooden is so that the hens can grip.

 

It would be interesting to see how you get on with the plastic ones.

 

How are you going about it?

 

If they are successful....I might order some off you!

[Guest]

I totally agree about the wooden ones - so won't comment any more on their quality - but if you paint your wooden roosting bars with plastidip it is nice and grippy.

 

My little bantams and miniatures have no probs with the cube ladder so I am sure that plastic bars would be no probs - but I would probably coat them in the plastidip I if got any (I'm in the queue too for your new business venture S )

 

As the finish would be soft and grippy too.