Warm boot recommendations please

[Chickenlicken]

Hello everyone,

I spent 4.5 hours sitting listening (yes, painful!!) to a couple yesterday who were running a 'foundation course in keeping chickens in your garden' course. I won't say who they were, but they advertise in a well known poultry magazine, and their website etc sounded really good. Anyway, i have no doubt that they know a lot about chickens , but i'm not sure that their 'vision' is the same as mine regarding happy hens.

They dismissed Omlet Eglus as being the worst type of coop going, mainly due to 'the roosting bars being too close together', and ease of cleaning. (Run and coop).  However, i see the what to me are the positives, such as fox proof runs, and what I perceived as plastic should be easier to clean out than wood.  I don't have the space for a large covered run, nor will I have more hens than will be happy living in a 2m run. 

 

My main ask then please, is are the Eglus (Gos and Classics) hell to keep clean?  I am not a lazy person, I get up early every morning to feed the wild birds in my garden, who have fresh food and water every day, and I clean out their feeders regularly. I also have other pets who are properly cared for, so i quite expect to have to clean the chickens on a daily basis.

 

When i saw how the couple kept their chickens, I was not that impressed. They were not cruel, but it would not be what i would want for chickens in my care.

[Cat tails]

Cleaning is easy piecy lemon squeezy! When I just got my coop and chickens, I made this little tutorial. I do have to add that I now clean the roosting bars with hot water and a ecological detergent. In winter it tends to get more mucky.

[Chickenlicken]

Thank you! That was really helpful. We get a paper every day in the week; I usually keep them for my son and his guinea pigs, but also take them to our local wildlife rescue. However, I still have plenty spare. 

I suppose a Classic is closer to the ground, so the only difference would be to kneel down. 

[Cat tails]

No experience with a Classic, so can’t help you there. I do use a fold of 3 pages (6 in total), so it can absorb a bit and won’t rip when cleaning out. Also don’t use straw as it will be a perfect host to all kind of crawlies.

[The Dogmother]

4.5 hours!!!!!!???? Mine only last 2 hours, 2.5 for the advanced one.... I couldn't talk for that long!

I have the original designs, so a classic and mark 1 cubes - they are all a doddle to clean; I wouldn't have them if they weren't.

[Minnie&Moose]

I'm another one who finds eglu classics and mark 1 cubes easy and quick to clean.  I also have a well designed, wooden coop - takes me a lot longer to clean that one than it does to clean the cube and the 2 classics currently occupied!  Yes, there are a few aspects of the wooden house that I like better than the cube (nice, gently sloping, solid ladder for big, elderly birds with humongous feet; easier to move around than the cube - it's designed to be pushed like a wheelbarrow so much easier to move around our lumpy field) - but on balance I prefer the cube and classics and the birds don't seem to care that much - they appear to choose whichever one is most familiar to them when they have the choice.

[Patricia W]

We had this anti- Omlet viewpoint a lot in the early days.  I’m surprised it’s still around.  

[The Dogmother]

It's still out there and going strong 🙄

[Chickenlicken]

Thanks all for your views. The main reason that i was told that Eglus were rubbish, were that the roosting bars are too close together, but I was then told that most chickens bunch up close together at night anyway for heat and for protection against predators.  I assumed that this meant that there were more droppings to clean up. Well, if I was going to clean it daily anyway, it doesn't make any difference anyway!!

I think that i may have found someone willing to sell a Classic and run, plus additional fencing, covers, perches etc. She is actually looking to rehome her three hens too, but they are 4 year old ex battery chickens, so i know that their egg production and life spans may be low.  I have offered to see if I can find a good home for the hens first. I still need to find out the price for all the equipment yet. A figure of £250 was mentioned, but that came from a third party. 

[The Dogmother]

Good luck - Classics are very good and easy to clean. I wouldn't bother with cleaning it out every day - unless you have the time.

[Valkyrie]

I have spare roosting bars - one on, one off and one in the wash, so that they can be rotated if they get really mucky.  Sometimes I let the rain soften any dirt prior to hot soapy water and a scrubbing brush - then I can pick a warmer day to do it.  You'll need a paint scraper from a DIY store!  In winter they need cleaning out more often as they are inside longer.  I have the cubes (the old style) so that I don't have to bend down to clean.  The new cubes are smaller in my opinion to the old ones and my brahmas would have had great difficulty in getting in those doors - the rooster found it a bit of a struggle to get in the old cube door, but he learnt to duck!  My classic eglu has been used for introductions and has been super.

Although I will say that my little bantam faverolle seems to have issues with the roosting bars and is always at right angles to the other birds.  Might be down to the extra toe - but then, in days of yore, a silkie managed perfectly well with her extra toes.  I just have a daft faverolle.

Have fun with your chickens!