Poorly chicken

[WitchHazel]

Hi all

 

Could someone who has one please help?

 

I see that the standard run (not the extension) that comes with the Cube has part of it which goes under the cube down to the ground. Is this physically part of the remainder of the run (so it cannot be separated), or is it separate by any chance?

 

The reason for asking is that my DH is going to build me a large walk in run. I intend to have the Cube situated outside the run, securely joined to it. This means I can collect eggs, clean, and open the door without having to undo and walk inside the run. I will be getting the Cube before my DH builds the run, long before I get the chooks, so that we can build it to fit.

 

However this seems to waste the space underneath the cube, so I would quite like to incorporate that into my run space as well. I can build something to fence it off and attach it to the run, but I was thinking that if the bit supplied by Omlet is separate, then I could just use that.

 

Hope the question makes sense.

 

Thanks in anticipation

[Snowy]

Hm, I can't picture what you mean Witchazel. Here is a picture of my cube attached to a larger run:

 

If you order the cube on it's own the only bit of run that comes with it is the bit attached to the wheels and it is not enclosed, you would need to put extra mesh around that area. I worried about that wasted space too, but if you enclose it, you then have to figure out how you can move the cube away from the run for cleaning. Normally the lid slides forward and you take the back off. If your cube is against the mesh, the roof will not slide forward. Mine is attached to the run mesh with bungee hooks so I can undo them and pull the cube away from the run to clean it. Also, you can't do that if the ladder is inside the run, hence my stick staircase!

 

If you have room, it would be worth having the cube and standard run and butting the omlet run up against the mesh of a bigger run, you could then have a covered area under the omlet run and leave your main run open topped? And you wouldn't need to move the cube to clean it as the roof would slide forward OK.

 

Hope that makes sense!

[Snowy]

Reading it again, I now see what you mean! Those small panels for under the cube do clip on seperately from the main body of the run according to the instructions, but you would have to order them specifically from omlet as they don't come with the cube on it's own. Phew, got there in the end!

 

Actually, it's not a lot of space, I store my tubtrugs under there full of scrubbing brushes!

[WitchHazel]

Thanks for your replies and pics Snowy. Actually it was seeing your picture on one of the galleries some time ago that gave me the idea for having the Cube outside the run, so thank you for that too.

 

I had thought about using the standard run to butt up to the home made run, but I didn't realy want to take up that much space on the side. I had considered buying the run and "cutting it down", but then I hadn't appreciated your point about sliding the roof.

 

I think I need to see the CUbe and run in person again. I saw one some mobths ago (thanks to Gallina), but at that stage I wasn't thinking about building our own run so didn't look at these details.

 

Thanks again.

[Cinnamon]

I like the storage are idea Snowy - I am on the verge of ordering a cube to butt up against the hen pen like yours,but was concerned about the space waste too.

 

I also hadn't considered the fact that the ladder will stop it being pulled back from the hen pen.Does the ladder clip on & off easily from the cube?

 

How much room is needed behind it to get the poo trays out - anyone knoow???

[Christian]

I also hadn't considered the fact that the ladder will stop it being pulled back from the hen pen.Does the ladder clip on & off easily from the cube?

 

The ladder is attached with screws if I remember correctly

[Snowy]

The trays are 78cm long so you would need at least that amount to get them out without too much difficulty. The ladder is attached by 4 screws to the front of the cube.

[WitchHazel]

We've ordered the cube, and we decided to buy the standard run with it.

 

This is because we think it will be easier to connect the Omlet run to our home made run, rather than trying to create our own connection, iyswim. Two iother pluses are that the girls will get to use the underneath of the cube for extra shelter, and we get the anti-dig skirt all round the cube so I feel the whole cube will be well protected.

 

Although it seems a lot of money, we know how expensive that sort of wire is. We're planning to get a similar grade (although probably not plastic coated) for the home made run.

 

We will probably shorten the run though. We think we only need it to to come out to the end of the ladder, which means we can keep the ladder attached but still move the cube away for cleaning etc, and there will be enough length to slide the roof forward in situ.

 

It's coming on 6th NOvember, but we won't be building it yet. At least that's what DH says at the moment. When we build it will be dependant on when we start to build the run. Hopefully very soon.

 

Thanks for all your input, it's been really helpful.

[Rabbieboy]

I bought my Cube with the standard run and then added another 1m extension soon after delivery as I planned to get more chooks. I also bought a roll of Omlet netting which turned out to be a waste of time as the big hens flew over it with ease and the wee one just walked straight through the holes, so I started to build a fixed run that encased the Cube run but not the Cube itself. I haven't had time to complete it yet but you can see in the pic that there is room to slide the roof forward, the egg port and door closure are all easy to reach and I still have the extra security of the Omlet run if we are going away. Because the run is not complete yet the chooks can fly onto the Cube roof and then over the high fence into the garden

The bare ground at the side has now been turfted over and the girls pace up and down the fencing trying to get to the new grass.

[sparkleeeeee]

I have the ladder on and the cube outside my run. it is fairly easy to pull the cube back as it doesnt have to go far to push the lid back enough the remove the back section and get the roosting bars out for a good clean. i cant take the lid off though without tipping the cube back to slip the ladder out of the hole in the run. i obviously dont take the lid off as its a pain but i dont really need to.

i do think snowys branch ladder is great and i might replace my omlet one with a branch version.