Poorly chicken

[Julius S]

Hi all,

I am considering getting an Eglu Go Up and raising 3 chickens in our back garden. However, the sides of the garden have sleeper logs on both sides with raised bed, that are not easily removable (they go under decking). We know that the Eglu Go Up dimensions are 144cm x 218cm, the grassy area next to the sleeper log we would for Eglu is 130cm x 360cm. Width is mainly limited by where the steps are, we could potentially move the steps. I have attached a picture of the area below (ignore the growth, we're in the process of tidying it up), we are thinking of putting Eglu on the green grass.

Questions we are wondering about are:

• is it possible to put the run on a step (the sleeper log) on one side?
• is it possible to not put the skirting on one side? (if we fix the run to the sleeper, foxes shouldn't get in, as it's dug deep into ground).

If anyone has any other advice - we would really appreciate it.

Thank you in advance.

Julius

[Cat tails]

Putting it on a step isn’t an option as the run is attached to the coop.

You could leave one side skirtless, but maybe reconsider grass. We have all been there and almost all of us have no grass anymore. It won’t last long. Not long meaning a week or so…

If you choose the standard Go up run, I wouldn’t get standard sized chickens, but bantams. 3 standard in that size run, will be very tight.

[Julius S]

Thank you for the feedback and confirming that run wouldn't work on a step. We are aware about the grass - reading and watching a lot of chicken keeping videos, and all of them mention it, but when filmed it looks really innocious. Would three bantams really be so effective to do it in a week?  

As for size, we were thinking mid-sized hybrid breed (as opposed to a big one, like orpingtons). Would you say Eglu Go Up would be tight for three such birds?

Primarily we would be keeping them as pets + eggs are nice. We would let them free range around the garden while we're outside (there is a fox that we spot from time to time and a couple of cats in the area; from what we've read - they're less likely to prey if humans are around).

[Cat tails]

The coop would be big enough, but the run size will be on the very small side. Personally I wouldn’t keep three hybrids in the standard run. You want to aim for 1 square meter per hen. And especially in winter, with a lockdown due to avian influenza you really need the space.

And yes, even 3 small bantams will easily wreck the grass in a week. 😂

[Julius S]

Thank you for clarifying, we will look into bantams. Definitely want the birds to not feel crammed in the run in case of lockdown.

[Luvachicken]

1 hour ago, Cat tails said:

And yes, even 3 small bantams will easily wreck the grass in a week. 😂

They will.

I gave mine some pretty big dandelion leaves this afternoon - they were devoured in seconds.

Mine are permanently in their run to keep my little Pekins safe from cats and foxes.

I would love to have them running around but my garden wouldn't survive 7 little beaks.