I wish our landlord had done that.What ChickensHave said is right about an earth floored run. I've seen one or two adverts that stake the claim that plastic housing is red mite-proof. Sadly the not so fantastic mr fox jumped it the other day and had 2.You are right riven about the addiction, I stated with 4, then up to 9, then 11 - sadly down to 9 again now. Don't be fooled by this. So what's to be said for wooden housing? Letting the chickens range widely around teh orchard solves that problem but leaves them vulnerable to foxes.I let the chickens out to scratch the lawn in summer with a large wire cage round them just to give them a change and bit of natural behaviour but in safety. With a slide out dropping tray, wipe clean surfaces and twin walled insulation, this easy to clean and low maintenance hen house keeps chicken keeping fun and simple. Millie1 Wed 17-Mar-10 21:15:35. If you have a large army of egg layers, … It has no grass, the poo just accumlates and flies breed and it stinks in summer. I had just about decided to get an Eglu Cube when I saw this thread, and clicked on the link to the FAQs in the first post. This is a coop door that not only fits the Omlet Eglu Cube coop, but is designed to be able to be attached to wooden coops people already have as well. All this makes red mite the bane of the poultry keeper's life and something that is capable of killing your flock. Then I thought I would like to read Katie Thear's original article. I had visions of Saturday's being spent in waterproofs armed with rubber gloves, scrubbing brushes and hot water .. finally staggering in at 8pm when the children are in bed - hmmm sounds okay that!ABetaDad ... yikes! Sadly, there is only so much modification of the chicken run/house that I can do because it is the landlord's property. The chooks freerange daily, but I know that when we travel/I'm at work, they are predator proof. riven - we've got 6 - 2 lots of 3. B= Yes, but I solved it by getting someone else to move the coop for me. We had been eyeing it for a while, and thought it would be perfect for our latest crop of Brahmas, Speckled Sussex, and Jersey Giant chickens. I need to go & study some more.Riven ... you've had bad luck with wooden houses and redmite ... the cleaning of the cube/eglu is what's very attractive. Eglu omlet VS wooden coop 218 Replies; 83171 Views; Aunt Sally. Best Large: Little Hen Big Chicken Coop. We haven't had any rat problems, and the way we have combatted them is to have a heavy wooden coop that sits on paving slabs. And they can survive without feeding for up to nine months. Millie1 - I inherited 4 chickens and a cockerel from my landlord and TBH rats are my biggest problem. Agreed, a house that minimises the cracks and crevices stands a fair better chance of not harbouring a red mite population, but that doesn't mean you or your poultry will necessarily be red mite-free: very little other than vigilance and good animal husbandry will stop the charge of the mite brigade. Eglu/Cube vs Wooden Coop and lots of other chicken questions ... (30 Posts) Add message | Report. In the right conditions it can complete its life cycle of egg to egg-laying adult in seven days, so populations can explode if they're not dealt with quickly and effectively. Smiths Sectional BuildingsWhen it comes to practical wooden poultry houses this small family-run firm produces some of the best, with a range that caters for a small trio to housing for 300 birds. They give due consideration to combining function and form, producing a house that's not only practical but also makes a pleasant addition to the look of the garden. This might mean a fence between orchard and garden or areas including some beds which they might like to help weed. Designed to work with any wooden chicken coop, it can also be attached directly to the Eglu Cube Mk1 and Mk2. Maybe it's just my fuddled brain this morning but the run options seem a bit complicated and they don't seem very long - I think the other website I linked to lets you choose runs up to 9' long. Your experiences are quite frightening. Sorry to go on about this but taking precautions before hand to stop rats will allow you to really enjoy your chickens. With housing available for a flock of three birds through to larger 15-bird houses, it's apparent these were designed by poultry keepers with the backyard keeper in mind. Is the electric fencing high enough to keep them in - do they really fly and do we need to clip wings?Breed-wise, I'm leaning towards a Rhode Island Red, a Bluebell and maybe a Plymouth Barred Rock - on the basis that all seem to rate well for friendliness, non-broodiness and egg production.What else do I need to know? It boils down to design. Usual wear and tear as you might expect with a chicken coop, but as you can hopefully see from the pictures, fully serviceable and would be a great cost-effective option for a new starter. For those familiar with it, you will no doubt be itching by now, in the knowledge that they are not opposed to trying out a human as a potential host. Maybe the Eglu's have been improved since that article was written - I'm assuming it was about Eglus!Lucky ... how do you find your Maggie's house for cleaning? Then we thought best to add 2 chickens to 2, rather than 1 to an established pair, so ended up with 4 (and the coop was a little bit small for this). Forsham quality is very good and they're easy to put together. ). Plus, DH was adament he didn't want a '90's iMac parked on the lawn . In fact it is so bad I am considering asking my landlord to take them away.The chickens live in a very nice purpose built run and wooden hen house but rats tunnel under the fencing and dine at will on the hen food. The food that is put out for chickens and the place the hens roost must be lockable at night with a hatch and completely enclosed with floor, walls and roof that rats cannot penetrate. Bury the fencing at least 30 cm into the ground and at least 2m high. As long as the house is designed with both the keeper and the poultry in mind, and preferably designed by somebody whose experience of poultry extends beyond a visit to the butcher, then they both wooden and plastic housing serve their purpose in equal measure. I take my coop apart every week and scrub it. Where they get the edge is the house comes flat packed and is easy to build and take apart, and the products are almost entirely constructed from plastic made from recycled industrial waste. The Omlet Universal Automatic Coop Door is an all-in-one auto coop door, frame, motor, and programming panel. If you will let them roam outside of their run sometimes, slabs are perfect. Next month – preparing your chickens for winter. If the rats cannot get to the food or hen manure/bedding they wil go elsewhere.Sorry to be so alarmist but since July last year I have poisoned, trapped or shot about 20 rats in our garden and the children are frightened to go out. One of the biggest claims you will see in the advertising literature for these new plastic constructions relates to the poultry keeper's nemesis, red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae). I cannot let them free range the garden - they would eat everything or they would be eaten by a fox.A hut on legs sounds good if it is rat proof. The rats will not dig through slabs but they might still dig under them and live under there and then pop out to eat food if they can get it. You could say it’s agricultural quality in a hobby chicken coop. Owners love the easy to clean chicken houses which come with everything you need to get started such as the Eglu Go Chicken Coop or the large Eglu Cube Chicken Coop.The Eglu Go Hutch is a brilliant alternative to a traditional rabbit hutch. In recent years a new player has emerged onto the backyard poultry housing market: the plastic chicken house. May 27, 2014 - Eglu Classic Chicken Coop is a plastic hen house and fox-proof chicken run in one. Also, how high should our fencing be? C = I’ve given up trying to move it. I have a Maggies Dozen, and Yes I did have some redmite issues - both times when someone else has been looking after them when I'm on hols, obviously not liberal enough with the poultry sheild!I have mine in a large poultry protection pen from the same supplier but also the have access, or rather did, to a 50m diameter electric fence pen. Do not compost you manure. I've been reading the threads on here for months and there is loads of useful information but I'd love to hear some pros and cons of difference types of housing. Can the wise chicken-keepers on Mumsnet please give me their opinions? Place the hen coop on a concrete pad and seal off any gaps underneath so the rats do not live under it or burrow under it. Preferably put a wire roof on the run as well to stop the rats (and cats and foxes) climbing up and over the fence. Even if you had a good rat proof coop you would still be wise to clear up spilled food every night. ... whether thats Omlet site or someone who makes wooden houses. These houses are designed predominantly with the first-time family keeper in mind, and suited to urban gardens. In the height of summer your flock may not require the house for the whole day and so cleaning and drying times won't be relevant, but on bad weather days you won't want the house out of action for too long or for the birds to face roosting in a soggy house. I plan on letting the girls out in the yard outside of the run when they can be supervised. Nope, nothing can dig through concrete! That anti-plastic article mentions plastic houses blowing over - I honestly can't imagine an Eglu blowing over, not sure about a Cube - and being badly insulated - but that's why Eglus are double-walled. No strangers to chicken coop design they launched the first Eglu back in 2004 and over the years have improved and thought of every detail so that this latest model is … You can read the first post here.The Thrifty Forager competitionCongratulations to Barbara Yau, Margaret Wilde and Mary Linnard who were all winners in our recent competition to win a copy of Alys Fowler's latest book, The Thrifty Forager. There will be no grass after about a week! Many of the plastic designs can be cleaned out, washed and dried in under 30 minutes, while wooden housing will take significantly longer to dry, especially in the depths of winter. To use this feature subscribe to Mumsnet Premium - get first access to new features see fewer ads, and support Mumsnet. Works on all wooden coops Owners of wooden chicken coops can also benefit from the Omlet automatic chicken coop door opener as it is compatible with virtually any design of wooden coop. We cannot leave any doors or windows open and we are not enjoying our chickens at all because of the rats. Omlet Eglu Classic Chicken coop and run in Green. Based on the same revolutionary technology as the original Omlet Eglu Classic plastic chicken coop, with a slide-out dropping tray, wipe clean surfaces, twin-walled insulation, no maintenance and No Predator Allowed protection. Designed to work with the best-selling Eglu Cube as well as any wooden chicken coop. Where plastic house construction does come into its own versus wood is when it comes to cleaning and annual maintenance. You do not want to attract them to your house. Does that sound okay? After many tense moments in my house between me and the OH. They make the run easy to clean out and avoid the smelly mudbath of a permanent run on soil (notice I don't say grass. 3 is the right number to start off with attract them to your house. ),. 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