Converting an Eglu Cube ("Omlet") for DUCKS

[Papaye]

Hi!

So... for the time being, I own 11 Indian Runner ducks...

I was actually going to keep 8 only until next spring : 2 drakes, and 6 ducks...
But I have to keep a third drake, because he was already so shiny in his juvenile feathers my mother fell in love with him... (I understand her : I have seriously never seen a black runner so green so YOUNG!!)
Thus : I now own 3 drake and 8 ducks. (I know : I don't have enough ducks for my drakes...)

Problem : for 11 runners, I had only two Eglu Classics until recently!
And 4 runners can easily get (and sleep) in an Eglu Classic. But more? I don't know.

So... winter coming fast, I obviously decided I needed a bigger coop for my ducks.
And what's better than to replace one of my Eglu Classics by buying and converting an Eglu Cube for my runners?

Finding no information, I didn't know if it was possible to assemble it on the ground...? But I just took advantage of "Black Friday", and I bought an Eglu Cube (with a 2 meters run, and no "Outodoor" or accessories) to try at least...

To ease my ducks in getting in the coop, I decided it would be on the ground. (Using a ramp would probably be hindering for the ducks, no...?)
So while assembling this Eglu Cube, I did not use the metal parts : I just put them away.

Thus, the Cube is now on the ground, placed on gratings (to keep it clean from mud)...

I connected it to a Omlet run by using the panel (in two parts now) from the "Connection Kit for Walk In Run", AND 10 "Zippi Rabbit Run Skirt" (Omlet).

(I personally could not use the steel panels to connect my Cube to the run, because there is a big brasero not far behind the coop; and so, I needed something SMALL to keep the coop far enough...!)

Inside of the Eglu Cube, I did NOT put the separation panel ("Nest box partition") in.

And when I was assembling the coop, I also did not connect the nesting box to the panels : I have just made it slide, because I did not want my ducks to hurt themselves of some metal parts ("Partition Brackets").
...Of course, I have also put away the roosting bars (and the "Locator Block") : runner ducks don't roost.

For now, I have seven runners sleeping in this Cube.
I have no problem with the coop being on the ground. No water in, in spite of the rain... And ventilation is really good! My ducks are now happier : their Eglu Classic was too small for all of them.

(Soon, when my babies are AT LAST 16 weeks old, they will be eleven in the Cube. For the time being, I don't want to let my adult drakes with my young ducks... So, I am keeping the four adults apart from the ones born this year.)

...So... Voilà!
I don't know what you think, but I hope my post help you if you think about buying a Eglu Cube for your ducks?


Good luck.

 

[Miss Lydia]

It looks great and looks very sturdy. Are you using the other Eglu for your drakes?
Nice thing about these is they will never rot and they look very well made.

 

[Papaye]

Hello!

Yes : for now, the other Eglu Classic is for the drakes and their two "girlfriends".
But in December, all of them will be in the Cube. (There is room!)
(I'm so glad I could assemble the Cube as such...!)

Eglu are practical, because we can move them if needed, and like you said : they don't rot.
In addition, contrary to wood, no lice infestation is possible!
And they are so easy - and so, FUN - to clean...!

For now, I own :
- 3 Eglu Cube (2 of them belonging to my chickens),
- 2 Eglu Classic,
- 3 Eglu Go.

Eglu Classic are so much more sturdy than Eglu Go...

Eglu Go ARE sturdy, but honestly, I have bought three of them only because Eglu Classic are not sold in France anymore, and I needed some coops for the brooding hens.
(I am pretty sure I will die of old age BEFORE my Eglu Classic need to be thrown... and I am not thirty yet! These coops are seriously so great...!! While Eglu Go have thinner panels, and so : I would not be surprised if these panels, at least, begin to crack in a few years...)

Eglu Go are also a bit annoying to clean (in detail), and... each spring/summer, I have wasps making their nests between the panels. Dangerous, right...?
(But Eglu Go are still better than wood!)

...No wasps with Eglu Classic or Eglu Cube!!

Furthermore : in Eglu, the birds are cool in summer, and warm in winter. Like they deserve, naturally...!

I really think Eglu are perfect for birds... and safe, since no predators can prey upon them when they are sleeping inside!

 

[Papaye]

Hi.

We are in February 2024 now, so it's time for me to give some news about converting and using an Eglu Cube for my ducks...

Well... for now, I can tell I am happy I did : indeed, ventilation is so good I never did find even a tiny drop of water inside of the coop...!
(And first thing to look about a coop for the ducks IS ventilation!!)
...In spite of the ambient humidity in my department, and the fact my ducks are bathing all day long, and so, always WET...!!

I actually did not expect ventilation would be so good (for a coop sheltering ducks) no single trace of moisture would remain in the coop...
I mean : my ducks go to sleep while wet... so I thought the inside of the coop would at least be a bit damp...?

And yet : the only trace of water I could find in the coop was some frost, and it only was on the colder days of winter! Around -7°C (19,4°F), -8°C (17,6°F) and below...
Frost was probably not even due to (some bad) ventilation : to me, it simply looked like the ducks did go to sleep wet (of course), and so, water froze on the side panels before even having the time to evaporate...

Of course, ventilation is also probably so good thanks to the fact the side panels are not covered!
I normally would use a blanket to cover the Eglu Cube in winter, but since I have none left unused for now... AND since I put the coop on the ground, and I so would need to personally adjust a blanket so that actually would cover it correclty without risking to fly away when windy... the coop has no blanket for now; therefore : ventilations on the side panels are not covered, and so work splendidly.

(JUST A NOTE :
Even in the colder temperatures we usually have in Auvergne, I don't feel like the blankets (for extreme temperature) are necessary on the Eglu Cubes - especially since during cold weather, these coops are warmer inside than wooden coops...
Nevertheless, I personally put blankets on mines only for one reason : to keep the EGGS warm, in case I would not be able to pick them up each 3-or-so hours maximum...
Because I don't want to take any risk to find frozen eggs someday...!)

Concerning the space inside the Eglu Cube...

For now, I actually don't know if this coop is big enough for 11 runner ducks : indeed, even though I wanted to close my other coop once all of my ducks became friends, I ultimately did not...

...And so, since my runners have two coops open to them, I could eventually not verify if the Eglu Cube alone is sufficiently big for all of them...

(Since we have had very cold temperatures this season in Auvergne, I was afraid to close the Eglu Classic for the nights, and find a morning that the Eglu Cube would not be enough for 11 runners, and the poor ducks would then have had to sleep outside IN THE COLD...
So, they have these two coops to sleep during the nights for now... : 1 Eglu Cube, and 1 Eglu Classic.)

I like the Eglu Classic (better than the Eglu Go), but it has ONE fault bothering me : when the temperatures are ice-cold (frost), the door - the one on the side - is hard to open.

So, if we want to clean the coop early in the mornings - in the colder temperatures -, we really should put a blanket on the coop... so the door is not affected by frost, and can be easily opened...

Or we also could wait for the frost to thaw, but doing so would mean to wait some hours to clean the coop, depending on the temperatures then...

...Voilà!