Help - Omlet Eglu owners - how to ventilate the roost?

[thecatumbrella]

I don’t understand about the hardware cloth over the top of the nest box area. Are you describing the roll-down nest box doors (the coop side)? Or maybe the left-side back door?

Did you look into replacing the “window” with HC for summer? I’m considering that but haven’t examined it closely to see how it might be done.

I think your hens might lay in the exposed nest box area, if you provide nest material and put a fake egg in there. I know from reading others’ experiences they will lay in those little Eglus that have no divided area.

By the way, my new poop tray project putting HC into a cut out section came out great! Wasn’t hard to do, and zip-tying the HC to just the upper part of the tray worked well, leaving the bottom untouched and sliding smoothly in and out.

Clamped a fan on to a narrow piece of (1.5”x1.5”)lumber about 3-4 feet long, and found I can rest/wedge the stick diagonally on the Pro frame under the cutout tray, pointed up. Access to put it in and take it out for charging from one of the little back doors is possible, which is nice.

I'll attach a photo of what it looks like. You can see we stripped the nest box down to just the wall and folded hardware cloth over it to prevent entry (which lets me run a fan safely on the other side).

I'm in the process of figuring out how to do the window. We're having weird temperature swings right now, and my smallest bird got chilled with just the front vent removed. It's a huge PITA to take these things on and off, so I want to find a way to use magnets on the panel for easy switch outs.

I saw your poop tray, and it looks great! Do you have a picture of your fan setup?

 

[thecatumbrella]

That’s great that you’ve bought yourself some time!

I’ve forgotten, how many chickens (eventually full-grown) do you have?

One thing that comes to mind is creating a wooden “cage” over the Omlet, basically the same footprint or a bit bigger. The Omlet sits on the ground with its nest boxes or on pavers barely above it, shaded by the wooden cage, and the wooden structure above is an open aviary. (This is what you call it if questions are asked! Birds like to perch and look around!) Put a floor for the cage about -8” above the top of the Omlet that will hold poop trays. Install one or two roost bars within the frame, easily reached from the floor and maybe surround it with lattice panels on 2-3 sides (“for shade on hot days!”). Up to you whether you want a swing-open door.

Voila, you now have a three-season coop. If your run is predator-proof, this coop will be as well. The lower level (Omlet) is for daytime nesting use; the lower level is for nighttime (sleeping).

You’re in New Hampshire, so when winter reality hits, add clear vinyl panels inside (or outside) the lattice for draft control.

You could have four-five months of your “open-air aviary” (*cough* coop *cough*) for busybodies to get used to it and not see it as a Building.

Something like this. Maybe get you kicking around ideas.

I’m a firm believer that a “house” for chickens doesn’t need to look anything like a house for humans. It just needs to serve the same functions.

I have seven bantams, and I honestly feel like the Pro isn't going to cut it if I add too many more.

I think your aviary concept is interesting! My run is mostly predator proof (we have bears), and I do use plastic roofing panels on the sides for winter drafts. It's something we can consider if we hit a dead end on our build (or as a springboard for the build itself!) I think my biggest gripe is I want my money back on the Pro if it's not working out. I do, however, own an Eglu Cube that could be modified...

It's something to throw in the mix, so thanks for the idea!

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I'll attach a photo of what it looks like. You can see we stripped the nest box down to just the wall and folded hardware cloth over it to prevent entry (which lets me run a fan safely on the other side).

I'm in the process of figuring out how to do the window. We're having weird temperature swings right now, and my smallest bird got chilled with just the front vent removed. It's a huge PITA to take these things on and off, so I want to find a way to use magnets on the panel for easy switch outs.

I saw your poop tray, and it looks great! Do you have a picture of your fan setup?

Ah I see now. If you position the fan to blow out one of the vents, that will help draw in cooler air through the other vents. It’s too bad the whole nest area is closed off, but that may be necessary due to limited ways the HC can be attached. Did you consider or try to put the fan on one end, and place a divider of hardware cloth like one of the nest box dividers just enough to enclose the fan?

I haven’t posted the latest poop tray modification, I’ll do that tomorrow if I can, and also take a picture of the fan setup. In the Cube I also had two little fans pointing out the back two vents, so the three fans created a nice draft exhausting the warm air out and pushing in cooler evening air. I’m not sure yet how to attach the little ones yet. In the Cube I put in an “L” bracket on each side using the Cubes own screw, and then clipped the little fans to that. In the Pro those angled tube handle-like reinforcements may be serviceable. I haven’t tested if or how the fans I have will clip to those tubes.

Today I spent a lot of time replacing tarps with shade cloths and installing a shade cloth over the Pro and it’s run. Our weather has been nuts, it was 48F only a few days ago, and near 80F today.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Ah I see now. If you position the fan to blow out one of the vents, that will help draw in cooler air through the other vents. It’s too bad the whole nest area is closed off, but that may be necessary due to limited ways the HC can be attached. Did you consider or try to put the fan on one end, and place a divider of hardware cloth like one of the nest box dividers just enough to enclose the fan?

I haven’t posted the latest poop tray modification, I’ll do that tomorrow if I can, and also take a picture of the fan setup. In the Cube I also had two little fans pointing out the back two vents, so the three fans created a nice draft exhausting the warm air out and pushing in cooler evening air. I’m not sure yet how to attach the little ones yet. In the Cube I put in an “L” bracket on each side using the Cubes own screw, and then clipped the little fans to that. In the Pro those angled tube handle-like reinforcements may be serviceable. I haven’t tested if or how the fans I have will clip to those tubes.

Today I spent a lot of time replacing tarps with shade cloths and installing a shade cloth over the Pro and it’s run. Our weather has been nuts, it was 48F only a few days ago, and near 80F today.

Same kind of weather here! It's been nuts.

I wanted to just have the fan in the center nest box, but the model I have didn't fit. Now I'm thinking the whole coop benefits from being so open. It's the first time I've ever gotten an Eglu coop to track with the ambient temp (it usually runs 5 degrees warmer). It's so hard to find a balance with these things.

I started looking into tiny exhaust fans today! Do you have a model you like that you could link to?

 

[Bawkbok]

We also disassembled the nest box, leaving only the wall. That also has a large piece of hardware cloth that folds over the top.

@thecatumbrella - To clarify -- are you saying there is no pull down green door to open / close the nest area and there is no longer the wall dividers so essentially you have one large open space? Only the wall is simply the panel with the three openings, correct?
Have you added anything to provide individual nesting privacy or is two hens laying simultaneously not an issue, i.e., pecking each other, etc.? I wanted to remove the entire nesting wall structure but wasn't sure as we frequently have two or three hens laying at the same time.
Did you replace the opaque window with h/w cloth also or did you leave that intact?

ETA - I see the picture and further explanation - thanks

 

[thecatumbrella]

@thecatumbrella - To clarify -- are you saying there is no pull down green door to open / close the nest area and there is no longer the wall dividers so essentially you have one large open space? Only the wall is simply the panel with the three openings, correct?
Have you added anything to provide individual nesting privacy or is two hens laying simultaneously not an issue, i.e., pecking each other, etc.? I wanted to remove the entire nesting wall structure but wasn't sure as we frequently have two or three hens laying at the same time.
Did you replace the opaque window with h/w cloth also or did you leave that intact?

ETA - I see the picture and further explanation - thanks

My girls are only 10 weeks-old, so I'm at a huge advantage with not having to deal with laying hens! It's definitely a kick the can down the road approach, but I'm thinking I want them to lay in the run anyway. Some people can definitely get away with a communal nest box (we did in 2023), but it probably depends on flock size and personality.

I'll post again once I can figure out how to make that window panel easy on/off. I'm very much over laying across their poopy roost bars to change out the ventilation (then banging my head on the way out).

 

[Bawkbok]

I'm very much over laying across their poopy roost bars to change out the ventilation (then banging my head on the way out).

Ditto. Remove the roost bar trays, clean, re-insert. I keep a clean bucket of Dawn dish soap water by the back, refreshed every morning for quick cleaning. Our girls like to lay early (one at night) so our cleaning happens at first light.
If you replace the opaque window with hardware cloth, it will be permanent - until you have to remove it and put the opaque plastic back in for winter. We hang an 8" rechargeable fan on this h/w cloth facing out. The fan runs all night and draws warm air out while drawing in air from the back vents - also h/w cloth.

 

[Bawkbok]

I haven’t posted the latest poop tray modification, I’ll do that tomorrow if I can, and also take a picture of the fan setup.

Would love to see this, thanks for sharing.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Ditto. Remove the roost bar trays, clean, re-insert. I keep a clean bucket of Dawn dish soap water by the back, refreshed every morning for quick cleaning. Our girls like to lay early (one at night) so our cleaning happens at first light.
If you replace the opaque window with hardware cloth, it will be permanent - until you have to remove it and put the opaque plastic back in for winter. We hang an 8" rechargeable fan on this h/w cloth facing out. The fan runs all night and draws warm air out while drawing in air from the back vents - also h/w cloth.

Nice idea. I've been eyeing those two screws for the non-existent Omlet fan. Makes sense to hang something from them!

And we keep the roost trays very clean; it's more psychologically dirty!