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

[thecatumbrella]

I actually left the nest box door open tonight with our Ryobi fan blowing on low (coop is inside Omlet run with hardware cloth skirt). It was 84 in there when the chickens went to bed. Now it's already dropped to 79 over the last 30 minutes and there's ZERO PANTING! These chickens always pant because they cram together into a 12" space. This really doesn't work when they start laying eggs, but for now I'll take it!

This coop is now hardware cloth more than anything else...

 

[Mother of Chaos]

This coop is now hardware cloth more than anything else...

View attachment 4154890

As long as there’s some sort of roof overhead, this is beginning to sound like the ideal coop. It’s the direction in which I’m heading.

 

[Bawkbok]

Owls and raccoons, maybe possums would be my urban fear. Don’t know if you get weasels / stoats but we have them up here too. Florida has snakes, but they’re more a danger to chicks, right? I understand the call on risks that you have to make!

Is there any way to make a HC cover for the pop doorway to have some security and air too? I have wondered about this since we’ve been talking about whether we keep the door open or not. Best idea so far is to buy a replacement manual door and put a HC “window” in it. Or modify the existing one, but I’d rather both a summer and winter version, in the event the auto door breaks, but that’s maybe not a factor for you. Doing this would still keep the auto door functional and untouched. I’d have to look up the assembly, I don’t remember if removing it to work on (or installing a purchased replacement) means a big disassembly or not. How flimsy is it, would little bolts and washers work?


Hasps - what I did with the Cube, because I was concerned about drilling into the shell, which some people on the Omlet Facebook group do, was attach cabinet child-proof locks. People there have done both. They attached well by glue and are pretty strong. Didn’t work well in winter though, the sliders iced up. Had to warm them sometimes with my hands to make them work. Lasted a few years until the sun baked them and the straps broke. I hesitate to drill but I may. The hasps work with a carabiner in a loop over a flat latch. I’m ambivalent about it and still pondering.

Now that is an idea. I'll have to engage my creativity to create a HC 'door' for the door to leave open. I also run a fan from the outside that blows directly into the doorway so leaving it open is a must for air flow these days. Thanks for the idea. Would love to see a pic of how you installed it on your cube if you're willing. Thank you

 

[ChicoryBlue]

As long as there’s some sort of roof overhead, this is beginning to sound like the ideal coop. It’s the direction in which I’m heading.

Yes, and inside a covered walk-in run provides a lot of overhang protection (if you cover the run). The challenge in the Northeast is to provide for both summer heat and winter blizzard conditions. Really open coop styles would be filled with snow in an instant, because of how it blows in my location!

 

[Bawkbok]

These chickens always pant because they cram together into a 12" space.

I know. Why do they do that? Our four cram all on top of each other in the back corner by the nest box. No wonder they're hot. So much unused space.

I'm curious. It appears as though you have HC over the next boxes. Is that to keep them from sleeping in there at night and you open the cloth in the morning?

We have a night layer and there is always an egg waiting for me even before first light. This morning, I actually found two eggs, different birds, different nests, so I'm reluctant to close it off at night.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Now that is an idea. I'll have to engage my creativity to create a HC 'door' for the door to leave open. I also run a fan from the outside that blows directly into the doorway so leaving it open is a must for air flow these days. Thanks for the idea. Would love to see a pic of how you installed it on your cube if you're willing. Thank you

I didn't do a HC door for the pop door on the Cube, I'm just thinking about that now. I like having the manual door on both the Cube and Pro, I have used it during the day when I need to keep curious chickens out of there while I do something in the coop.

I did the child-proof cabinet bands on the Cube, I could look around for pics, b/c they aren't on it anymore, they broke with age, I removed the remaining ones to possibly sell it.

 

[Bawkbok]

I like having the manual door on both the Cube and Pro,

I do too and I simply don't trust the auto door with the crushing problem we incurred with two birds on the Cube so we don't even use it on the Pro. I know this means I could be creating a problem if for some reason the door is closed and I don't wake up in the morning - yikes.

 

[thecatumbrella]

As long as there’s some sort of roof overhead, this is beginning to sound like the ideal coop. It’s the direction in which I’m heading.

We tried for a while to come up with a solution to raise the roof, but the coop would just lose all security (and my run is NOT secure from bears).

I'm curious. It appears as though you have HC over the next boxes. Is that to keep them from sleeping in there at night and you open the cloth in the morning?

We have a night layer and there is always an egg waiting for me even before first light. This morning, I actually found two eggs, different birds, different nests, so I'm reluctant to close it off at night.

They’re not laying yet, so this solution only works for 7-12 more weeks. We previously had a night layer as well!

I do too and I simply don't trust the auto door with the crushing problem we incurred with two birds on the Cube so we don't even use it on the Pro.

That’s horrifying! What the heck happened??

 

[CabritaChicks]

No refunds as it's not "defective" just probably a poor design? I'm curious if you have experience with an eglu? This was a huge investment and living in bug city of FL, wood is not really a viable option without constant maintenance.

I'm really sorry to hear that—unfortunately, that’s exactly why it didn’t work for us either. Someone really needs to spread the word that these setups just aren’t made for sweltering hot climates. I came dangerously close to ending up with rotisserie chickens instead of my feathered children.

I kept trying again and again—solar fans, removing panels- every trick in the book—but nothing worked. It ended up being a huge waste of time and money after completely deconstructing the dang thing- and doing what you tried. Now we are dropping 3 grand on a new coop- made from scratch.

 

[thecatumbrella]

I'm really sorry to hear that—unfortunately, that’s exactly why it didn’t work for us either. Someone really needs to spread the word that these setups just aren’t made for sweltering hot climates. I came dangerously close to ending up with rotisserie chickens instead of my feathered children.

I kept trying again and again—solar fans, removing panels- every trick in the book—but nothing worked. It ended up being a huge waste of time and money after completely deconstructing the dang thing- and doing what you tried. Now we are dropping 3 grand on a new coop- made from scratch.

I didn't realize you were another Eglu victim!

What stinks is it's SO GOOD in every other season. We're planning a coop build now, and it will basically be the Omlet with more headspace, windows, and huge ventilation screens at the top. Of course, by the time we're done, it will be cool outside!