Max. number of hens you have fit in eagle cube?

[suburbchick]

I have 4 bantams in my eglu cube and they are lost inside! haha

I plan on getting standards. With 4 banties, what do you think the max. number of standard hens I could fit comfortably in coop is? They have a huge run...30 x 100 so it is really a coop issue. I plan on getting average sized hens not BO (so RIR, BPR, and sex links). Thank you!

 

[junebuggena]

The coop part measures out to be just under 6.5 sq ft, and some of that is nest box. That's big enough for 3 bantams or 1 standard sized bird max. Eglus seem to be lacking ventilation and there is no roost.

 

[suburbchick]

No, this is the Cube. It says 10 hens but I want to hear from other Cube owners. There are roosts! They are two removable sections. And it has great ventilation. I bought the top end wood coop from Horizon but after having the Eglu Cube I will never go back to wood. I absolutely love it! I sold my wooden portable coop.

Mine just pile up at night and take up little space. They are free ranged in a huge protected run during day.....

 

[junebuggena]

I could not imagine trying to keep even three of my barred Rocks in one of those. They take up at least 1 sq ft, just standing still. 10 adult dual-purpose hens is just laughable. Overcrowding stress is very serious. It can actually cause birds to be so stressed out that they start pecking eachother to death. You're mind set needs to be "how much room can I give my flock." Not "how many birds can I cram into 'x' amount of space."
I, personally, would not try to house standard sized birds with bantams in such a small coop. There is just no room in there for the smaller birds to get away from the bigger birds.
Rhode Island Reds, Rocks, and Sexlinks are all large, dual-purpose types. If you really want to add a few standard sized birds to your bantam flock, look at the lighter built types like Hamburgs, Andalusians, or Leghorns. And don't add more than 2.

 

[suburbchick]

Junebugg, you are way out of line.

Your quote: "You're mind set needs to be "how much room can I give my flock." Not "how many birds can I cram into 'x' amount of space."

My quote: "With 4 banties, what do you think the max. number of standard hens I could fit comfortably in the coop is?


Please refrain from posting further in this thread since you have nothing to add.

For those that actually own the Eglu Cube (like myself), could you please share how many standard sized hens you have comfortably fit in your Cube. Thank you!

 

[junebuggena]

I'm sorry if I offended. But it's something that is asked over and over again, "How many can I fit in this?" It is never, "Is this enough room, or should I give them more?"
It gets incredibly frustrating, and over crowding stress is something that needs to be taken seriously. I think that if you want standard sized hens, you're going to need something bigger and has room for roosts. They need to be able to at least stretch their wings out, and a average, dual purpose breed has a wingspan of about 4 feet long or more. The eglu cube is just too small for both bantams and standard sizes to live together in, especially if they weren't raised together from the start.

 

[Trefoil]

Measure your roost space. A bird needs a minimum of 1 foot of roost space each, and some birds can not roost next to each other so having more than one roost is good. It sounds like you don't lock your birds in the coop, that means you can keep more birds than if you did. Generally speaking I agree with Junebug, but the large run makes a lot of difference as long as they aren't ever locked in the coop. You will probably have problems finding many people on here that use the eglu because of its cost/size.

 

[suburbchick]

Thanks, Trefoil. I actually lock them in at night. They free range all day. Put themselves to bed at sunset and I go out and close door. Then, they are let out first thing in the morning. They are never just sitting in coop. They are either sleeping or laying.

The manufacturer said 10 hens could fit comfortable. I saw a YouTube video with 9. However, that seems crazy high to me but 3 seems crazy low! I know my banties(even when I had up to 8) took up one tiny corner. The coop has removable roost sections so it is not a solid floor they are on. I was curious how many people, both realistically and comfortable, fit in their coop. I have attached a photo at night when I had more banties in the coop.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks, Trefoil. I actually lock them in at night. They free range all day. Put themselves to bed at sunset and I go out and close door. Then, they are let out first thing in the morning. They are never just sitting in coop. They are either sleeping or laying.

The manufacturer said 10 hens could fit comfortable. I saw a YouTube video with 9. However, that seems crazy high to me but 3 seems crazy low! I know my banties(even when I had up to 8) took up one tiny corner. The coop has removable roost sections so it is not a solid floor they are on. I was curious how many people, both realistically and comfortable, fit in their coop. I have attached a photo at night when I had more banties in the coop.

https://www.omlet.us/shop/chicken_keeping/eglu_cube/
This is quoted directly from the EGLU site."The Eglu Cube Chicken Coop is a really flexible chicken house, whether you want to keep 5, 6 or even 10 chickens, you can customise it to suit your needs. The standard 2 meter run is suitable for up to 6 chickens. The run can be extended in 1m lengths to suit your requirements allowing you to keep up to 10 chickens."

How is your coop customized to fit 10 chickens. Did you order it in a different size? What is the dimensions of your coop? Where exactly are the roosts in this? Is the top picture an example of "roosting" in your coop, what are those slats for? I am really not familiar with this design, but to be honest if it has not been customized to accommodate 10 chickens at 4sq ft per chicken then I would not add any large fowl to your existing flock. I agree with Junebug, large fowl takes up more room than you would think. Mine are only 23wks and already quite large, and still growing. They do hang out well together, but if they were cramped, especially in the coop, I think there would be quite a bit of unwanted drama. It sounds like you have a nice large run, but here is something to think about. IF you were unable to let your flock out of the coop (emergency, etc.) and they had to spend atleast 24 hours locked up in there, would they be ok.
This is just my opinion and I am sure others will chime in.

 

[Teila]

Howdy suburbchick

First up, I confess to not having an Eglu Cube so cannot comment with regards size, room etc. What I wanted to mention is that sometimes it depends on your location.

Living in Aus with a warmer climate and a covered run, my gals only ever go into the coop to lay an egg or roost. So, here, while the coop needs to have enough room for them to do that comfortably, they do not spend any time locked in due to weather etc.

Your location may be of assistance for others commenting.