MJ's little flock

[Perris]

Well, the purpose is a single hen hatching a clutch

then look for reviews from people who've used it as a broody coop. The slats in the floor that poo is supposed to drop through would also act like a cattle grid for chicks' legs, I'd have thought.

 

[MaryJanet]

then look for reviews from people who've used it as a broody coop. The slats in the floor that poo is supposed to drop through would also act like a cattle grid for chicks' legs, I'd have thought.

I agree the slatted floor is not OK. I wouldn't even like it for hens. But it's removable.

So far the Eglu is the only plastic coop I've found for sale in Australia.

 

[Perris]

Good to hear that it's removable, and that looks to be a robust and easy to keep clean coop, which is most important in my view.

Talking of which - rant alert - there was a TV show here last night that showed (to my satisfaction at least, via PCR testing) that bovine tb is spread between cows via their slurry. (No wonder badger culling hasn't worked.) (And that the standard skin test misses about 50% of the cases.) These days more and more farmed animals are kept surrounded by their own waste; how can people be so stupid as to not see the health risks of this - quite apart from the horrible life it condemns the poor animals to live in. Even people living nearby these industrial production facilities (CAFO, aka 'farms') suffer (https://www.theguardian.com/world/a...the-veiled-grasp-of-factory-farming-in-europe ); can you imagine what must it be like for the animals in the sheds? The shorter the life, the better, probably.

Sorry. But that's why I prioritize hygiene over anything else when it comes to choosing coops.

 

[ManueB]

What kind of temperatures would you get in summer there ? One complaint that's regular about Eglu is their lack of ventilation. Could be a problem for a broody that stays inside even during the hot hours.

Also, one thing I didn't like about having chicks in a closed coop was that it made it more difficult to look at them, to check them out. For our last hatch the broody did not take them out of the coop for the first five days and this meant they had very little day light all that time.
If I were to do it again I would go for something more like a crate as we had for the first hatch, but bigger and add a roof and two panels on the sides.

 

[ManueB]

And great job with cleaning up the chicken's run ! It looks very clean .You've sold me on those magnets. They seem much more efficient than the old round one we have on a piece of string. I'll try to buy one to sweep up the yard in a week or two when the temperatures drop down a bit. The chickens keep digging up all kinds of rusty relics, it seems there is no end to it.

 

[MaryJanet]

Good to hear that it's removable, and that looks to be a robust and easy to keep clean coop, which is most important in my view.

Talking of which - rant alert - there was a TV show here last night that showed (to my satisfaction at least, via PCR testing) that bovine tb is spread between cows via their slurry. (No wonder badger culling hasn't worked.) (And that the standard skin test misses about 50% of the cases.) These days more and more farmed animals are kept surrounded by their own waste; how can people be so stupid as to not see the health risks of this - quite apart from the horrible life it condemns the poor animals to live in. Even people living nearby these industrial production facilities (CAFO, aka 'farms') suffer (https://www.theguardian.com/world/a...the-veiled-grasp-of-factory-farming-in-europe ); can you imagine what must it be like for the animals in the sheds? The shorter the life, the better, probably.

Sorry. But that's why I prioritize hygiene over anything else when it comes to choosing coops.

It's really no wonder people are giving up meat. 12% of the Australian population and growing.

 

[MaryJanet]

What kind of temperatures would you get in summer there ? One complaint that's regular about Eglu is their lack of ventilation. Could be a problem for a broody that stays inside even during the hot hours.

Also, one thing I didn't like about having chicks in a closed coop was that it made it more difficult to look at them, to check them out. For our last hatch the broody did not take them out of the coop for the first five days and this meant they had very little day light all that time.
If I were to do it again I would go for something more like a crate as we had for the first hatch, but bigger and add a roof and two panels on the sides.

It can get rather hot with heat waves, but I'd keep it completely open.

If I fence off that corner of the run, Peggy won't be able to visit chicks until they're strong enough and fast enough to run away. And I wouldn't have to shut the brooding coop at all.

With a shade cloth over the top and potentially a misting system, a nest on the ground should stay cool enough if the heat picks up.

 

[MaryJanet]

And great job with cleaning up the chicken's run ! It looks very clean .You've sold me on those magnets. They seem much more efficient than the old round one we have on a piece of string. I'll try to buy one to sweep up the yard in a week or two when the temperatures drop down a bit. The chickens keep digging up all kinds of rusty relics, it seems there is no end to it.

Today the magnet found three nails and a washer, and the usual handful of metallic shards in the chicken run. I'll have to keep going with it for a while yet.

But it's very effective! Bob and RC were right

 

[Perris]

It's really no wonder people are giving up meat. 12% of the Australian population and growing.

Indeed. But farming animals doesn't have to be like that - indeed, until very recently, it wasn't. It's not the cow, it's the how.
https://www.theguardian.com/food/20...time-vegetarian-became-beefs-biggest-champion

 

[RoyalChick]

Today the magnet found three nails and a washer, and the usual handful of metallic shards in the chicken run. I'll have to keep going with it for a while yet.

But it's very effective! Bob and RC were right

It never ceases to amaze me how much stuff comes up.
Of course it won’t pick up anything stainless or made of copper. But still worth getting rid of the iron stuff IMHO.