Omlet Eglu Cube with 5 standard size hens

@My Three Chicks Thanks for this suggestion! My only worry is that whether or not they are large enough to hold enough food for 5 hungry hens, or would I have to keep going out to refill them? They just look very small...

Also, do you know the weight limit of the Eglu runs? When you hang stuff from it, does the run wire/poles buckle down because of the excess weight?

I have the Rent-a-Coop water and feeder, and was just wondering if the Eglu run wiring would be able to handle the weight of these when they are filled with feed and water.
You have the attached run, right? Should be ok. If you're not sure I'd email Omlet or contact them on their website. They have awesome customer service and will respond in a day or 2. Maybe be prepared to give them a weight.

Full grown hens eat about 1/4 lb of feed a day. So for 5 hens it's only 1 1/4 lbs so the run wire can definitely support the weight of the feed. Definitely should put fresh food out each morning.

The bird feeders come in bigger sizes if you don't have room for multiple feeders. Just an option to consider.
 
The General rule of thumb for a coop is:
3-4sq feet per bird.
1 linear foot of roost bar per bird, at least off the floor
1sq foot of ventilation per bird* very, very important, especially in the muggy south east.
I've never seen an eglu that came close. It appears the designers of eglus base them more off plastic outhouses than proper coops. Their only plus is that they can be hosed clean.
For the price, I'd build a tractor coop or find someone to build one.
 
I have several sizes of the rent a coop feeders & waterers. They get heavy. You can build a simple wood frame that is portable & will support them. Or you can build a small (still portable) slant shed roof to support them & will also protect your birds while feeding. Rent a coop now has covers for the feed ports. You need to remove them every morning.

Something as simple as a cinder block works, too.

Feed/water support

Pretty feeder support

Feeder on bricks
 
I have several sizes of the rent a coop feeders & waterers. They get heavy. You can build a simple wood frame that is portable & will support them. Or you can build a small (still portable) slant shed roof to support them & will also protect your birds while feeding. Rent a coop now has covers for the feed ports. You need to remove them every morning.

Something as simple as a cinder block works, too.

Feed/water support

Pretty feeder support

Feeder on bricks
Thank you for these ideas! I like the cinderblock idea. I will take a look at those feed port covers. Thank you!
 
I have two Cubes and two Gos. While I think bantams fit in them much better, I had 5 hens in the Cube with no problems. I do find they get a bit hotter in summer just because ventilation is a bit lower than preferred and they don’t have a ton of space which ups the body heat. I wouldn’t put 5 super big hens in it but average size do fine. I had a Marans, an Ameraucana, an EE, a salmon Faverolle and a Russian Orloff together and they were quite cozy.

I think with a 9ft run and good shade in the summer they make great coops. I set up misters and a big shade cloth—and didn’t have to worry about the coop getting wet which was really nice.
Do your bantams use the cube or go?
 
Any Eglu owners here? I recently purchased the Eglu Cube + 9ft run for my 5 standard-sized hens. I have heard ao many wonderful things about them, and the coops suit my needs perfectly since it is mobile.

Has anyone here have any issues with 5 hens in a cube?

I also live in a warm/humid climate and wondering if anyone else who is a Cube owner living in a similar kind of area have any issues with the coop with 5 hens?

Also, I would please ask that this discussion does not get into a heated debate about “Eglus vs. wooden coops” so it doesn’t risk getting locked. I realize there is a part of the chicken farming community who absolutely despises Eglus and that is their prerogative….
I have an Eglu Cube for five standard hens and it's fine. They only roost and use the nest. How much space do they have during the day?
 
Do your bantams use the cube or go?
I have bantams in both! My bantams seem to like them just fine. I use the Go for my silkies and Banty Cochins who don’t like the ladders, and the Go Ups and Cubes for my d’Anvers, d’Uccles, and bantam Brahmas, Ameraucanas and Wyandottes. Clean legged bantams seem much happier with them then the super feather footed…except my d’Uccles because they readily fly wherever they want. :)
 
I have an Eglu Cube for five standard hens and it's fine. They only roost and use the nest. How much space do they have during the day?
Right now, I have the 9 ft run. I'm looking at getting one of those portable pop-up runs for the yard. I cannot let them free range because I have a lot of hawks in my area.
 
The General rule of thumb for a coop is:
3-4sq feet per bird.
1 linear foot of roost bar per bird, at least off the floor
1sq foot of ventilation per bird* very, very important, especially in the muggy south east.
I've never seen an eglu that came close. It appears the designers of eglus base them more off plastic outhouses than proper coops. Their only plus is that they can be hosed clean.
For the price, I'd build a tractor coop or find someone to build one.
I think it helps to distinguish between roosting / sleeping space and what is generally thought of as coop space. The feed & water and areas for scratching, running around, are not provided for with the Cubes or Eglus themselves, but instead with the area underneath, the attached runs, or attached (or surrounding) walk-in runs.

The housing itself is for sleeping and nesting only. Considering roost space, there is easily enough for ~6 standard chickens in the Cube, not counting the nesting area, which some use for sleeping too. Sometimes people remove the nestbox divider.

I agree that it would seem the Cube doesn't appear to meet the ventilation common rule of thumb, but it does work well. Surprisingly there is ventilation beyond the visible ventilation windows, so it may not be as deficient as it looks. I've observed that there's ventilation from below, around the poop tray and back tray opening; in each corner of the back access door; and along each upper side seam.

Maybe that extra accounts for the lack of problems with frostbite that most owners have, or it's the particular placement of the ventilation openings, I don't know. It could be the double-wall construction helping too, it moderates the inside temperatures. I haven't had a problem with ventilation for 5 birds (four Buckeyes and for one winter an added Orpington). It concerns me most here in the Northeast for the colder months. I've gone through three winters so far with the Cube. We get -10F and colder every winter (-20F this last one).

In summer mine is located in a shaded but open wooded spot. I clean the poop tray daily throughout the year, so they don't have a build-up of poop and ammonia underneath them in any case. I do have concern for cooling on hot nights, as my Buckeyes are not hot weather birds, and if I were to add more to reach the max that will be my main concern. Some put ice packs in there, or set up a fan outside one of the ventilation windows, pointed in. But folks do that also with conventional coops. I have heard that some who keep their Cubes within very well-secured walk-in runs remove the back door and/or the poop tray, so the birds are roosting in the open air. I prefer the added security of the intact housing.
 
Any Eglu owners here? I recently purchased the Eglu Cube + 9ft run for my 5 standard-sized hens. I have heard ao many wonderful things about them, and the coops suit my needs perfectly since it is mobile.

Has anyone here have any issues with 5 hens in a cube?

I also live in a warm/humid climate and wondering if anyone else who is a Cube owner living in a similar kind of area have any issues with the coop with 5 hens?

Also, I would please ask that this discussion does not get into a heated debate about “Eglus vs. wooden coops” so it doesn’t risk getting locked. I realize there is a part of the chicken farming community who absolutely despises Eglus and that is their prerogative….
Hi, I have had six in the cube for almost a year. Moved them in from a mite infested wooden coop when they were about 3 months old. I was great until the past month or so they've been kicking each other out at night before the auto door closes. They've gotten huge over winter and it just seems too small now, so I'm exploring other options from T.S., like this one.
New! Producer's Pride Guardian Chicken Coop, 14 Chicken Capacity


I do love the eglu for many reasons, like it keeps the eggs from freezing, so I know they're warm in it, and so easy to clean. I just wish it were taller with high roost bars, if not just bigger.
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