Omlet Eglu Cube with 5 standard size hens

[ChicoryBlue]

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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Coop shenanigans are troublesome, aren't they? I sympathize!

 

[Chel0ftheSea]

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 with the 9ft run as well! This is my first time keeping chickens, I moved in 7 little bantams back in early February. I also keep my chickens confined to the run because of the birds of prey in my area. I do try and move it around my yard to a new spot of grass at least twice a week so they have something new to scratch at.

So far things had been going pretty well. The Eglu kept them nice and warm on cold winters nights, they figured out the auto door immediately, and there seemed to be plenty of space for all 7 bantams to sleep comfortably in the cube.

About a week ago my largest bantam (Rhode Island Red) began bullying my littlest bantam (Barbu d'Anvers) to the point of making her bloody. I removed the Barbu d'Anvers to clean her up and let her heal for a couple days, then I put her back in with the flock and removed the bully Rhode Island Red, who is still in chicken jail now.

I think part of the problem was that my chickens were getting bored in the 9ft run, and that may have lead to the bullying. The other hens didn't seem to want to bully the Barbu d'Anvers, but just incase I bought a chicken rolling toy and filled it with mealworms, a nutrient block for them to peck at, and added an extra food station on the other side of the coop. On sunny days I give them their portable dust bath, but I remove it when it is rainy so that it doesn't become a muddy mess. They also had a tree branch across the run to use as a perch, and I added a second one to the corner.

So my biggest take away is that since you are confining them to the 9ft run, make sure they have plenty of things to keep them entertained so that they do not turn on each other.

 

[Sarzetta]

Can you get more extensions than 9ft ?

 

[Chel0ftheSea]

Can you get more extensions than 9ft ?

They sell it with up to a 12ft attached run. But personally that looked like it would be too difficult to move around easily with the wheels and handles.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Can you get more extensions than 9ft ?

You could add on endlessly, like make a long tube run, if you wanted to. They sell sections in 1-meter increments. Their products are very Lego-like that way - I bought a 6 fit run and added another 3 feet later. I also bought a 2 meter x 3 meter Walk-In-Run and eventually added another section to make it 2 meters x 4 meters. But see below --

They sell it with up to a 12ft attached run. But personally that looked like it would be too difficult to move around easily with the wheels and handles.

My 9-ft run is as long as I want to move. The thing will flex, so you have to lift higher the longer you go. Plus there's more weight. So the issue is whether you want to move it around or not.

I did read a review that said their 12 ft (probably closer to 13 ft as it's in meters) coop & run was easy to move, but it depends on your topography - my "front lawn" is a field that was somewhat graded but is lumpy and also has a small slope. I imagine that 12 ft coop is on a flat golf-course-like lawn.

But I believe you don't have to decide now on the final run length, you can add on later if you want.

You could make it really long, but if/when you want to move it you'd have to detach some sections, put the handles on the remaining one with the coop, move it, then remove the handles and re-attach the other length. You'll want help moving the other lengths, one person on each end, or detach each of them and re-assemble them. But I doubt anyone would want to do that very often. So you could make it a permanent run and lay ramial wood chips down in the tube, because adult chickens will really rip up a section of ground within a couple of days.

 

[layayayle]

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.

Fellow Cube coop owner here - Curious about other summer accommodations? We're experiencing a heat wave right now, and I worry about the ventilation and heat getting trapped. I'm considering taking the back off of the coop during the super hot days to get the air moving, and I'm curious if you have other suggestions!

 

[kurby22]

Fellow Cube coop owner here - Curious about other summer accommodations? We're experiencing a heat wave right now, and I worry about the ventilation and heat getting trapped. I'm considering taking the back off of the coop during the super hot days to get the air moving, and I'm curious if you have other suggestions!

I feel like removing the back would be less safe, but! If you don’t have really bad predator issues…you can remove the poop tray so the slatted floor is the bottom and that would probably cool things down quite a bit! I also keep the coop covered in double shade (tree and patio umbrella) so that helps some too. Good luck, I have heard the heat is gonna be awful most everywhere to help us welcome the month of July!

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Fellow Cube coop owner here - Curious about other summer accommodations? We're experiencing a heat wave right now, and I worry about the ventilation and heat getting trapped. I'm considering taking the back off of the coop during the super hot days to get the air moving, and I'm curious if you have other suggestions!

I feel like removing the back would be less safe, but! If you don’t have really bad predator issues…you can remove the poop tray so the slatted floor is the bottom and that would probably cool things down quite a bit! I also keep the coop covered in double shade (tree and patio umbrella) so that helps some too. Good luck, I have heard the heat is gonna be awful most everywhere to help us welcome the month of July!

Because we are expecting record heat this summer I have been thinking of ways to safely increase the ventilation since observing one chicken wing-spreading and panting shortly after the door closes. I think it gets better later in the night as the evening cools off, but still. Heat is tough on Buckeyes. Some wing-spread even in the shade outside the coop on hot days (besides other nutballs sunbathing then - go figure!).

I would not remove the back door. That leaves them so exposed. Think about predation from above, too - what about owls? I have their run areas aviary netted but the Cube itself is not. I do have the whole coop and run areas surrounded by electric fencing - poultry netting, small enough to hopefully thwart a weasel.

I do not want to remove the poop tray because the back part of the tray, with it's dual push-up catch, is a reasonably good protection against anything reaching in and up through the roost bars. The welded wire below the Cube, covered with hardware cloth, also is good protection.

I saw a post on the Omlet user Facebook site by someone who made a screened tray out of wood that fits in there. It's like a cabinet drawer and is really nice looking, but without any safety catches. I think they bungee'd it on against a predator pulling it out by the cabinet knob, not enough imo.

My solution was to buy another poop tray ($35 plus shipping), and to modify it along those lines. I'll see if I can get some pics if anyone is interested. Here's what I did -

I cut out a rectangular hole in the middle, and drilled small holes around it, mostly within the long flex indents. Then I cut and laid 1/2" hardware cloth on the upper side, and secured that with a million good zip ties through the holes. I fastened them with the head up, so that the bottom of the poop tray could slide easily back and forth.

I then cut a bigger piece of nylon porch screening and just lay it on top of that, because we have a lot of mosquitoes here. It will easily lift off for cleaning, and keep the poop off the galvanized hardware cloth (I would use vinyl-coated HC next time). I did pile hemp bedding around the solid edges to catch and easily lift off any poop that lands there.

So far it's working well. What I would change (besides using vinyl-coated HC insteada of bare galvanized), is one or two zip ties catch a bit upon pulling it out. I lift it slightly and it's fine, not a big deal. But I think there are a couple of zip ties on the far end that aren't laying quite flat because of how the holes and the HC openings lined up. They might be a little twisted. I will probably fix that.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Here's a couple pictures

I rolled back the screen to show the zip ties

 

[kurby22]

Here's a couple pictures
View attachment 3561632

I rolled back the screen to show the zip ties
View attachment 3561631

That looks great!! What did you use to cut the hole out?