[kelsgirlsx]

Hello all  I was wondering if any of you guys and girlies had any experience or advice on the pro's and con's of plastic housing for your chooks. I have looked at the eglu and also a recyled plastic chicken ark (much cheaper than the eglu and bigger). I am put off the eglu as it isn't suitable for 3 hens and the cube is just silly money. I was wondering if anyone has converted a plastic storage shed and if the results were successful. I have recently had to let my 3 girls go to a new home as their wooden ark became infested with the dreaded red mite. Due to the construction of the ark it became impossible to get rid of the mite and the hens were getting ill, not to mention the poor dog and cat bringing the damn things in the house! The garden is still a no go area for the kids so any advice on getting rid of them from the garden would also be greatly appreciated. We have treated all the ark and garden with mite powder and disenfectants, jeyes and hot water but they are still out there. I am gutted to have lost my hens and determind to learn by this awful experience. Would housing them in a plastic house improved my chances of avoiding the mite and would it have been easier to get rid of them. Any advice would be greatly received.

Many thanks kelly x

[Aunt Sally]

A converted plastic shed or tool store would cook your chooks in the summer and freeze them in the winter unfortunatly.  Wood has good insulation properties and plastic does not.

That's why Omlet make the eglu and cube double skinned to keep it warm in the winter and cool in the summer. 

[kelsgirlsx]

oh dear, thats disappointing. our first chicken house was homemade and unfortunatley i made the mistake of building it off the ground and the local rats made themselves at home. I then splashed out on the ark which was infested with mite and has been burnt. I cant imagine what my reluctant husband would say about a eglu. He has already mentioned that sainbury's do flippin great eggs without the rats or mites and they are so much cheaper. I miss my girls so much though. Chicken keeping is not easy is it  I think i will have to be chickenless for a few birthdays while i save for the eglu. Many thanks for the advice x x

ps any ideas how long it will take for the mites to leave our garden.

[Aunt Sally]

An eglu can work out cheaper in the long run.  You've worked your way through two wooden ones in how long ?  My eglu is 4 years old and is in as good condition now as when I bought it.  No mites either and no expensive chemicals to get rid of them 

[kelsgirlsx]

yes i can really see the benefit both cost wise and cleaning of the eglu. it would'nt be so bad if i had done my homework and just brought one in the first place. as you said the cost of the 2 wooden ones would have nearly bought a eglu. hubby will go spare though. i might ebay him to go towards the eglu fund  offers anyone! i bet the damn red mite are doing eglu sales the world of good.

How many chooks and what breeds do you keep in your eglu aunt sally and do you have the original or the cube?

[Aunt Sally]

I have an eglu MkII and only have two hens in it as I'm very short of space for a run big enough for more.  I don't have enough space for a cube.

I am going to increase it to 3 hens as I think the run (about 4 squ metres) will be big enough as the hens freerange most of the time.  The eglu will house 4 medium sized hens but I don't think my run will.

[archiesgems]

a friend of mine has an eglu and mites aswell, they are good but not mite proof

[Aunt Sally]

No one has ever said they are mite proof.  Your friend obviously doesn't pay much attention to his house keeping 

Or perhaps he has wooden coops as well.

[archiesgems]

my friend is one of the most experienced breeders in the country, just because you get mite doesnt mean that your house keeping is bad, people get head lice but that doesnt mean that they don't wash their hair 

[Aunt Sally]

You're a bit grumpy tonight Jason.

Things not going to well for you 

[archiesgems]

You're a bit grumpy tonight Jason.

Things not going to well for you 

Not grumpy at all aunty just fed up with comments like that, the whole idea of a site like this is to give advise and general chat and to say things like that will make some people think that bad house keeping is the cause of mites,

I have just got rid of a very bad mite problem and being a breeder my cleaning duties never stop including steam cleaning the pens at least once a fortnight, so does this mean that my house keeping is bad to?

[chickenlady]

No one has ever said they are mite proof.  Your friend obviously doesn't pay much attention to his house keeping  
Or perhaps he has wooden coops as well.

It is a bit of a damning statement!  

[Aunt Sally]

I think you misunderstand  me

Mite in wooden housing is a big problem as you say and no amount of cleaning can prevent it popping up especially this year.  But in a plastic coop if it gets in it is very easy to get rid of, unless you get reinfection from nearby wooden coops of course.

[Aunt Sally]

Why would a big breeder have and eglu ?  Surely they are just for back garden pets like mine !

[archiesgems]

No one has ever said they are mite proof.  Your friend obviously doesn't pay much attention to his house keeping 

Or perhaps he has wooden coops as well.

that certainly isnt as it came across auntie. mite are a problem no matter what your housing is made from until someone invents a bubble that has no seams and floats in the air then they will always be a problem regardless of the material used