Help - Omlet Eglu owners - how to ventilate the roost?

[JohnOsh]

Thank you all for these suggestions. I love the renderings of fan placement.
I wish Omlet would have built it with better ventilation in mind - if I knew then what I know now.....

Re the last sentence……how true.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Thank you all for these suggestions. I love the renderings of fan placement.
I wish Omlet would have built it with better ventilation in mind - if I knew then what I know now.....

Read through this thread. I don’t think wooden coops are any cooler in summer, people use fans for them too. Especially with plywood + metal roofing they can get hot. The Eglu double-wall plastic actually does work at keeping the direct sun from heating it up via the walls, it really slows down both heating and cooling, but when EVERYWHERE is so hot as this summer has been, and the birds get in there too for the night, it’s going to be too warm.

This year I set up shade cloths over it and all around it, placed so that breezes can go across. I added two small rechargeable fans with clips I have pointed out the back vents. If the fan housings aren’t touching the sides or roof, which really amplifies things, they are quiet. The birds have never seemed bothered by them. Last year I bought a second poop tray and cut out a rectangle and zip tied hardware cloth on it. This year for the hottest nights I also ran a pole with a rechargeable fan clipped to it under the poop tray pointed up, set on low.

I had a NFM episode and the Cube is very easy to clean and coat with spray. I have not experienced red mites but I expect the easy disassembly and modularity is great for that too.

Lots of folks on BYC don’t understand the Eglu as a roosting and nestbox shelter. It is not meant as a stand-alone “coop” in the traditional sense. It is a roosting and egg-laying shelter. I think I haven’t seen one post about it on BYC without somebody jumping on it and trying to discourage and “educate” the poster about the technical dimensions not being enough for a “coop”, etc. It really gets some people’s backs up. Show me a perfect “coop”? Frankly, Facebook user groups have been friendlier places for Omlet-using chicken keepers to get help and advice. That is unfortunate BYC can’t seem to do the same.

Omlet does exaggerate the number of birds - yes ten large breeds could probably fit and be okay for winter, but I would check on them for moisture to see if the ventilation is enough. The ventilation in my experience is great for six chickens and I think more could do fine but I haven’t seen reports on more birds in there. I monitor with cameras and am thinking about getting a temperature & humidity sensor, then I could report on that. But technically, ten birds can roost in there.

However for the kind of heat we get in summer in the USA it does require some modifications, mentioned above. But who here has not put fans in their coops for summer when it is so hot, wooden or plastic?

It really fits five - six large breeds nicely, winter and summer. But some people do have 12-14 birds (including some bantams) that cram in there without problems. It depends on your climate.

My understanding of the Eglu Cube is it’s not a “coop”in the traditional sense as much as a roosting and nesting sheltered space. It is not for feeding and watering, dust bathing, running around, flying, hanging out, etc., something a lot of people do in their coops - er, their chickens do! - which are relatively large spaces built for both day and night. You don’t lock your chickens in the Cube for a snowstorm or when you go away, you lock them in the run. And the run is outfitted for winter with tarps and such. The tractor part of the Omlet concept - the run - is integral for daytime space for their use. Or you need a fixed secure run, with enough square footage as everyone recommends. One square foot per bird for roosting is very small but the Cube has over twice that for six birds.

Okay I’ll get off my soapbox now…

 

[Bawkbok]

Hi ChicoryBlue, We've never had a problem with it except it does require additional fan ventilation, which all coops do, as you mentioned. We are happy with it for the purpose of keeping them safe and warm / cool whatever the need is. The double wall is a good design and it certainly is predator proof in every way. I never worry about anything getting in, ever.

My husband finally watched my cleaning process which included removing all the removable parts, scrubbing them clean, washing down the inside and installing fresh bed pads and some fresh pine shavings, a small sprinkle of PDZ if necessary and I'm done - which took all of about 8 minutes - he said "that's it?" Easy Peasy, which was one of the main reasons for our purchasing it, not to mention bugs are not an issue at all, including no mites / lice / worms, mosquitoes, termites, etc. that seem to plague wooden coops - which of course would not hold up in our environment without a lot of maintenance.

In this humid climate we removed the window vent and leave the door wide open during hot months for additional air flow. The girls are comfortable, I check on them and no one is panting. They never come out in the morning panting either as we leave a box fan in the run on low and it is perfect for enough air flow in their direction. Sometimes I have a small fan blowing on the backside underneath as well and we also have a rechargeable fan to hang on the outside back vent to draw the air through. They are now used to the fan that we leave on 24x7 in the run and they actually lay in front of or under it for comfort during the day.

An additional run extension is absolutely required for the extra space. This also eliminates the need to pull the tractor around through the yard every day for different ground space given the small run that comes with the coop which we did for 6 months until my back simply couldn't take it anymore. They were also allowed to free range much more in that circumstance with such limited space until we added a run extension. Now with the extra 110 sq ft of run space, I've been able to reduce their free range time, which allows me to tend to other priorities, as I'm always out there 100% of the time when they are ranging.

The run is also predator proof. I never have to worry since it is fully enclosed. We tarp out the top as it would be too much sun and the girls seem happy and content, which makes momma happy and content.

I don't like the ladder on the cube, they've improved that on the mega size one and it cannot be retrofitted to the cube, so that's a bummer. Other than that, it definitely serves our purpose for this small yard. I just wish they would have done a better job with ventilation by including some on the side, but we've gotten beyond that. What coop is perfect and doesn't need something else after being built? Kind of like designing and building ones' own house, there is always a "wish I would have thought of that" moment.

We did lock them in the cube during a tropical storm / hurricane as I didn't want them being blown all over the run and getting injured by such high winds. I did not include water or food in the cube during the storm. They were fine and not stressed at all like I expected when I freed them. It's so heavy that thing isn't going anywhere in high winds.

I wish in hindsight, we would have purchased the mega size one - just because I want more space for more birds, eventually.
What's funny is, the girls huddle together, practically on top of each other after they coop. They have space to spread out but choose not to.

Everyone has their own preference for coop design, structure, and execution which really depends on the climate in which one lives.
Someday, when we have acreage and more space, we will build a taj mahal coop and run. Until then, we're satisfied.

 

[SirSquirrelNutz]

Read through this thread. I don’t think wooden coops are any cooler in summer, people use fans for them too. Especially with plywood + metal roofing they can get hot. The Eglu double-wall plastic actually does work at keeping the direct sun from heating it up via the walls, it really slows down both heating and cooling, but when EVERYWHERE is so hot as this summer has been, and the birds get in there too for the night, it’s going to be too warm.

This year I set up shade cloths over it and all around it, placed so that breezes can go across. I added two small rechargeable fans with clips I have pointed out the back vents. If the fan housings aren’t touching the sides or roof, which really amplifies things, they are quiet. The birds have never seemed bothered by them. Last year I bought a second poop tray and cut out a rectangle and zip tied hardware cloth on it. This year for the hottest nights I also ran a pole with a rechargeable fan clipped to it under the poop tray pointed up, set on low.

I had a NFM episode and the Cube is very easy to clean and coat with spray. I have not experienced red mites but I expect the easy disassembly and modularity is great for that too.

Lots of folks on BYC don’t understand the Eglu as a roosting and nestbox shelter. It is not meant as a stand-alone “coop” in the traditional sense. It is a roosting and egg-laying shelter. I think I haven’t seen one post about it on BYC without somebody jumping on it and trying to discourage and “educate” the poster about the technical dimensions not being enough for a “coop”, etc. It really gets some people’s backs up. Show me a perfect “coop”? Frankly, Facebook user groups have been friendlier places for Omlet-using chicken keepers to get help and advice. That is unfortunate BYC can’t seem to do the same.

Omlet does exaggerate the number of birds - yes ten large breeds could probably fit and be okay for winter, but I would check on them for moisture to see if the ventilation is enough. The ventilation in my experience is great for six chickens and I think more could do fine but I haven’t seen reports on more birds in there. I monitor with cameras and am thinking about getting a temperature & humidity sensor, then I could report on that. But technically, ten birds can roost in there.

However for the kind of heat we get in summer in the USA it does require some modifications, mentioned above. But who here has not put fans in their coops for summer when it is so hot, wooden or plastic?

It really fits five - six large breeds nicely, winter and summer. But some people do have 12-14 birds (including some bantams) that cram in there without problems. It depends on your climate.

My understanding of the Eglu Cube is it’s not a “coop”in the traditional sense as much as a roosting and nesting sheltered space. It is not for feeding and watering, dust bathing, running around, flying, hanging out, etc., something a lot of people do in their coops - er, their chickens do! - which are relatively large spaces built for both day and night. You don’t lock your chickens in the Cube for a snowstorm or when you go away, you lock them in the run. And the run is outfitted for winter with tarps and such. The tractor part of the Omlet concept - the run - is integral for daytime space for their use. Or you need a fixed secure run, with enough square footage as everyone recommends. One square foot per bird for roosting is very small but the Cube has over twice that for six birds.

Okay I’ll get off my soapbox now…

You are very right and I had the same thoughts about the Cube. So build the run with thoughts of protection from climate in Wisconsin. Open 3/4 of the year and closed up with polycarbonate sheets for the winter. Here are few pics of the Cube inside the cover part of the "run".

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Hi ChicoryBlue, We've never had a problem with it except it does require additional fan ventilation, which all coops do, as you mentioned. We are happy with it for the purpose of keeping them safe and warm / cool whatever the need is. The double wall is a good design and it certainly is predator proof in every way. I never worry about anything getting in, ever.

My husband finally watched my cleaning process which included removing all the removable parts, scrubbing them clean, washing down the inside and installing fresh bed pads and some fresh pine shavings, a small sprinkle of PDZ if necessary and I'm done - which took all of about 8 minutes - he said "that's it?" Easy Peasy, which was one of the main reasons for our purchasing it, not to mention bugs are not an issue at all, including no mites / lice / worms, mosquitoes, termites, etc. that seem to plague wooden coops - which of course would not hold up in our environment without a lot of maintenance.

In this humid climate we removed the window vent and leave the door wide open during hot months for additional air flow. The girls are comfortable, I check on them and no one is panting. They never come out in the morning panting either as we leave a box fan in the run on low and it is perfect for enough air flow in their direction. Sometimes I have a small fan blowing on the backside underneath as well and we also have a rechargeable fan to hang on the outside back vent to draw the air through. They are now used to the fan that we leave on 24x7 in the run and they actually lay in front of or under it for comfort during the day.

An additional run extension is absolutely required for the extra space. This also eliminates the need to pull the tractor around through the yard every day for different ground space given the small run that comes with the coop which we did for 6 months until my back simply couldn't take it anymore. They were also allowed to free range much more in that circumstance with such limited space until we added a run extension. Now with the extra 110 sq ft of run space, I've been able to reduce their free range time, which allows me to tend to other priorities, as I'm always out there 100% of the time when they are ranging.

The run is also predator proof. I never have to worry since it is fully enclosed. We tarp out the top as it would be too much sun and the girls seem happy and content, which makes momma happy and content.

I don't like the ladder on the cube, they've improved that on the mega size one and it cannot be retrofitted to the cube, so that's a bummer. Other than that, it definitely serves our purpose for this small yard. I just wish they would have done a better job with ventilation by including some on the side, but we've gotten beyond that. What coop is perfect and doesn't need something else after being built? Kind of like designing and building ones' own house, there is always a "wish I would have thought of that" moment.

We did lock them in the cube during a tropical storm / hurricane as I didn't want them being blown all over the run and getting injured by such high winds. I did not include water or food in the cube during the storm. They were fine and not stressed at all like I expected when I freed them. It's so heavy that thing isn't going anywhere in high winds.

I wish in hindsight, we would have purchased the mega size one - just because I want more space for more birds, eventually.
What's funny is, the girls huddle together, practically on top of each other after they coop. They have space to spread out but choose not to.

Everyone has their own preference for coop design, structure, and execution which really depends on the climate in which one lives.
Someday, when we have acreage and more space, we will build a taj mahal coop and run. Until then, we're satisfied.

Hello Bawkbok!
Sounds like we are of the same mind on most things Eglu. I have had my Cube since the summer of 2020. The big mega Pro wasn't available until Jan-Feb of this year 2024, when they took pre-orders from folks, and I think began shipping in April, or May? I wasn't sure about it, and how much it costs, but then I decided I would get one eventually, for the same reason as you say, I may at some point have a small flock of 8-9 birds. They have a good sale once a year, possibly always around Labor Day, and it was 20% off the entire order.

The Cube ladder isn't great but the girls do use it. When they were chicks I taped grippy rubber shelf liner on the side poles because the chicks liked going up the sides, and later inserted 1x2 boards on their flat sides across the ladder sticking into the run welded wire for little balconies they could hang out on. It was all easy to make changes to. Here they are as young pullets, but still using it

This year I built a "veranda" for them in front of the pop door out of plywood, it's about 2 feet x 3 feet. I drilled holes in the edge away from the pop door for the ladder, and set the ladder a bit more toward the center so that the narrow way between the ladder and the run is a bit wider and they can easily get by it there (I have Buff O's and Buckeyes, big girls). So now they sometimes climb a step or two and flap-fly up to the veranda, or fly right up there from the run floor. Or climb the ladder the whole way. The veranda is resting on two 2x2's that I carved the ends down on so they stick into the welded wire. I also put eye screws in them and a zip tie through that and around each end and that's clipped with carabiners to the run wire. So it is secure but removeable.
The only thing about this is that the platform is not waterproof so I keep either a tarp right on the run hanging down on each side, or as now for summer hanging high above it for shade and rain. This was last fall.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

You are very right and I had the same thoughts about the Cube. So build the run with thoughts of protection from climate in Wisconsin. Open 3/4 of the year and closed up with polycarbonate sheets for the winter. Here are few pics of the Cube inside the cover part of the "run".

I love your set-up. I have dreams of building a run like that!

I currently have two 9x12 Walk-In Runs set at a "T" to eachother, polycarbonate on a frame built in on one run, so it has a roof, and just a tarp on the other run. I tarp the sides as needed according to the weather here (upstate New York, with a north-west exposure). Beyond that there is an electric-fence area covered with strong aviary netting on greenhouse frames. That goes to a sunny area one way and a forest-type area (next to a row of maple, oak and ash trees) in another. I'd like to build your structure under the trees. Did you buy plans for yours?

 

[SirSquirrelNutz]

I love your set-up. I have dreams of building a run like that!

I currently have two 9x12 Walk-In Runs set at a "T" to eachother, polycarbonate on a frame built in on one run, so it has a roof, and just a tarp on the other run. I tarp the sides as needed according to the weather here (upstate New York, with a north-west exposure). Beyond that there is an electric-fence area covered with strong aviary netting on greenhouse frames. That goes to a sunny area one way and a forest-type area (next to a row of maple, oak and ash trees) in another. I'd like to build your structure under the trees. Did you buy plans for yours?

Thanks for the kind words. When we first got the girls, I had small Omelet run set up and temporary bigger run around that while I figured out what the permanent build would need. Lots and lots and lots of reading on what worked and did not work, so I made my own plans. Sorry it is paper copy with to many "chicken scratching" notes for anybody to follow. I am not builder by trade and the 7 weeks to build drove my wife crazy....she does like the results, . If you like, I could post pics of the build progress. And lastly, put this in half in the cedars was very good idea. The girls love it, especially in the heat of summer.

 

[Bawkbok]

Hello Bawkbok!
Sounds like we are of the same mind on most things Eglu. I have had my Cube since the summer of 2020. The big mega Pro wasn't available until Jan-Feb of this year 2024, when they took pre-orders from folks, and I think began shipping in April, or May? I wasn't sure about it, and how much it costs, but then I decided I would get one eventually, for the same reason as you say, I may at some point have a small flock of 8-9 birds. They have a good sale once a year, possibly always around Labor Day, and it was 20% off the entire order.

The Cube ladder isn't great but the girls do use it. When they were chicks I taped grippy rubber shelf liner on the side poles because the chicks liked going up the sides, and later inserted 1x2 boards on their flat sides across the ladder sticking into the run welded wire for little balconies they could hang out on. It was all easy to make changes to. Here they are as young pullets, but still using it
View attachment 3941561

This year I built a "veranda" for them in front of the pop door out of plywood, it's about 2 feet x 3 feet. I drilled holes in the edge away from the pop door for the ladder, and set the ladder a bit more toward the center so that the narrow way between the ladder and the run is a bit wider and they can easily get by it there (I have Buff O's and Buckeyes, big girls). So now they sometimes climb a step or two and flap-fly up to the veranda, or fly right up there from the run floor. Or climb the ladder the whole way. The veranda is resting on two 2x2's that I carved the ends down on so they stick into the welded wire. I also put eye screws in them and a zip tie through that and around each end and that's clipped with carabiners to the run wire. So it is secure but removeable.
The only thing about this is that the platform is not waterproof so I keep either a tarp right on the run hanging down on each side, or as now for summer hanging high above it for shade and rain. This was last fall.
View attachment 3941592


View attachment 3941567

WOW - I love what you've done to modify the cube. The sun platform is a fantastic idea. Thank you for posting the pics and the details on installation. It is now high on my (husband's) to do list. With the ladder being off to the side, our girls never go over there and this would certainly solve that problem, placing it in the middle. Not to mention the BO likes to hang out at the door in the am forcing the others to wait behind her to clumsily half fly / half jump down. The platform would solve that issue too. It's genious.

 

[Bawkbok]

You are very right and I had the same thoughts about the Cube. So build the run with thoughts of protection from climate in Wisconsin. Open 3/4 of the year and closed up with polycarbonate sheets for the winter. Here are few pics of the Cube inside the cover part of the "run".

That's a beautiful run you've built. I would love to see your hand scratched plans if you're willing to share. We hope to one day add on to the current run, which is an Omlet prefab, all wire. I prefer to have some walls somewhere for wind protection. Your space looks like a place I'd want to live if I were a chicken.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

WOW - I love what you've done to modify the cube. The sun platform is a fantastic idea. Thank you for posting the pics and the details on installation. It is now high on my (husband's) to do list. With the ladder being off to the side, our girls never go over there and this would certainly solve that problem, placing it in the middle. Not to mention the BO likes to hang out at the door in the am forcing the others to wait behind her to clumsily half fly / half jump down. The platform would solve that issue too. It's genious.

It does help with a place to get ready to go in for the night. The ones who are eager to roost but aren't "supposed" to go in yet (according to the higher pecking -order chickens) have a place to mill about and wait that seems more satisfying to them than waiting on the floor below. So it helps everyone get sorted. If one did want to block the door on purpose that could still happen, but there's more "room" around the doorway to go in and out, and it does seem to help. Then in the morning there's a place to come out but not have to jump-fly off with everyone else pushing from behind. They can just move over and survey things before they get down.