How to Erect an Omlet WIR - with photos

Omlet were very helpful, and I finished the run back in July. I've just started a Photobucket account and uploaded all the pictures I took at the time in the hope that they will be of help to anybody embarking on building the run themselves. It was OK, but I did have to redo several bits as the instructions were quite difficult to see.


There are also some photos of the run covers I bought and put up yesterday as well as the funshades that were on sale at £5 each and seem to do a good, if gaudy, job of protecting the sides a little.

Things to watch out for:

Square door sections - these must not stick up above the start of the roof or the roof panels will not go on. Sounds obvious but didn't occur to me :)

Roof struts - These should fit neatly into the corners where the roof joins the sides. If the ground is a bit uneven, it can take a bit of jiggling to get this right.

Roof - The curved bit of the panel is the bit that joins onto the wall. Don't do what I did and attach the straight piece to the side. It most definitely does not work!  :lol:

Door - I found it quite difficult to get the door attached so it opened easily. You need to be sure that the ground is not uneven where you position the door or it will hit the bumps as it opens and not open enough.

Other than that, it goes together fairly easily. I put it up on my own and didn't need a stepladder. It took several afternoons though, but that was probably because I made mistakes and had to keep rebuilding bits.

I've now added the roof covers (just in time for the snow) and they work a treat.

Erecting an Omlet WIR

Well, its been a while, but my new run is all built and works brilliantly.

I've taken lots of photos which I will post up eventually, but meanwhile here's my take.

Great product. Straightforward to put together. I did it entirely on my own (I'm 5ft 6 inches tall) and I didn't need a stepladder.

Things to watch out for:

There are two cube sections either side of the door. These need to be level AT THE TOP with the top panel, otherwise the roof will not go on properly.

The 2-section door was a bit fiddly, but it seems to work best if the top panel overlaps the bottom slightly.

The instructions are pale photocopies - these could be improved by simply making them more legible, ie printing them out on better quality paper with better quality ink. Or better still, include some photographs of somebody doing the assembly. The photocopies are so pale it is often really hard to see how things go together. However, with a bit of common sense, it is quite straightforward.

My biggest task was actually laying four paving slaps to level the side with the door on up to the level of the opposite side. I hadn't realised quite how big the WIR would be, and one side ended up on concrete and one side on ground at a lower level. This just did not work so I bought some sharp sand and dry cement mix. Stirred it together, dug a shallow area, lobbed it on the ground and slung some paving slabs I had lying around my garden (I rent). To my amazement, it worked brilliantly and my paving slabs look better than the ones already around so I'm feeling pretty pleased.

I had delays, waiting for correct bits to be delivered (which they were really quickly, Omlet were great). Overall, I'd estimate it took me two afternoons to assemble.

I hope this helps. It is a brilliant WIR and I'm really glad I got it. I took photos as I went and will publish them as soon as I can to help.

New Omlet Walk In Run

My Omlet WIR has just arrived and I'm feeling a little daunted by the task ahead of me. I posted on the Omlet forums for advice on any tips or advice on pitfalls and got some entertaining responses such as the following which really made me laugh.

• I haven't assembled one of those but surely there's only one method with assembling flat pack stuff…
• Rip open all the boxes with your bare hands and strew the bits about the grass 
• Throw the instructions aside, laughing in the face of needing such trivial assistance! 
• Spend 15 hours randomly trying to match bits up. 
• Give up and have a glass of wine before admitting defeat and retrieving the instructions.

 Or is that just me?

After containing my excitement until the end of the working day I finally got out at 6pm thinking I could get 3h assembly work in and finish tomorrow evening.

I got two side panels assembled to form a corner and was feeling very pleased with myself (OK, I was using the instructions). Then I cast around for the door section. As I did so I spotted the eglu hole panel.

Oh dear - I had purchased a WIR to fit my eglu classic with run, however what I've been sent is a WIR to fit an eglu Go without a run. I'll have to get on the phone to them tomorrow. Trouble is, I'm off on holiday for a week and was hoping to get it all assembled before I went. Darn, darn, darn. 

And what do I do with all that cardboard and run pieces while I'm away???? The thought of putting it all back is not appealing. Thank goodness I took the advice and had a bottle of wine chilling ready 

Sharing the WIR

I really want to be sure that the newbies had enough room during the day. Dave is worried about bullying, but they're my hens and having spent alot of time with them, watching them from the window as I work, I think it should be OK so I've moved them in together. This gives me time to check that no bullying is going on and that all hens have equal access to food before I go to Nepal. I think this should be OK because I have 3 eglu glug containers of water, 3 grub containers of food and an extra water dispenser in the traditional style.

Snow again

Blizzard conditions outside. The two little flocks are still separate. However upon being let out, the newbies have all trotted over to the WIR and are wandering in and around that. I think that because of the nice new roof, the floor is all clear of snow and they like the organic pellets. Dave is a bit worried about moving the green eglu into the WIR this week, but I'm sitting at my desk looking out at them from the upstairs window, and I see very little bullying. They seem to be wandering around together fairly happily so I think that when it stops snowing, I'll shift the eglu into the WIR and watch what happens. I'm off to Nepal for 3 weeks on Saturday, and Dave doesn't usually work from home so I want them all to have a reasonable area to move around in during the week.

Integration going well

I've worked from home since Tuesday this week. Today is the third day. After introducing them late Monday, I let the roam together all Tuesday. I occasionally spied on them from various windows to see what they were up to but there didn't seem any big conflicts.

Tuesday saw Nutmeg making quite aggressive approaches to the three ex-batts who scuttled away in a little group like elderly ladies. By Wednesday it was better. If the two little flocks came near each other, one might make a slight dash for the newbies who would run away, but nothing more serious than that.

Today is Thursday and no sign of aggression, except I did see one of the ex-batts appearing to peck at the front chest of another ex-batt, where the new feathers are coming through. The other ex-batt didn't seem to mind at all, so not sure what is going on there. Preening perhaps?

At one point, all six were in the walk in run (WIR). There was no conflict at all. It is quite funny, the ex-batts seem really keen on the layers pellets I feed the established hens, and Nutmeg, Amber and Patsy love to gobble up the ex-batt crumb. I think I shall stop buying that from now on as the ex-batts are clearly able to eat the normal organic layers food.

It is now pouring with rain and I looked out to see the most comical sight. Each set of chickens seems fascinated by the accomodation of the other set, with my original hens spending alot of time exploring the new green eglu and run. I now have the three ex-batts sheltering under the pink eglu in the WIR, and the three original hens sheltering under the cover in the ex-batt's run.

I shall introduce the green eglu to the WIR next week, probably on Monday so I can watch what happens Monday and Tuesday. I'm in the office on Wednesday so my overall aim is that all six chickens can be in the nice dry WIR when we're away from the house during the day.

The WIR is starting to look a little small now mind. I wonder if we should build another.

Fitting a new roof

The walk in run was originally fitted with a corrugated plastic roof with a slope down to one side. Sadly, we could not get the right weight of corrugated plastic, so we put up some thin stuff. This warped in the hot summer sunshine, then when it rained, the water pooled in the dips and dribbled through onto the hens.

We rigged up a rather Heath Robinson like affair with two Omlet sunshades which caught the water and channeled it down into a handy bucket, but still the chippings tended to get damp and it really wasn't the Buckinghen Palace we had intended.

We needed a new roof.

After ordering the wood, Dave cleverly created a lovely pitched roof. This was despite rather changeable conditions - pouring rain, then sun, then snow. The outside has been quickly sealed, and as you can see, Amber, Patsy and Nutmeg are looking at their new, improved, walk-in-run with awe.