Is an Eglu worth the money

[slipperandpjsmum]

We are considering getting hens, just in the research phase at the moment. Had a look on the omlet website and wondered are the Eglus worth the money? I understand they appear alot easier to keep clean but other than that are there any other advantages?

The eglu itself is OK but IMHO the run that goes with it is not great as it is low to the ground and chickens like to get up high. I sold my eglu and bought a wooden coop and walk in run. I wouldn't go back.

It depends on what you mean by 'worth the money'. On a cost per egg basis then it would take a very long time to make your money back compared to buying free-range organic eggs in the supermarket.

My parents have an Eglu cube. I think it's definitely worth the money to them as it's easy to maintain and easy to move around. But then the chickens are more of a hobby to them than a financially viable alternative to buying eggs.

I have an eglu and a cube and wouldn't swap. You can get them second hand on ebay or on the for sale section on Omlet.

Glad you asked this - I am looking into this too. I like the idea of the mini tutorial you get on delivery, as I am a newbie. Will probs go for the classic rather than cube - not sure we have the time to cope with more than 3 hens.

I have a Cube and two wooden houses, and I do like my Cube best. It is so easy to clean and move.

They hold their value well, but I prefer my wooden house for aesthetic reasons. DH refused to have something resembling a '90's Mac on the lawn.

I suppose what a mean by worth the cost relates to Omlets promotion of time saving. We would be keeping the hens as a hobby. There appear to be quite a few people posting who have experienced both the wooden house and the eglu. Is the eglu dramatically easier to keep clean than more traditional coops?

LoveRedShoes - know what you mean about the delivery/tutorial from Omlet but then we have been to a few 'how to keep chickens' talks which were really useful. When are you thinking of taking the plunge?

In my opinion, a plastic hen house is no easier to keep clean etc than a well designed wooden one. It is more a question of aesthetics.

It's the ease of movement of the Cube that appeals to me. One of my other houses is a gorgeous Flyte so Fancy house, lovely to look at but a PITA to move. I have to involve my dh in 'Chicken Operations' every time I want it moved which involves quite a bit of grumbling. The cube is like a small caravan on wheels and is a dream to move singlehandedly.

I do agree with you chickenshavenolips that wooden houses are much, much prettier.

I've never had a wooden one but I do love my Eglu; the fact that I can move the house and run easily by myself is a big plus because dh doesn't want to have anything to do with the chickens and would have grumbled if I had had to ask him every time I wanted to move it.
The fact that it only takes a few mins to get it completely spotless is nice too.

I think if they spent most of their time in the run it would feel small though; mine mostly free-range and I just think of the run as a safe place to put them when necessary.

SlippersandPJs, I was hoping to get one very soon (have been thinking about it for a long time already) but wondering if it will be better to get them in spring, when the weather is milder, considering I am a newbie.
How about you?

Hi

DH and I have been thinking about getting some chickens for a few years now and we've decided that it's now or never.

Can anyone recommend websites / books to help get us started, please? Alternatively, if there's a kind soul out there who could offer some advice on the reality of keeping chickens we'd be very grateful. We'd especially like to know how noisy they are. We live in a fairly quiet residential area next to a large field and have a 5m x 5m patch of land at the back of the house. It's fenced-in and separate from the houses but obviously we don't want to annoy any of the neighbours.

Thanks!

Have and use both and prefer my eglu by far for ease, comfort of birds and easiness to clean.
The run isn't too great though

Try the onlet forum Pass me
theyre very helpful regardless of your housing

Hens aren't that noisy; DON'T get a cockerel. Easy to keep if you canspare 10 mins twice a day and great fun. Also you'll never have to throw away left-overs, rotting apples, sour milk etc again.

yup, the Omlet website/forum.

they cluck a bit when they lay an egg but that's about it for noise really.

The simple answer is YES!! I have had ny Eglu & extended run sice Sept (through Omlet, the chap set it all up so quickly & was full of advice) I find it easy to maintain & clean & my 3 chucks must be happy because i get lovely fresh eggs each day, go for it

Do you need a good sized garden for an Eglu? I've looked into them a couple of time and are desperate to get one but whenever I read the recommended garden dimensions, I am put off as we don't have a huge (town garden) and someone also said they will really smell if we have them too close to the house ...... here's hoping it's not too bad on both counts so I can go for this year ...... what do you think ?

I've owned my Eglu for the past 5-ish years, originally in my very small concrete yard and now in our larger back garden.

By "small", I mean this big:
gem.ywah.co.uk/photos/viewphoto.html?Dir=gardenpartysep05&PhotoID=11.jpg

My 2 chickens were fine in the little yard. The eglu was on bark chippings which could be shovelled into the composter every couple of months and refreshed, and the yard was swept and hosed down when necessary. I tended to leave it in Winter, and then give it a very good spring clean. A high-pressure wash gets the Eglu sparkling again.

They used to jump up on the wall you can see to have dust baths and dig for bugs, or hop onto the windowsill to watch me doing the washing-up.

I bought them mealworms as treats, and gave them all our leftover veg so they had enough variety. They loved muesli and raisins too.

They did smell a bit in the summer, as the sun baked the poo, but like I said, a good brush and a hose down fixes it.

I would just say don't get ducks! They're adorable but so much messier, noisier and smellier.

I love my cube! I find it very easy to use and clean - about 5 minutes in the morning to let them out, feed them, collect eggs and de-poop once a week and a bit more of a clean at weekends. My DH gives it a proper clean about every 6 weeks.

Another great thing about a cube is that you don't have to shut the cube door at night, just leave it half closed all the time. Then they can get up when they fancy in the morning and potter around the run before I drag myself out to open the run door and let them free range all day. VERY useful in summer when they want to get up about 4am and I do not.

Also highly recommend chicken feed with bokashi in (you can get it from wiggly wigglers) as it makes the poo much less smelly!

I love my purple cube too..started off with an eglu then upgraded to wir and cube. Eglu is now used for intros if I ever get more hens...currently have 5.

It is so easy to clean especially with a powerwash

Eglu is a must! Had it for 3 yrs, DH does the chicken thing & loves it...easy to clean etc. He now wants a cube too!

So we have been looking into this, we would like 4 girls and are seriously considering the eglu cube. Does the £695 on the eglu site include the 2m run? I might be being dim but I can't see it say anywhere that it does or doesn't - although the picture would suggest it does.

Then my next question, the long term plan is to let them out if the garden but if we are away for a weekend or even a 2 week holiday, is the run going to be adequate?