Does anyone keep chickens in an EGLU?

They would keep the weeds down but long grass is a problem. If possible, it would be best to strim it so they can do the rest.

We have cats - they get used to each other. They were all fairly gobsmacked when they first saw each other but quickly ignored each other. I wondered about this before we got hens but it's very rare for cats to attack hens or t'other way round. Chicks are another matter because they are breakfast size.

The enclosure size sounds fine but ... if you keep chickens on the same ground for a long time parasites build up. In a field or huge garden it's not a problem but in a small run it can be. It's generally recommended that when they've ruined the ground, you move their run so the ground can recover. This is the principle of arks and small coops with small runs, you move it round every few days so the hens get fresh greenery/grass and the ground has a rest.

Another way is to put the coop in the middle and let them have one half for a while and then switch them to the other half.

Mine are free ranging the garden so I hope it'll be OK. In the summer you don't have to worry - it's when you have days of rain, that the ground becomes a mire.

I have two chickens and a cat and they have never bothered each other. When I first ket the girls out into the garden, they completely ignored the cat. The cat was really inquisitive though and kept creeping up on the girls for a look. These days, they just ignore one another.

Yesterday afternoon, I heard the girls making a very low, continuous clucking sound which I had never heard before. I went out to investigate thinking one of the neighbourhood cats were threatening one of them. Well....when I went out, there was a large black cat which I had never seen before cowering in the corner of the garden and the two girls were rearing up at it :rotfl:

I have an Eglu. I ummed and ahhed for weeks before getting one as I thought it was very expensive (£320). I looked at 6 x 4 sheds which are about £95 and considered converting a shed and building an attached run. In the end, I chose the Eglu as it came with a fox proof run and was maintenance free. It is twin walled which makes it warm in winter and cool in summer, it takes a few seconds to empty the contents of droppings tray into compost heap every morning and it all comes apart to be hosed down once a week. It will never need re-weather proofing and since it all comes apart for cleaning, there are no nooks for red mite to hide in. I too was dubious when I first saw the Eglu, but I can honestly say I think it's money very well spent. It is also light enough for me to move around the garden without any help.


I live outwith of the delivery area to recive livestock from the Eglu people, so I just bought twp hyline hens from a local breeder which were £4.25 each. They started laying about a week after I got them and to date, i have at least two eggs every day without fail, sometimes I get three eggs a day! (Which I didn't think was possible )

Our girls free range for most of the day at the moment and although my original intention was to confine them to their run during the summer months when I had all my veggies in, I haven't the heart to do it now! I'm currently fencing in anything I don't want them to eat....

Chickens are great at gardening :rotfl:

Hello, like Noozan we got an eglu because we had 2 foxes which regularly sunbathed in our garden (broad daylight too) and we wanted peace of mind. it has been great but the problem is 2 chickens are never enough, so now we need more room to expand our poultry empire! We are moving to the country in 3 weeks and thinking of getting some more chickens and maybe ducks but what with bird flu in Scotland we may wait a little. Would need a very big shed/run to keep them indoors all the time.

Our two cats got pecked the first time they went near the hens and have steered clear since.

We have a Maron Brown hybrid and a Black Rock hybrid, Esme and Isabel, they are 18 months old and rule the garden!

The current eglu for sale on the Omlet site is indeed, bigger than the original model and can house 4 chickens. However, the run is still the same size so unless you intend to let the girls free range for most of the day, i would say that the run is too small.

I bought my eglu in February last year and it has served me well; I still stand by my comment that it is money well worth spending.

But....chicken keeping is addictive and I now have 13 chickens, 2 4 week old chicks and 4 2 day old chicks! The older girls live in a converted shed with a 16 foot by 8 foot attached area fenced off for them. The eglu is used as a nursery house/run for chicks when they are ready to be hardened off.

I live in Fife though so am concerned with avian flu having recently been confirmed here. DH and I were discussing whether we should cull 10 of the outdoor girls and keeping the other 3 confined to their shed, with a small covered run attached. The chicks are ok for now as they are still under heat in the spare bedroom and can be moved out to a shed when they are weaned off the heat. To be honest, it's not us we are worried about but we are concerned about any possible reaction/hysteria/worry of neighbours etc.

What do you do with poorly chickens?

What do chickens eat?