Does anyone keep chickens in an EGLU?

damski_2

I have been looking at getting an "EGLU" or a "Cube",

brand new to keeping chooks

I know they are expensive but if you buy second hand and then want to upgrade in a year or sos time, I really dont think you will loose a lot of cash

who has one and would recommend it

cheers

damski

dannahaz

I have both a Cube and an Eglu.

I bought the Cube for my hens, and it is absolutely fantastic, well worth the money. It's so easy to clean, loads of space both inside the Cube and in the Run. It's cool in the summer, warm in the winter, no red mite (especially now it comes with plastic roosting bars instead of wooden ones). I only had two hens, so I was a bit worried it would be too big, but it's great. When I compared prices to wooden arks of similar quality, there wasn't much in it.

I then bought two babies, and they can't go in with the Big Girls until they are 22 weeks old. I bought an Eglu to house them, as I know I will be able to sell it afterwards and recoup most of my money. The Eglu is also good. It's a lovely shape and is even easier to clean than the Cube. However, the Cube and Eglu have a very similar overall footprint, and the Cube makes a much better use of space (because the hens can use the area undeneath the Cube, whereas with an Eglu the bit of ground that the Eglu itself sits on gets trashed). If you can afford the Cube then that's what I would recommend.

Don't forget that Omlet also have a money back guarantee, as long as you keep all your packaging etc. And you will know very quickly whether or not it suits you.

Magentasue

We have just bought an eglu because we have moved to a house with a small garden. I looked at the cube and prefer the look of the eglu. The downside is that you can only keep a few hens in it but we're limited to that anyway because of the size of the garden. If we had a large garden, we'd have a shed for them but the eglu is better for us now because it can be moved around. We move it a few feet every morning so none of the ground is getting trashed.

The pros for us are:
* easy to move around - you have to do this because hens trash the ground
* very easy to clean and dries instantly unlike wood
* well made, seems durable
* looks funky but that's personal - some people hate the look
* secure run
* food and water containers are good - off the ground and keep the food and water clean and dry (well, in the case of the food!)

The cons are
* limited space - large hens wouldn't have the headroom but it's fine for medium, small or bantams
*the cost, but as you say, they hold their value

Our hens are only babies so don't know how practical the nest box will be. If you can afford a cube, I think it may be worth considering because so many people add to their flock - chicken keeping is quite addictive. You need to consider the outside space though. Hens turn ground to mud very quickly if confined and they make a lot of mess. They either need a lot of space or smaller areas that can be rested wheile you move them on to fresh ground. The more hens, the more mess.

mambury

just a quick bump of this thread to see if anyone has any further experience of using the cube? I quite fancy it but...... its a lot of money!

thanks
mambury

clutterydrawer

I know people whose eglus have been broken into by foxes and all their chickens killed

gt568

clutterydrawer wrote: »

I know people whose eglus have been broken into by foxes and all their chickens killed

That can happen to virtually any chicken coup, not just eglu's..

mambury

foxes aren't a massive problem here as I live in a rural area and we have an outside dog (chained when we are not around as he has a bit of a sheep fetish, only to play with of course!) I don;t think I need to worry about the dog and the chooks. He found a pheasant once (loads round here) and cornered it. THe pheasant started shreiking and the dog ran away with its tail between its legs!!!

I guess that there will be pros/cons with any type of coop but I like the idea of the eglu/cube being easy to clean. I just wanted some advice really before I spend out, although I think that will be sometime! I'll have to start saving!

THanks
Mambury

mambury

bump!

Anyone got any experience of both a eglu and a wooden coop, which should I choose???

RHYSDAD

Our run is 8 x 8' with a wooden shed and we try to range the hens in the garden in summer. Works very well. our run is fully rooved though as the rain turns the dirt into a quagmire and hens do not like wet feet!!

SailorSam

clutterydrawer wrote: »

I know people whose eglus have been broken into by foxes and all their chickens killed

I've been thinking about getting chickens, my main worry is not foxes but rats, two legged ones.
Although i'm in quite a nice area, it's the middle of estate and have a corner house, so the back garden is easy accessable to anyone walking past. I live next door to the local high school so have hoards of kids passing.
The school is due to close in two years time, so think that it may be best to wait untill after that, for the chickens sake.