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Does anyone keep chickens in an EGLU?
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I like the look of the Eglu for chicken keeping, the fact it looks easy to clean and wont rot and a bit more pleasing on the eye than a wooden box.
But is it worth the money?
I do not keep chickens at the moment but would like to, just 2. I like the idea of them wandering round the garden with me, but not sure either if I will have any garden left!!
I would love to hear from 1st time chicken keepers especially if the chickens are kept in an Eglu.0 -
I like the look of the Eglu for chicken keeping, the fact it looks easy to clean and wont rot and a bit more pleasing on the eye than a wooden box.
But is it worth the money?
I do not keep chickens at the moment but would like to, just 2. I like the idea of them wandering round the garden with me, but not sure either if I will have any garden left!!
I would love to hear from 1st time chicken keepers especially if the chickens are kept in an Eglu.
Definately worth the money. Wooden coops rot in the wet and develop holes. 2 things to be mindeful of. Rats and keeping the chicken house clean.
If you have holes in a wooden house then rats can get in or they can knaw and make their own holes. Rats love layer pellets - chicken feed.
We have our food in a metal locked box and that is inside a hole-free shed. The bedding is in the shed as is the straw and the grit.
The eglu needs regular cleaning as does any animal house. The difference here is that with the eglu you can remove the dome top completely, lay it to one side in your garden, get out the hose and spray it all clean.
We then take out the soiled straw and shavings/bedding from the bottom of the exposed eglu, remove the perch bars and again spray wash the lot.
What you don't get with an eglu is poop catching in the grain of the wood or lodged in between wooden panels. It's just so easy it's unbelievable.
What you also don't get are red mites, nasty little critters that like wooden houses as they can just sit in the grain undisturbed and then transfer to your chicken and make them ill.
The only down side to an eglu is the run and keeping it clean. It's a metre long or as long as you wish if you buy extensions. We use a rake to get rid of debris. But for extra security we use tent pegs to keep the run attached to the garden and keep the rats out (sounds like we have lots of rats but actually it's just a precaution as we've seen none).
A trick with the daily water and food is to change both before you open the house for the day because if you let the chickens out into the run and then attempt to get the water bowl out you'll find the chickens will either peck at you or try to escape from the run or both. We find that topping up the feed and changing the water for fresh (clean out the water bowl thoroughly though as mud collects inside it at times - we use a washing up deely - the kind you use to wash glasses) before letting them out saves a lot of chasing around.
But you learn these things - and you'll love it.
They also love tomatoes
But not potatos - and definately not raw.
We're now looking for our 2nd eglu as we want another 2 chickens and putting them all into one is a little harsh.
Just need to find them cheap cos they sure ain't cheap brand new!0 -
Had our 5 x black rocks for 6 months now and they love their eglu cube - and so do I! We were going to 'save money' and buy a wooden one but glad we didn't - the eglu is fantastic. It is really easy to keep clean and really well made - I think it should last forever whereas our friends have a 2 year old wooden one that is a nightmare to clean and is already starting to rot really badly. I reckon lifespan on a wooden one is only 2 or 3 years so in the long run the Eglu is a bargain.
Dead easy to clean - we lock the girls out, dismantle the cube (roof slides right back, back comes off, roosting bars out, panel separating the nesting box out) give the whole thing a hose down and scrub with a deck bruch and then put back together. It's dry in less than an hour or so at the most and we let the girls back in
We have the cube with an extended run but we have sectioned of the garden and they get let out to forage in amongst the shrubs. A lot of old threads say its hard to get into the run for the cube but the design has changed and the door is a decent size - I'm 6'2" and I can get in.
For the little bit extra an eglu is worth it so long as you plan to keep chickens for a good few years.0 -
Also meant to add that we fastened a 6ft by 9ft tarpaulin to the run to make it more weatherproof when it rains and give shade wen it is sunny - the little one that comeswith the cube is pretty samll. It covers one side of the run and up over the top and I have fastened it with cable ties to keep it secure. Only cost about £4 on ebay.
Our Cube and run sites on weed suppressant memberane with about 3 inches of barch chips on top - keeping them dry means they last for much longer before needing changed.
So far haven't been troubled with foxes even though we back onto open farmland - but I have weighted down the 'skirt' on the run with a selection of boulders to stop them pushing it up to get under - and they can't dig down easily because of the membrane.0 -
bump***
just wondering if anyone knows if an eglu classic would be ok for 3 blackrock hens,i'm thinking of buying one
thanks
scott0 -
Hi
Yes I am sure it would be - the EGLU GO has straighter sides so may be more spacious for the bigger birds.0 -
We have three chickens (Millie, Maggie and Moo) in our standard Eglu, which I purchased second hand from a well know auction site. They have been with us for almost two years now (about March 2009) and I must say, the Eglu has been brilliant. I am actually quite phobic of birds, and the Eglu makes very easy work of letting them out, cleaning and general maintenance - you can top up their feed and water glugs before letting them out of the Eglu, and shut them out of the Eglu in their run when you need to clean it. We put a large piece of tarpaulin over it for shelter in bad weather, and this time of year the 'ladies' have full run of our garden when we are at home to keep an eye on them. We've not had any problems with mite, rats or foxes, even though we are located quite rurally and rats and foxes are around. Anyone considering chicken keeping should really consider an Eglu - they are brilliant. Hope this helps and happy chicken keeping -just go for it, the eggs are delicious and they are fun characters to watch for hours (apart from digging up the garden!). Sorry, meant to say,ours are quite big girls (Black Rock,Blue Rock and Magpie - I think) and they are fine in the Eglu - they all snuggle up at night and follow each other around during the day.0
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Could you please tell me how you get them back into the coop at night?
I'm a newbie but would love to have say 3, don't have a big garden and worried about them not going back in at night. Thinking of the eglu if I can afford it and it would have to be sited permanently, is that ok?0 -
I'm researching too as I would like to keep a few chickens (3 or 4). We have plenty of space so could move the coup around but no experience so desperate to 'gen up' before taking the plunge.0
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Go and look at Omlet.co.uk - thats where they come from and there is a forum you can join/read and will give you all the tips and hints about their products eglus etc and beehives. I have an eglu classic and its so so easy - corrugated plastic over the run as a roof and its bone dry!Saving in my terramundi pot £2, £1 and 50p just for me! :j0
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