[Aunt Sally]

To be honest, if I simply wanted 3 or 4 chickens to produce eggs for the house with a minimum of maintainance and I could justify the cost of one , then it would be an attractive proposition.

You've hit it on the head.  They are for PET chickens.  How many people spend their cash on things for dogs and cats or horses or parrots .  I love chickens and can't have indoor pets !

[mobyjones]

I have said this so many times I've lost count.

Eglus are for PET chickens not flocks of birds just kept for eggs or meat.

They are for keeping in your garden where you wouldn't want something made from pallets !! and where space is possibly at a premium.

If you want to see TWO happy content chickens who lay LOADS of eggs you can come and see mine (Cake always on offer )

I know Sally, thats why I believe potential chicken keepers need to think about where they will be with their hobby in the future. How many people do you know started out with a couple of pets and then obtained more? Be it for eggs, meat or the fun of breeding their own birds. Maybe they started showing them too... Or maybe they just wanted a lot of pet chickens. Some people do.

Would that be fruit cake by any chance?  

[Aunt Sally]

Resale value of eglus is very high making them an excellent investment  

Would that be fruit cake by any chance?  

Aunty bakes a wonderful boozey fruit cake  

[jacnal]

Mhhhhhh.....

So much to consider. I'm drawn to the eglu cube, as I'd love to keep up to 7/8 or even 10 chooks. I have to wait till I've more space for them to freerange in though.

In the meantime, I'll research into how I can keep them on the allotment as I really, really would love to have some within the next year or so.

Plenty of food for thought people, and I thank you all for contributing!

[Aunt Sally]

The joy of Eglus is something people don't really grasp until they have used one, it has given me the opportunity to keep a couple of hens which I would never have been able to do with wood.  So I LOVE'em    

The cake is still on offer to any one coming down to Kent  

[jacnal]

The joy of Eglus is something people don't really grasp until they have used one, it has given me the opportunity to keep a couple of hens which I would never have been able to do with wood.  So I LOVE'em    

The cake is still on offer to any one coming down to Kent  

Kent's a long way to come for cake Aunty, but I'll sure let you know if I happen to be in the neighbourhood   .

[mumsy]

Hello to all
I have been reading this with interest.  I have had my two girls since May.  I looked at the eglu, but I have a rustic garden so I went on ebay, there is so much choice on there for chicken coops.  Take a look, to see whats about.  If I had a small garden the eglu would be perfect.  Really & truely if your chickens are happy, does it matter where they go to sleep?  I just made a perch inside their run for them to hop on and off, out of logs & a thin plank of wood that was lying around, it doesn't stop them flying over the 6 foot fox proof fence though!! They have a shelter where they have their dust bath & if it is pouring with rain (otherwise they just get soaked!!). I let them have a mooch around the garden when the dogs are indoors.  Aunty takes hers to her lottie for a roam.  So, surely, if you are passionate about keeping them you will make sure that they have what they need.  Food, shelter. somewhere to kip.
Hope all these fors & againsts aren't putting you off, go for it!!!  I did & the benefits are great.  There is nothing more relaxing than watching the fish in the pond & the chooks being happy.  I find the eggs are a bonus!!!!

Good Luck
Mumsy
 

[muntjac]

the house be it a coop or an eglu is only for cover  what counts is the care with feeding and the birds acting naturally as apposed to battery hens , remember this  chickens are domesticated birds only one step away from the wild they will sleep in any high place normally .and its fine to disagree with others it makes for healthy debate which we like and encourage on here as with different points of view come new ideas   here endeth the muntyfying

[Aunt Sally]

And Mumsy and Munty you are exactly right !

My girls lay eggs their eglu and sleep in there after dark, they spend nearly all day roaming my garden and going to the lottie with me (and they love it so much they climb into their transport box themselves ready to go.) I know MANY eglu owners and all their chooks either free range most of the time or have large purpose built runs.

[muntjac]

a matter of personal l choice me thinks aiming to whats best for the owners situation and how many birds they want to keep .




i guess that about this sums this debate up ..

[jacnal]

Mobyjones, your argument has been considered, though you seem to have lost the objestive stance you started out with and now hate eglus :shock:   .

Personally, I don't think anyone reasonably smart will go into keeping chickens blindly - hence the purpose for this thread. Of course omlet want to sell their product. They've designed a product that makes it easy (easier) to keep chickens, and of course for beginners, it's made easier - the protection the products offer, and the easy sanitation are great for beginners. Of course one would hope people won't just go in blindly and buy, but they probably do and if they do and the chooks are squashed, one would hope they upgrade to a bigger more suitable coop. This can happen with any wooden coop as well. Advertising has it's place indeed, but it's up to the consumer to decide what really suits them. I will not start eating McDonalds meals just because their food is now marketed as *healthy and natural*. I loathe McD's - the smells, textures and marketing, but that's just me. There are worse foods out there than McD, packed full of additives, and there are people who will eat those instead, thinking they are healthier because they are marketed and presented that way. Only they are not.

Now, this may seem silly, but I'll liken your dislike/hate for eglus to my dislike/hate for McD's. The eglu isn't bad. It's convenient, could be roomier, and it's marketing is full on, but if one considers the chook as a whole, they will treat them with the respect they deserve and give them more space if need be. Aunty does, obviously, and her chooks seem happy to me. And the eglu for her chooks is for sleeping in and laying eggs. It also offers superb protection and easy sanitation to the birds, and that IS a good thing. Others would rather build their own coops etc for their birds, and if they can, well and good. Likewise McD uses good ingredients for their food, and even offer carrot sticks as an option instead of fries  :roll: , BUT I'd rather buy my own and make it all at home.

Your passion for chooks is great, and that's how it should be. When I get my birds, I'll treat them well. And I'll be getting an eglu for my layers at home as well as a wooden coop for my table birds at the lottie, but I won't until I have enough space for the layers to do what nature gave them, and until I've planned out the plot so I can offer the table birds a happy, safe and protected home for a good life before they are enjoyed for food.

[muntjac]

moby ..... ur preaching and we aint at church matey . we each choose to use what we like for our birds and incidently the rspca have no problems with them so they are fine by me  

[mobyjones]

moby ..... ur preaching and we aint at church matey . we each choose to use what we like for our birds and incidently the rspca have no problems with them so they are fine by me  

I ain't preaching. Just asking peeps to think for themselves. I don't do church....  

[muntjac]

but havent you noticed we have folks on here who can think for themselves . or they woudlnt be on the forum . your point of view has been made as have the others on this subject but now your on a soap box ... let the people decide for themselves without you trying to influence the decision making any furher, ty  

[Bodger]

Do you mean me Munty ? You say the nicest things , I iz umbly honnered !