Grow Your Own Magazine

been to the national amateur garden show today and im now awaiting the arrival of chickens and there new home. we took the plunge and ordered the eglu. looking forward to eating fresh eggs and having new pets in the garden

Phew!!!!!!!! Had a look at the price of Eglu's and they seem very
pricey..........

But............Good luck with your chooks hawthorns!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Eglu's are expensive, but I would have one if I cold afford one! They are so easy to clean out and maintain! You'll loce haveing chickens, I got 3 2 weeks ago and absolutely love them! I wasn't totally convinced about having them as we live in the city, but my OH was really keen and we do have a decent sized garden so took the plunge! They are great entertainment with an added bonus of eggs! Enjoy!

they are expensive but they will last 10 years. they had an offer on at the show with £25 knocked off, so we went for it.

ooOOOhhh, an Eglu. What colour are you getting..?? House & Chickens..?

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They are expensive but appear to keep their value well too - if you look on ebay you'll find that second hand ones aren't much cheaper than a new one so if you can't keep up chicken keeping for some reason then you can pretty much get your money back.

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Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

We have an Eglu. Yes agree that they are expensive, but the hassle free maintenance and cleaning suits our time-poor lifestyle.

We bought it for our 9 year old who wanted chickens for her birthday - that was back in May and they laid their first eggs yesterday, so she's cock-a-hoop today!

I would not have believed what fun they are as pets - I thought the would be as boring as ditch water, and just be a "thing that lays eggs" but when we are sitting at the table in teh garden, with friends, and the chickens appear through the hedge all conversation stops and a whole load of gooey-child-language stuff starts!

A read somewhere that someone called their three chickens Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest, and that described our lot to a T!

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K's Garden blog last update 3rd August 2008

we have gone for the green colour. we are having a miss pepperpot and ginger ranger.

I had a green eglu too - I wanted the purple one but was dissuaded by OH...

It should last a lifetime - only bit that will wear out is the wooden bars and Omlet sell spares or you could get a spare set knocked up cheaply.

Only reason for stopping using our eglu was because keeping chickens is addictive and 3 wasn't enough !!!

Another green eglu owner here - bought mine on ebay, thus saving a little bit (though not much - as has been said, they keep their value well). I'd like to get a proper walk-in run eventually as the attached run is not very big, especially if you keep your hens in during wet weather - and when has it not been wet, the past two years?! I'd still keep my eglu, though, as there's enough room in there for a whole flock of bantams!

Enjoy your girls - just make sure you keep them out of the veg patch!

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Small Plot? No Problem! - my blog about growing organic veg

"especially if you keep your hens in during wet weather"

Good grief! Ours just find a dry spot under the hedge somewhere ...

Omlet also make a bigger coup called a "cube" and that has an extendible run - for those that want more hens / run-space - but you'll need deep pockets!

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K's Garden blog last update 3rd August 2008

Ooh, love the eglu cubes! That is what I'd have if money wasn't an issue! As it is I have a converted dog kennel and run! My step-dad has been inspired to make me an ark and a run extension that I can move around the garden and take to my dads when we go on holiday! I'll attach it to the old dog run too though as they love the height. I put up branches at about 4' (we'd just had our trees topped so there's a lot of branches and wood around at the moment) and they love it on there.
What can I use as a dustbath once I can find some wood chips?

Hey Hawthorns, congratulations - they're just too cute to resist (the Eglus) and I'm really jealous that you can have Miss Pepperpot and Ginger Ranger - they don;t deliver where we live.

I'm waiting for our Eglu (green) to be delivered this Wednesday and then we're off to pick up the chickens on Saturday. We're having 3 Meadowsweet Rangers from a local stockist.


Does anyone know if you put any bedding material into the Eglu - the chicken man was going on about sawdust shavings but I don;t know if I need it for an Eglu?

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Cheers

T-lady

You'll need the shavings for the nest box, they like to have something comfy to lay no, but from what I can make out from the omlet site, that's the only place you put it! Very jealous of your eglu and have fun with your hens, you'll love them!

Yes shavings in the nest box, nothing else. But i recommend that you put newspaper in the pull-out-poop-tray under the "duck boards" as it makes it quicker to clean.

We have some dustbins with tight fitting lids near the chi9ckens (for their feed, and grit, etc.) [the chickens are quite a hike for us, from the house], and we also have one of those 1-tonne builder's bags which we put all the used bedding etc. in - but the compost heap is quite a hike from the chickens too! (the chickens are my 9 year old's, so that helps make it a bit easier for her to do their maintenance).

And some Mite spray

I think that's about it. Ours were confined-to-quarters for some time when we first had them (apparently gets them better orientated) and apart from US being really nervous the first time we let them out, they have found their way back each night as dusk has approached.

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K's Garden blog last update 3rd August 2008

im going to try shredded paper in the nest box but how often should i replace this

Mine will belt down the garden to the run if it pours down - which is very comical, especially the pekins bouncing along! - but all too often they stand around on the patio looking wretched (mud and pekins don't mix), and in cold weather I worry about them catching a chill since chickens' feathers aren't waterproof...

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Small Plot? No Problem! - my blog about growing organic veg

We're taking delivery tomorrow of a green eglu, two Gingernuts and a Ms Pepperpot. Karen had named them a couple of months ago when we ordered...

We've got the jitters today after waking up to find a decapitated Pigeon in the garden. I've assumed a cat, but the possibilty of Mink has also been suggested!

My only concern with the Eglu is what happens when the hens go past their laying prime. They are of course pets as well as egg producers, so unless we buy more hen house space we'll be feeding hens for a few years without much in the way of eggs in return. The natural smallholding solution is to dispatch the Hens when laying tails off and replace with new POL's, but Karen (quite rightly) won't entertain the idea.

I spent an hour wandering around a local Countrywide Store today and came away with some shavings and a bag of organic layers pellets. So many new and exciting things to buy.

Mark & Karen

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Hens will lay a lot of eggs in year one, fewer, (but bigger) eggs in year 2, and the number will gradually decline, but I have had 10yo hens still laying 3 eggs a week each.

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Flowers come in too many colours to see the world in black-and-white.

OOh well done Hawthorns you won't regret it I love my Eglu and my girls, The old Omlet vans had a few stop offs at Melksham lately!

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Imagination is everything, it is a preview of what is to become.

working on names at mo. currently we are going with cagney and lacey but it changes daily. i like itchy and scratchy

I have a feeling that when our girls (that we are buying on Saturday!!) stop laying I will just buy eggs to fool my husband-I couldn't get rid of them just because they get mature in years! Two names my daughters have at the moment are Priscilla Peckerhen and Clara Cluckpot (my brother's nickname for me for the last 40 or so years!!)

Itchy and Scratchy are great names for chickens!

We're thinking of going along with an 'Archers' theme and having Jenny Hen, Clarie Hen and Lily Hen.


The Eglu turned up yesterday and it's lovely - expensive, but lovely. Can't wait to pick the girls up on Saturday!

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Cheers

T-lady

We have a green eglu, still waiting for some ground works to be done before it is set up. Though must admit it looks like a good bit of kit.

We thinking of getting a couple of Light Sussex.

My OH really likes the light sussex, but we couldn't catch one when we went to pick up our chooks!
I'm taking my firends parents to buy some chickens at the weekend, they're getting a trio of lavender araucana and a pair of buff orpingtons, Ithink they'll want a couple of hybrids as well when they see them! Am green with envy!!