Hens and an Eglu??

Has anyone got any experience of the Eglu Classic.

I have been looking into them and they look fantastic. They look super easy to keep clean, and very move-able, making hen keeping seem less daunting.

I am thinking of getting one with two hens in the autumn - any advice or tips greatly appreciated!

 

very nice but a bit pricey @ 320 quid

 

Whereabouts are you Victoria?

I know of someone near me who is moving home and selling her eglu, feeders and 2 birds.

They are incredibly easy to keep clean and considered it myself, but in the end I preferred to design and build my own coop.

 

Very pricey Victoria. They look great, but a bit of a squeeze (I think) for any more than three large fowl or four bantams. For that price, and a lot less you can get a wooden house.

Two hens isn't a good idea. They can keel over and die from one day to the next, then you are left with one lonely hen. Better to get three. Another reason to have a larger house than you need - chicken keeping is addictive. And the 'moveable' run sounds good as a theory, but in practice you are left with a 'lawn' covered in chicken droppings, bits scratched bare and even holes dug after a day or two. Better to give them a permanent space (the Eglu runs are too small I think) on a good layer of woodchips that can be raked up and chucked on compost heap after a few months.

Shout if you want more advice.

 

I'm stuck really.

One of the things I like about the eglu are that it makes cleaning look really simple. We don't have a good spot for chooks to be kept permanently as we have large lime trees over hanging the back of the garden, and they drip nasty stuff. I also fear that having a permanent spot will become a bit smelly after a while.

My brother keeps chickens in a run at the end of his garden, and although we have wanted hens for ages, the set up had put us off because it is a big chunk of garden and it is quite a mammoth task to clean it out.

The money doesn't really bother me, although that is not ever usually the case! We have been offered one as a gift from my MIL for a special occasion.

I know you know a lot about chooks Aaron, so I definitely appreciate your experience on the subject. Do you think it is unfair to keep 3 hens in an eglu classic, or is it just that you'd prefer to give more space?

I felt that the Eglu had given us the option of keeping chickens, in a way that suits our garden and lifestyle. We thought we would just let them range when we are in the garden with them, and don't intend to leave them for weekends etc too often. My mum has said that if we go for the eglu we could take it and the hens to her garden while we are away on holiday, which seems like a great solution. A friend of mine who keeps hens suggested moving them over the veg patch during the winter to clear it and fertilise it, which sounds good.

Maybe if we started off with an eglu, and then decided we wanted to change to a wooden house, we could sell on the eglu - I've read that they keep their price well.

Would love to know your thoughts :ntwrth:

 

I wouldn't keep three large fowl in an Eglu run and house. But that's just me - I think they need space, even if it's just to stretch their legs and run, which they love to do. However, your arguments about the practical aspects - cleaning, moving, holidays are valid.

You could keep three bantams in an Eglu - they need less space, eat less and will still lay. Just as a recommendation, Pekin Bantams are brilliant. These are little bundles of feathers, including on their feet, that are incredible drama queens but have huge personalities and are very easy to tame. They are also common, so finding a breeder won't be an issue - I can tell you of a few, if you let me know where you are roughly. Lots of colours to choose from as well - Buff, White, Black, Lavender, Speckled etc. They will go broody, but most chickens do, Pekins are just more determined at it than most! Being short of leg, they damage they can do to the garden is a lot less than large fowl, so you can give them the run of the garden when you are around, but leave them in the run when you are out/at work, etc.

On the other points, Eglus are great for dealing with the dreaded red mite as you can power wash them. They are easy to move as well - so yes, you can move them onto the veg patch to clear it over winter. Oh and yes, they do hold their re sale value very, very well, especially on eBay.

 

Two of our Pekin Bantams, pootling round the garden.

 

Oh I Love your bantams!!! Do they lay well?

I have researched a little this afternoon, after your first post, and noticed that eglu do a run extension... wondering if that might be the answer. I think you are right that three hens is a better idea for their happiness.

 

They're getting on for four years, so slowing down in egg numbers (chickens are like women, they are born with a set number of eggs inside them!) and increasing in length of broodiness! But in their peak, they were laying 5 eggs a week, each. Multiple that by 3 hens...and when all are at it you're over run with eggs! As pure breeds, they will lay less each year, but continue to lay, unlike hybrids that 'wear out' after 18 months.

An extension would work, but they will also appreciate a stroll around the garden. Like other pets, if you do it at a set time each day (very relaxing to watch them pootle around the garden, while you have a glass of vino after work) they will wait impatiently for you to arrive home. Ours can recognise the sound of the motorbike arriving, even though they can't see it.

Go for it - you have the offer of a fab house and the offer of somewhere they can go on their hols when you go on your hols.

PS - those Pekins will sit on the palm of my hand

 

Thanks Aaron, we are really excited about it.

Have been researching the Pekins, they do look absolutely lovely, and the write up says they are great for children too. I have a slight concern about their hairy legs though. The site I looked at says to put down concrete slabs in winter or have them indoors, as the mud plays havoc with their feathery legs. Do you find it a problem?

 

They do have an annoying habit of finding the muddiest patch to go digging and scratching in, resulting in mud balls clinging to their feet. But our Pekins also enjoy having their feet washed and the mud balls removed!

Obviously keeping them on a complete mudbath is a no no, but you wouldn't do that with any chicken. The advice you read relates to those keepers who show Pekins - when clean, unbroken feathers on the feet are a must. For the rest of us, they are fine outside, providing the ground isn't waterlogged.

Yes, they are great with children - ours come running to be picked up and petted.

 

Thanks Aaron, for your brilliant advice.

Having decided that we'd buy the eglu henless and get three bantams, I have another nagging worry.

My sis in law came down with the kids for the day and we talked about chickens.

She said they have always gone for big hens as they have cats. We don't have cats but our neighbours do!

Would that be a worry with bantams?

 

The cats will spook the bantams and try to stalk them, but we have cats all around here and noever have had any trouble (and I've had chicks that of course are much smaller than a bantam).

I guarantee that in a stand off between a chicken and a cat...the cat will lose. Chickens have a nasty habit of going for the tender bits (nose especially) and they have sharp beaks and claws). If yours are in a run, they'll be fine, more likely the cats will watch them intently but not do them any harm.

Shout if you need to know where you can get Pekins (if that's what you go for). Shame you didn't want them earlier in the year when I was hatching eggs - could have got Pekin eggs easily and hatched some babies out for you.

 

Thank you. I have seen your pics of chickens on here in the past, and have wanted to get hens for ages. We have had a lot of elderly relatives in need over the last year and have had to be away a lot to support. But that is no longer the case.

I will definitely pm you if we go for Pekins, at the moment we are going in that direction.

I guess I should buy a book too!

 

No need to buy a book, just join an online poultry forum or at least lurk and pick up some tips. The best one, or least the biggest, is one run by Practical Poultry magazine.