okay, i'm tempted by the eglu cube with run....are they worth it??

[angelat]

hi all

am getting very tempted by the eglu cube with square shaped run, you can even get 2m extension run for it. has anyone got one of these or the standard eglu?? very expensive but would pay if people can recommend?? thanx in advance

angela

[janeyo]

I haven't got one as the price puts me off!

I think of my chickens as working for ther keep, ie they give me eggs. Our coop and run etc were homemade and even so it would take years for them to pay their way! If we had an eglu it would kind of defeat the object (for me anyway) of having pets that pay their way.

Am sure others have differing views

[lynda66]

i looked at eglus, apart from the price which was completely ridiculous, i figured if i wanted more chooks, (it's addictive) i would have to get another, so opted for a shed, i just don't think they are big enough, and even more so, when you can get a shed and run for less cash.

[Birdie Wife]

In a word, no! Put it this way, the chickens won't know any different. They are happy as long as they are dry, have enough food and water and space enough to stretch their legs and flap a bit. Eglus have their fans, and to be fair, I've never had one so I can't comment, but you can easy build something that will accomodate three times as many hens for a thirds of the cost, or do an easy conversion job on a shed.

[Alison]

I got a freecycle shed off a couple who had one of the egg cubes. It was really nice and dead easy to use (they'd got it after getting fed up with getting mites in their previous shed) but it seemed a bit, well, like a dolls house version. They had the cube running into a large outside run they had built so it wasn't a space thing it was more the bright plastic colours just looked too much like a toy. Don't know if I've explained it properly as it was more of a feeling. Also they cost a fortune so if you get one, don't leave it anywhere it could get nicked.

[T-lady]

I know that everything Jane, Birdie and Lynda is absolutely correct and the eglus are an expensive folly but ... I love mine!

Yes they're pricey but even the really plain chicken houses I looked at at the
Farm Store were about £100 and, for me, there's real problems with wood (I live in the Fens and wood instantly goes green, moulds and falls apart) so I'd be replacing it fairly regularly.

Eglus hold their value for years so you can flog it on eBay / the Omlet site for about what you paid for it - can't be too bad.

My hens will pay their way eventually (!) but you've got to take the long view and sell an awful lot of eggs at really premium prices (tee hee).

But the biggie for me is things like ease of cleaning - me and my hose pipe have a quick sluice down at the weekends and I have a pristine Eglu all over again. No worries about mites and things nesting in hidden bits of the Eglu either as it is all beautifully ergonomic and cleanable.


One word of caution ... Lynda is SO right about chicken keeping being addictive. I'm already starting to hanker after a bigger flock (I've got 3 ladies) and that will cause an upgrade crisis. To Cube or not to Cube - that really is the question. I have no answer.

[JILLY JACKSON]

Mine is great and i wouldnt go back to wood now.There is an offer on eglus at the moment,they have shiny ones going!To find out about the offer go to the omlet forum.

[T-lady]

Mine is great and i wouldnt go back to wood now.There is an offer on eglus at the moment,they have shiny ones going!To find out about the offer go to the omlet forum.

Now why did you have to say that, Jilly? I'm going to have to look and if I come back from that website with a badly dented credit card ...

[RedThorn]

know what Lynda said.. and I agree with the problem with expanding flocks...lol, I was given my eglu and must be honest, it is really easy to clean etc..... the only thing which I would change, is if/WHEN I build castle la Chook, I want to be able to walk in the run( I'm 6' not 2' high but seeing as it was free, I have absolutley nothing to complain about

[araminta]

I love my eglu too - I was really lucky and saw one advertised in the post office window for £75, which I know was an absolute bargain - the thing I like about it is ease of moving about the allotment so that you can have some fresh ground every now and then. We do have a fence round the whole plot though, i think it would be a bit small with only the run supplied.

[araminta]

oh yeah, another good thing is Omlet's customer service - I rang them first thing this morning and asjked if I could order a spare set of Mark 1 roosting bars (they don't do the Mark 1 eglus any more) - they rang me at lunch time and said they'd made a set for me and I could collect this afternoon.

[Flummery]

I read posts on a couple of chicken sites and I have to say, I seriously considered one. I haven't heard of anyone with an eglu or a cube who doesn't like it or regrets getting it. (Except for the people who sell them for £75 - wish there were more of those around!) It's just that for the price I could get an automatic pop-hole opener too, and make sure the run fitted the space I have planned for it.

[Dane End Dolly]

There is a guy in Suffolk who hand makes chicken coops if you google kevs coops it comes up. I found his chicken coop to be cheaper that the large igloo and looks much nicer.

Our friends who have chickens and have seen ours that Kev has made are totally envious.

The coops are well made and very strong, we went up to the farm where he makes them and was able to see the process.

Kxx

[Eyren]

I'm very happy with my eglu - much easier to clean than a wooden house! Plus it lasts for about ten years with zero maintenance, whereas a wooden one would probably need replacing in half that time, the way the weather has been these past two summers. Also I've never had any problem with mites, unlike all the wooden coop owners on the various poultry forums I've visited

I agree with RedThorn that the smallness of the run can be a bit of a pain, but there's a chap here in Cambridgeshire who makes walk-in runs for quite reasonable prices and can also supply a "table" suitable for standing an eglu on. If it weren't for the credit crunch and having to replace my aging laptop recently, I would definitely be ordering one!

[nilling]

I am sorry to announce that, for the moment Kevs Coops has ceased trading

Kev's Coops - Welcome to Kev's Coops