Do you keep livestock? Having any problems? Want to talk about it, whether it be sheep, goats, chickens, pigs, bees or llamas, here is your place to discuss.
Am I being seduced by the Eglu? Do I just yearn for a chicken house that looks like a space ship?
Are they actually any use at all, or will we be better buying a wooden ark and a run ourselves?
Also, when you let your chickens out, do you have to be there to supervise them? Could you just let them out before you go to work, and herd them back in at night? How does one go about it?
Well, I'm no chicken keeper, but if they are the things I have seen for astronomical prices in the Sunday supplements, then I reckon they are designed to appeal to the 4x4 set who will call their chickens Ffyon and Jestacarter, and their cockerels Tristram and Tarquin.
Or am I just stereotyping here?
I can't see what they would do that a few bits of wood and some nails couldn't. And if looks are the only thing going for them, what will they look like in a couple of years time?
On the other hand, this is one of the many things about which you really shouldn't take any notice of what I say.
I saw them and thought they looked good but the prices were ridiculous and it's only for 2 chickens so if later want more you have to get something else. We built a coop and run for about £20 using an old dog kennel from a neighbour and pallets all I bought was wire mesh, nails and 2 bolts. My run is about 15ft x 4ft
I like the look of them but wouldn't have one... they are just far too expensive and I like wood!! That said.. they are supposedly easier to clean.. but that still doesn't buy me.
As for letting them in and out... you need to be there to let them out... unless you have a door on a timer... and the same for evening time, although once they've got used to living in a particular place they'll put themselves to bed around dusk... you just need to shut the door to keep them safe from harm.
Muddy - even if it is aimed at the 4x4 set then at least it is a step in the right direction - could be the beginning of bigger and better things!! Chooks are addictive
Chickens really are addictive, you never can really stick to 'just' a couple of hens- before you know it your thinking of hatching eggs, 'just' a small breeding flock, 'just' one more breed for variety...and the next thing you know chickens outnumber humans, and the lawn is covered by arks (thats how mine looks now!) so I wouldn't go for an Eglu just because there's no room for expansion, and if you take to chicken keeping you'll want to do that sure as eggs is eggs!
Depends on how well enclosed your garden is, and what else you want to have in it- and a bit on the type of chicken you have, too.
Some are good flyers, and will get over the fence into your neighbour's garden (who might not be too chuffed about that). They are also good at scratching up the lawn and pulling out seedlings - so all those areas should be protected.
Personally, I would have them in a run while not supervised, unless you live in a very rural area, and you've got your veggies fenced in properly. You can always give them the run of the rest of your property while you are around to make sure you have some plants left at the end of the day.
Ina
I'm a size 10, really; I wear a 20 for comfort. (Gina Yashere)
For the Eglu.. personnaly I don't like them even though they look fancy ..
I believe you should rather build a small hen house with timber .. it will fit better the spirit of chicks keeping .. and the eglu doesn't seem to have some roost .. and I love the nest box attached on the side of traditionnal hen house ... makes it so easy to collect the eggs ...
As for letting run free range unsupervised .. that's what I do everyday .. open the door for 6am .. and close it for 10pm .. and all of them always make it back home safely .. but I live in a rural areas .. and fenced off the road side because they will quite happily stop the traffic if they get a chance ... and of course, fenced off the veggie patch (it's like Alcatraz, nothing can get in, nothing can get out) ..
The trick to let them run free range is to keep them penned for a couple of weeks untill they now this is home .. then open the door and let them run supervised .. and then the magic of hen keeping will take place, ie: they mind themselves !
the problem with letting them roam free is that you won't have a garden left - they're destructive things! If you're going to be out, don't underestimate the fox - if there's any way they can get into a chicken house, they will!
I'd suggest knocking up a "sussex ark" - henhouse with perches and nesting boxes with an attached run - you just get hold of the handles and wheel it around the lawn!
John Seymour has plans for some really simple henhouses, using "scrap" - willow twigs and fertiliser sacks - they need not be complicated or expensive.
These patented placcy things are a bit "Sunday Telegraph colour supplement"
http://solarwind.org.uk - a small company in Sussex sourcing, supplying, and fitting alternative energy products.
Amateurs encouraged - very keen prices and friendly helpful service!
Don't believe anyone who tells you chickens can't fly!! mine have made it over the fence and eaten almost all my strawberry plants and I think all my carrot seeds - little monkeys thought they have also eaten tons of nettles and dandelions.
I have a run attatched to their house where they stay if I am out for more than a few hours. they do go over to nextdoors garden though they don't mind and even feed them but I worry about them going further as the next fence is only about 3ft high and then they might get out to the road. But mostly they spend all day out in the garden and always go back to the house at night so I can do a count up and lock them in safely I used to just lock the run and leave the house open so they could come out on their own in the mornings but a fox got in a took 3 a few weeks ago now I lock the house too from the inside
pesky foxes - they had a good few of our birds when we were in Herefordshire... we ended up with electric fencing as the fox was so daring that he would even strike at lunchtime right outside the house. He (we suspect an old dog fox) even took our mother goose so it was time for war - was amazing to see him on the other side of the fencing one day - you could almost see the cogs whirring away while he worked out how he might get in. They are such beautiful animals but wreak such havoc.
Oh yes. Hens can fly - one day, before the electric fencing was up - I was looking all over for the chooks... then spotted them down the other end of the farmer's field towards the river.... luckily they came back when called - especially when they heard the rattle of corn!! They would also fly up onto the bottom half of the kitchen door and then down into the kitchen to eat the dogs food - who just sat there and looked at them.
well i am going to disagree- i have an eglu and its totally fab! yes they are expensive, but require no maintenance ie re roofing,treating the wood, etc. its virtually impossible for mites to find anywhere to hide, like they do in traditional arks. there are roosting bars, and a egg collection hatch. theres an easy to slide out poop tray, it can be washed with boiling water,and sterilized, so it can be kept spotlessly clean. the attached run is fox proof,and comes with rain/sunshades. the original eglu was designed for 2 hens or 3 bantams, but the newer version, the mark2 is bigger and will house 4 hens.
quote muddypause-
I reckon they are designed to appeal to the 4x4 set who will call their chickens Ffyon and Jestacarter, and their cockerels Tristram and Tarquin.
Or am I just stereotyping here?
oh yes, a terrible stereotyping! i do not drive at all. let alone a 4x4, i try to live a very environmentally conscious life, grow my own veg and friut, home brew, cook with proper ingredients, mostly organic. oh, and my hens names? Betty Ruby Babs and Dolly!!!
PS and another thing!! all these eglu versus hen ark arguments i read on every forum i visit miss the point! surely it doesnt matter how you choose to house your hens. so many poor hens still lived trapped miserable lives in battery farms. surely anything that encourages people to keep a few hens, whether housed in either way, is a good thing? lwe should all stand together as chicken keepers against such terrible cruelty and stop bickering about what is the best house
I totally agree that hens kept by amateurs are often far better cared for than battery hens- sometimes unfortunately not!
I think you're getting your leg pulled a bit because buying a manufactured placcy henhouse is not exactly "good life" is it? However brilliant they may be, they are manufactured, and out of plastic, which IS more than a bit "consumerist"
http://solarwind.org.uk - a small company in Sussex sourcing, supplying, and fitting alternative energy products.
Amateurs encouraged - very keen prices and friendly helpful service!
all I bought was wire mesh, nails and 2 bolts. My run is about 15ft x 4ft
now I lock the house too from the inside
