Stevie Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 So what was the reason you decided to keep chooks??? I had been intrested in keeping them for quite some time,but the deciding factor was when i saw them programmes with Hugh Fernley Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver.I already knew how bad commercially raised poultry was kept and chose to buy my eggs from a local farm on way to work,but just thought i could perhaps go one better. Thanks Jamie & Hugh! So what about you...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 I wanted pets for the children that would also be useful and educational. I could never see the point of rabbits (apologies to all bunny lovers, purely a personal view!) and my middle son really loves animals. We are both smitten with the chooks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FORENSICA Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 I fell in love with Eglu few years ago, but then we did not have a garden. It reminded me of my parrots' cage (the sliding tray) which I kept as a child. And so I knew that as soon as we had a garden I would want one. And the chickens are such useful and fun pets to have so it was not really a hard decision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh sarah Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 hi i have always fancied having a few ducks, but we dont like duck eggs and i heard that they make alot of mess and noise so i decided to get 2 chickens because we like eggs and of course they dont mess up the garden and scratch my stones everywhere i think they are the best pets i have ever had and i am going to get another 2 very soon sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhotchick Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 I'd had my eye on an Eglu for ages but it was a lot of money for me, I wanted eggs that I was sure had come from happy hens. I was also worried it would be very difficult to keep chickens, health problems, keeping them safe, clean and well cared for. I got a bonus in work and decided to go for it. I love them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane 20 Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 I'd always wanted chickens and a friend told me about eglus one Saturday - the order was placed Monday morning! We have had our girls now for 10 mths and now we are building a walk in run and getting threee more new girls in May Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 gave up work so went onto moneysavingexpert.com for some tips on how to save money (funnily enough ), saw a post about keeping chickens for eggs and it mentioned the omlet site. Read loads of posts on here and info on the net in general. Decided to get battery hens because they needed us more than normal chickens and there was a good chance they still would lay. The rest is history. Best thing we ever did although I'm not sure about the money saving part after you factor in the cost of the coop, the run, aubiose, red mite powder, stalosan f, garden lime, poultry spice, garlic powder, layers mash, pellets, mixed corn, meal worms, limestone flour, poultry grit, oyster shell, bins to keep food and bedding in, bowls, feeders and coop cups, poultry shield, egg boxes, citricidal, flubenvet and all the other bits and pieces we've shelled out for (pardon the pun) along the way but I ADORE my girls and the pleasure they give us is priceless! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moomin Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 I remember 7 years ago when we first moved to this house and my son came home from his new school and said that his friend's mum kept chickens in the garden. I was so It's been on my mind ever since and when I saw the jamie/hugh programmes I started looking on the net for chicken houses and discovered the Elgu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 On holiday in Wales last year, near a farm, OH casually said one day "it would be nice to keep chickens". He thought no more about it .... I did . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 A friend mentioned Omlet a couple of years ago (she still hasn't got any chickens!), and I looked at the website. It made keeping chickens in your garden seem possible - and for some reason, I was hooked! I can't really explain it, because I used to be scared of birds, but I just knew that when I got a bigger garden, I wanted to keep chickens. It just seemed right somehow. Then I moved house, friends arrived to help me unpack and presented me with an Omlet voucher ... just over a year later, I have a Cube and FIVE chickens, how did that happen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 A friend kept chickens and I used to look after them when she went on hols etc. I was smitten. The timing was never right for me to get my own...elderly parents and in-laws etc....young children (once upon a time) ...jobette etc. Then I saw an ad for the Eglu and realised it was the solution I was looking for. Haven't looked back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbey Road Girl Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 My grandparents had chickens now and then on their "non-working" farm when I was a kid in upstate New York. "Chick, chick, chick", while scattering grain and going into the walk-in hen house, searching for eggs (which could be anywhere) were part of my growing up. I also had a singleton chichen in eastern LA who was a delightful bird. Chickens are theraputic, a real challenge to Big Pharma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwichick Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 It started for me when I moved here to the States and became more aware of how industrialised food production is over here and started trying to live a more organic and sustainable lifestyle. Introducing my OH to the whole River Cottage series and reading Hugh F.W's Meat book last year really clinched it though. Eventually we hope to live "off the grid" on a couple of acres and then I can have a whole flock of chooks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keanie Bean Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 I got chickens out of a combination of wanting to save money, eventually and wanting something greener than what the supermarkets were providing. It took me 6 months to persuade DH but we wouldnt have it any other way now. Sarah.x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 A whim I used to look after a neighbour's chickens as a child when she went on holiday. I decided last year that for an (early) birthday present I wanted an eglu & chickens i found out about omlet by googling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superjules Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 We had back garden chooks for a while when I was a child - in Camden! - so I've kind of always hankered after them ever since. When I saw the eglu and how low maintenance it is, there wasn't really anything else to stop me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strepsy Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 I've wanted to keep chickens for years and years, my grandad used to keep them and my mum used to talk about growing up with them with such affection, I knew the kids would love them. I didn't think it was possible for me though until I found Eglus a couple of years ago but then it took until hubby watched the Chicken Out programmes with me for him to agree to getting them. And now he absolutely LOVES them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alih Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 I had a friend when I was a kid who had chickens and I have really happy memories of having one on my knee when I was sitting on the swing! then 30 years later...a friend up the road got a cube and the minute I saw it I knew we had to have chickens - pets for the kids which were practical and low maintenance...but I had no idea how much I would love them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajm200 Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 I wanted chickens for a few years but had a job that involved long hours and lots of travel so it wasn't practical as my husband wasn't keen. I'd also seen the eglu and loved the idea of a practical backyard henhouse. I gave up work a couple of years ago to look after my son but for the first year I was busy and too skint to do anything about getting chickens. Now my son is older and mad about all animals and birds. He also loves eggs. My husband agreed that chickens would be good pets for him, practical and educational, but we still couldn't afford them until we got a large rebate cheque from one of our policies. Although we got them this year, we aren't amongst Hugh and Jamies converts as we've always bought free-range meat and grown our own veg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenanne Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 My parents had light sussex X silky bantams to use as broodies when I was tiny and apparantly I was obsessed with them. I don't really remember (in fact, I only found out when Dad "met" my chickens and guessed my favourite was Biscuits, the Light Sussex). I've always wanted chickens, I guess it's from some pram-sized memory, so it's definitely my Dad's fault! OH was keen too. Have had them about 8 months now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 I saw adverts for Eglu's over 2 years ago and got the leaflet - hubby just laughed, then when we took the cat to the vet he said if we got chickens not to bring them there as he knew nothing about them, then there was avian flu, so it never happened (but I still wanted them & friends had chickens). Then this Jan hubby said he couldn't think of any ideas for my birthday (week after Hugh / Jamie programmes), but he suggested to me how about an eglu & chickens? Needless to say they were bought within the week (a month ahead of birthday!) Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph101 Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 We have been into cooking, healthy living and organic food for many years now, and after watching Hugh and Jamie's Chicken Out fortnight on TV, it's something we became interested in; we thought it would be good for the children too. But I never knew how much pleasure they would bring. So therapeutic and addictive! Chickens are the ultimate pet - eco-friendly composting systems that provide excellent food for you. After looking at the cost of the eglus and all the accessories, and speaking to a couple of people at work who keep chickens, I realised that this wasn't going to be a cheap hobby by any means, but I don't think you keep chickens to save money. The actual chickens themselves cost less than all the nick nacks you have to buy for them. When we told friends, family and colleagues we were going to keep chickens, EVERYBODY laughed! Why??? But they don't waste any time asking to try our eggs now they are laying! Best thing we ever did!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abwsco Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 I've loved the idea of having chickens for ages but didn't think we had the room and we couldn't afford a cube or eglu. Then, a couple of months ago I realised that one part of the garden that never seems to stay looking nice no matter what we do would make an ideal place for them. Surprisingly hubby didn't take any persuading and infact he suggested that we should convert our shed At last work has now begun The shed is in pieces, I've started timber treating it and am off to buy some wood this afternoon for the run and one side of the shed. Also need to get some onduline for the roof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheik Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Saw a link to omlet on an Internet forum one night, clicked it and ended up reading and watching the videos till about 4am. Woke up my fiancee (now wife) and said "Let's keep chickens!", which understandably confused her quite a bit I think we ordered the next day. We can't imagine our garden without them now. /\dam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanut12 Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 My mate asked me to drive him to Omlet in May last year (cos I have a big car - not cos he's a lazy git) When we got there I suddenly realised I was in my element. James gave us a demo and when we got them home, they escaped from the box and we ahd to chase them round the garden to get them in the run. It was then that I said to myself "Got to have some of these" and went home and ordered. Never looked back - I have 4 at home now and 10 ex-batts at school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
