Solitary chicken - need advice

[quickcluck]

Hi folks!!

 

I've had my eglu on order for a while, been to a hen party.. done all the umming and ahhhhhhing, been glued to his forum relentlessly and been out with my tape measure in all weathers.....

 

the conclusion is................... on monday I will change my order for a cube..... colour purple/lilac if possible, but mostly governed by not changing the deliverey date.....

 

Hope you all agree with my decision, looking for justification now...

 

Am hoping to get my 4 hens as planned plus a couple of larger one maybe a bluebelle or a speckled... do they all mix well???

 

Any advice gladly recieved!

[Chickvic]

I wish we'd gone for the cube first! I want to double the amount of chickens BUT won't do this for ages (until we get cube! ) So yes, you've made the right decision. I've only got the Omlet girls, but I've read somewhere that so long as you get all your chickens together on the same day or very close that there shouldn't be a problem! Someone with more experience will no doubt be along shortly.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

How exciting . LuckyQuickyclucky .

 

The only thing I think I've heard mentioned is that it's a good idea to get girls of roughly the same size or you may get a bit of bullying. I may be wrong, though, so hopefully someone else will confirm/deny this!

[Steve.]

Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry

 

And good luck quickcluck.

 

I am sure you are making the right decision!

 

Purple is nice ... hadn't got the guts to order that one myself ... went for red to carry on the red/green theme in our garden.

 

My wife is talking now about getting a run extension ... though I want to wait a bit

[Gallina]

You've definitely made the right choice: the Cube is great (but I would recommend one extension as well as the standard run).

 

The Eglu is makes a good spare home, but the roof of the run is a bit low if hens have to stay in all the time, and you can't have big hens, of which I am very fond.

 

I also like the fact that the Cube is right off the ground, which is more hygienic and ensures that no ground space is wasted. You can also stand the Cube in bright sun, as there is so much shade for the hens under the Cube.

[Jules.]

Hi!

I upgraded to a cube this month after having my eglu for a year

There's nothing wrong with the eglu design, it just can't hold as many hens as the cube.

I introduced a bluebelle & a speckledy last month to my old girls- we had a few problems that were sorted out by a bumper bit, & even now my old girls still chase the new ones, but Gertrude & Rosa are growing much bigger now, & Gertie gives back what she gets sometimes.

I think that as long as yours are all roughly the same age & you introduce them all around the same time then things should be alot easier for you.

[quickcluck]

Thanks guys..

 

Forgot to say that we have decided on the run extention already!!! In for a penny in for a pound ( or several hundred!)

 

Only problem now is it's not portable for chicken sitting holidays.... will have to think about that one...

 

Fingers crossed that the delivery date can remain the same.....

[Egluntyne]

No need for justification surely....you have saved yourself the hassle of selling your Eglu on ebay once you realised that chickens were so addictive.

 

Good luck.

 

Purple is the only way to go.

[Cooks]

Congratulations, Purple/Lilac are great colours!

 

 

Stevie you have a lot to answer for

[Lapinou]

I'm just glad the money was a factor for us! I keep telling myself 'we couldn't have asked DH's parents for another £200 to get the cube anyway' Anyway, I'm chuffed to bits with our eglu and hopefully it'll be enough for us for a few years... If it had been in our control entirely, I'm sure we wouldn't have been able to stop ourselves finding the money somewhere!

 

If we ever get the chance to have a bigger house/garden, then that would probably be when we can't resist getting a cube and would keep the eglu 'just in case'. (I think the cube heightwould swamp our garden a bit so size was also an issue)

[Cooks]

it's great that the cube and eglu are so different in design though, as your right the cube would swamp some gardens and the eglu would be perfect..

 

I like the design of the eglu.. I have seen cubes up close and they are too big and bulky for me, but then I knew I only wanted 3 chickens max!

[quickcluck]

the cube will be hidden behind a convenient tree, so shouldn't be the centre piece of the garden..... well thats the plan........ a bit like the eglu was a good plan!

[Cooks]

you will love it

[Seagazer]

I was going to get the Eglu although the floor space needed was bigger than I could fit in. Then after reading the forum I realised that I would probably want more chickens sooner rather than later.

 

I really wish I had space for an extension or a walk in run though as I feel its cramped for my 3 girls and would not put any more in than that. The cube is big enough but the run I feel is not.

 

Purple is definitely the way to go!