Solitary chicken - need advice

[beach chick]

I'm thinking (hoping) to get a cube soon, but at around £700 its not cheap...

I could probably get something to house 10-15 hens for about £100 to £150 less, but I'm wondering if the saving is worth it in terms of the quality, ease of cleaning, etc of omlet stuff.

 

can anyone who has or had both types tell me what they think? thanks!

 

SORRY, just realised this is in the wrong place... if someone kind and clever could move it to eglus & cubes that would be great!

[Cinnamon]

Ta-da ...........there you go

 

And my money would be spent on the cube any day.

So many people have had wooden housing & gone over either to an Eglu or Cube,that there must be something in it!

[SAB]

We had used wooden rabbit hutches for our rabbits over the years, switched to a rablu for security reasons (foxes abound) and were astonished by the ease of cleaning and the overall superior environment for the animals - still have the rablu (now inhabited by guinea pigs as our rabbits have passed away) and would not now have anything else - hence eglu was what we automatically decided to get for chickens...mind you it did not work out like that as we got a Cube instead. Brilliant, reminds me of a caravan and very secure run; quick to clean (I have a very busy life and for me you can't put a price on "Time"). As many will tell you, the door size is an issue, but the Forum has some examples of door adaptations which are great - there is one on this section which is locked as it has great instructions for photos and, unlike a full door conversion (which would be ideal) leaves those of us worried about foxes much more content.

[Egluntyne]

I have to say cbe too. I love mine. and the plastic roosting bars are fantastic!

[chickenanne]

I have a wooden coop and really like it - is easy to clean, well-designed and robust, easy to use, etc.

I guess what you really need is people who have both though - possibly you'd have more luck on another chickeny-forum as I imagine most people on this one have only an eglu /cube....

[StephanieSB]

I have a wooden coop and really like it - is easy to clean, well-designed and robust, easy to use, etc.

I guess what you really need is people who have both though - possibly you'd have more luck on another chickeny-forum as I imagine most people on this one have only an eglu /cube....

 

Well, I absolutely agree that on this forum the concensus will definitely be for the cube. But I read about five other chicken forums over the months I was thinking of what kind of house to buy, and I can tell that the hostility to Omlet, Eglus, Cubes is huge out there in the 'harder' chicken fora -- and it is not based on experience but on varying ideas and biases about the 'right' way to keep chickens. So, you won't necessarily get entirely unbiased opinions on another forum either.

 

I think the best thing to do (this worked for me when i was deciding) is to price up the wood treatments and mite treatments etc you would need to maintain your wooden house and make sure that is part of the comparison with costings (those are real costs, so not to be ignored). But also think of your daily and weekly routines and how much time you have to devote to the different styles/types of chores each type of house would 'cost' you in time.

 

Hope that helps.

 

p.s. -- if price is the first priority, the cheapest by far is to make your own. That can be a great deal of fun, and you get exactly what you want... worth thinking about, if the idea appeals to you.

[StephanieSB]

I have to say cbe too. I love mine. and the plastic roosting bars are fantastic!

 

Oh, yes -- cleaned them for the first time today -- done in 45 seconds. I love them!

[SAB]

Oh make me jealous why don't you - I am off to scrub my wooden bars as my plastic ones dont arrive till next week - can't wait!!

[chickenanne]

I looked at both a cube or a wooden house when i got mine, so I know it's really difficult to choose!

When I looked into it I looked on various fora, too, and asome threads did have the occasional wierd rant - but there seemed to me to be as many people being ultra-defensive of Omlet products and rude about everything else, as there were people being rude about anything other than wood... (obviously with any forum it depends on who posts when!!). However, if you can ignore those posts, and bear in mind Stephanie's advice re: fora postings (it's been at least a year since I was looking into it so things've probably changed!!) then you might come across some good tips.

 

Having not had an eglu or cube, is impossible to compare, but honestly, my wooden coop and run are really quick and easy to thouroughly clean.

The running costs of the coop I'd say were pretty negligible - I'm not sure exactly how much I spend on mite powder for the house, but to give an idea I bought a standard-sized package when I got my chickies about 10 months ago and still have loads left - I'm not sure the cost of this would be at all significant, but I guess it depends on number of birds etc etc. As before- I've not used an eglu or cube, but do you not dust your birds /include in dust bath /etc lice powder and mite powder if you've an eglu or cube? Same for wood preservative - one tin every couple of years is about all you'd need.

 

Perhaps a bit of window-shopping so you can compare specific examples of suitable wooden housing with costings to the Cube?

[andrewandcarly]

we started with an eglu for 2 chickens, then as you all know it becomes very addictive so we increased our flock and then bought another eglu. i built a large run and as we increased i ordered a cube.

i then sold both eglus as i had ordered a cube but i felt a bit let down by omlet.

i ordered the cube and it was about a 7 week wait. i booked the day off for delivery having spoken to omlet who told me it had left the factory earlier in the week only to be rang the afternoon before delivery by omlet to say it hadnt even been made yet..............so i bought a shed.

 

it is a large shed and to be honest i havent noticed much difference in time taken to clean it out compared to the eglus.

the eglus are probably easier as the tray slides out etc but i just sweep everything up, give it a dusting with mite powder etc and its done.

[Angels4]

Well, I absolutely agree that on this forum the concensus will definitely be for the cube. But I read about five other chicken forums over the months I was thinking of what kind of house to buy, and I can tell that the hostility to Omlet, Eglus, Cubes is huge out there in the 'harder' chicken fora -- and it is not based on experience but on varying ideas and biases about the 'right' way to keep chickens. So, you won't necessarily get entirely unbiased opinions on another forum either.

 

StephanieSB is so right...I'm on a forum here in the US called Backyardchickens (they say they are the friendliest chicken forum on the web) Yeah until they find out you have and Eglu (igloo to them) then they beride you about "more money then sense", "sterile and plastic", "too small" yada, yada, yada....One thing that I notice is everytime I log onto the forum there, some yahoo with a wooden coop is talking about predators getting at thier girls (while cooped for the night) and I have to say that I've noticed here us Eglu owners hardly every lose a girl while they are locked up for the evening, this mainly happens while the girls are free ranging, so for safety, cleaning, and general appeal the Eglu wins hands down.

[chickenanne]

Well, I'm "some yahoo with a wooden coop" and have no fear of the hens being taken at night, simply because the coop is completely secure and predator-proof.

I agree that some wooden houses are TERRIBLE designs, and some are kept in a really poor state of repair, but....not all are. Predators are something you have to think about when choosing housing, but most wooden houses are perfectly secure.

[beach chick]

thanks for all the replies, interesting reading! we've now decided the next stage is electric fencing, so we'll invest in that and stick with the 2 eglus for now - tho I really DO want a cube! dont think OH will go for it at the mo, finances being what they are...

[The Dogmother]

Don't forget that 2nd hand eglus get a really good price at the moment - you could almost pay for your cube when you sell the eglus.

[Egluntyne]

They certainly do!

 

A friend of mine sold one recently for more than she paid for it.

 

She had it second hand for a year and paid £200 for it, and sold it on ebay for £280.

[beach chick]

mmm, cash flow is the problem tho ... and I'd want to keep at least one for future introductions etc!! plus we've just had to shell out for a new washing machine, so best I dont mention the cube for a while I think!

[The Dogmother]

Now that's what I call a bargain!

 

Personally I prefer the styling of the eglu, but if a cube landed in my garden tomorrow, I wouldn't be unhappy... orange or purple please, Cube Fairy

[beach chick]

I prefer the look of the eglu too, but reckon cleaning out one cube rather than 2 eglus is prob easier... or even 3 eglus should I feel rich again soon!!