4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[trudyw]

Hi everyone I am new here but have grown up with chickens, we have always had a wooden house though. I was wondering what makes you all like the Eglu and the cubes, are they easy to clean etc? Thanks in advance

[mccroft]

My hens were killed by a fox, it got into the run after a night work and then managed to get into our wooden coup.

 

I've ordered the cube because it's a lot safer but once I started researching I realised that it will be so , so much easier to clean as well which is an added bonus.

 

Thanks to a tip from another member I have ordered one without the wheels and it made it £50 cheaper. Comparing that price to a wooden coup ment there wasn't much in the price.

 

The service is fantastic, they are even going to build it for me on delivery. Which is Friday, only ordered it Yesturday.

[Olly]

Well I've never had a wooden house, so I can't compare, but for me the Eglu/Cube won on several grounds:

 

really easy to clean - less than half-an-hour to clean an Eglu spotless

much less risk of redmite, although you can get them

easy to move around (and because they can be cleaned, you can put them in a car which I don't think you'd want to do with a wooden house very often!)

their resale value is very high, as they don't deteriorate.

 

While I've seen negative comments on other forums from people who don't own them, I doubt if you will find anyone with an Eglu or Cube who doesn't sing its praises (but this is the Omlet forum, remember!)

[Muvver hen]

Hi Trudi,I have a and a I have had lots of wooden coops over the years and to me these are simply the best.All the above the others said and look much nicer in a back garden

[BarbaraJ]

I do actually prefer the wood look but the Cube won for all other reasons, ease of cleaning apparently (can't say 100% as mine not arrived yet) more room in cube for more chickens, ease of cleaning (did i mention that) and easy access to eggs and door opening i'm won over and haven't got it yet. i haven't had red mite yet probably due to 2-3 things sprinkled in coop each week but dread getting them. Also my wooden coop is under cover so pretty much as new except for the bit pokes outside and its starting to rot already even though carefully weatherproofed. also the poo falls through roosting bars to tray underneath something hubby couldn't replicate but maybe you find in a bought coop.

To be totally honest i really don't think the chickens would care, bit of poop doesn't phase them but for me sooooo much easier.

 

lol when i showed hubby a pic of my cube he said 'can't we just convert the wendy house, be alot cheaper'

[Janty]

I haven't had a wooden coop either so I can't compare. I was drawn to the eglus and cubes because I work full time and they are so easy to clean. I have two cubes and an eglu that are inhabited at the moment but it doesn't take me long to clean them out at all. They look so funky as well.

 

[chickenanne]

I was lent an eglu over Christmas, as mine were going "on holiday" to a friends house and it's easier to transport than my wooden coop. eglu's and the run panels do fit into the back of the car (a Micra, but with rear seats folded down)

 

Personally, and I know I'm about to make myself unpopular, I far prefer my wooden coop. It was more expensive than an eglu would be, but I just love it. Sorry.... I'm sure some of it is what I'm used to, but, the downsides:

 

a) It is easy to clean, but so is my wooden coop. I'm not sure I see much difference. I guess the eglue you can power wash, whilst my wooden cube wouldn't dry in teh winter unless I did that first thing int eh morning on a good day. Am not convinced how big an advantage this is as am not sure I'd power wash it that often anyway.

b) Personally I think the eglu is a bit gadgety. I like more traditional things. I don't think it looks that nice, but I realise that most people think they look great: I guess this is very much down to preferance

b) The eglu is much much smaller than my wooden house. I have 4 chooks and feel it's a bit small, low ceiling heights, etc. I don't understand how it would be possible to keep large chickens (hard-or-soft feather game chooks, the big fluffy ones, brahama's, etc) in an eglu. personally, I would either keep two in an eglu, or get something else. (wooden or cube)

c) The nest box isn't "secluded" or private, and is much smaller. They laid eggs under roost bars etc on occasion, and never do normally, I'm sure this is why. I don't like the drainage hole thingy in the nest box - it seems to tempting for weasels, rats, mice etc in search of eggs.I don't really see why it's needed, either.

d) I don't like it being on ground level - I like that the chickadidles can get in underneath the wooden coop (it's raised up) for extra shelter /bigger run in same floor area...etc.

e) I don't like only being able to see in through the egg-port door, or else by taking the entire top off the house - at night if you need to check on them it must be very awkward to manage if you have more than two.

f) I hate the run clips. Plasticy, fiddly, and easy to break. Would be easy enough to use soemthing else. Actually, I didn't like the run, too difficult to get into to clean.

g) The grub seems really impractical - you fill from the top and they eat from the top, so the stuff at the bottom will get quite old unless you empty and clean the grub daily. Also, the glug thingy is smaller than our water fountain, so it freezes over much more easily, even during daytime (I do live in a fridge, though!!!)

f) And, if I'm being picky - I thought the plastic was pretty poor quality - the coloured bit has lots of air bubble marks etc all over it, which I thought was disappointing given that it is expensive, and it should be perfectly possible to effectively mould plastic to give a near perfect finish.

 

Ok, so, please don't shoot me, i really am just giving my own opinion!

[chelsea]

you are entitled to your opinion chickenanne!

 

I love my eglu and chose it because it is so easy to clean - 5 minutes with the power washer and a quick dry down with an old towel and presto its clean . I do like some of the wooden coops but as chickenanne says above in winter they must be hard to dry.

 

We also take our chickens over my sister's when we go on holiday, so the eglu is packed up in our car and easily transported, another advantage.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Eeek, an eglu hater . Never met one before . Don't worry, you'll not be shot, you're entitled to your opinion .

 

Some of your points are actually fair enough although I do think as they only sleep and lay in the eglu, the size isn't that crucial. It's more the run that's the issue. They do say 4 max to a nestbox, my 3 seem to manage to take turns.

 

The run clips do get brittle and break but I believe they've brought out a new type which are much better. I've not touched my clips in a year and a half so don't find them a problem.

 

I do like being able to wash the bars and poop tray and dry them with a towel so they can go straight back in.

 

I think if the eglu you borrowed had air bubbles on it, it must have been a faulty one . Mine doesn't have anything like that.

 

I don't see the point of the drainage hole either, I must admit, although when you're washing it out the water can drain away easily. Some people put a piece of lino in the nestbox.

 

The run could be tricky to clean unless you have help. I get ES to take one end, I take the other and we just lift the whole thing to the side, clean out the run, then put it back. It's dead easy. The Aubiose absorbs the poos in the meantime so I don't clean the run out inbetween the 6 week major clean out.

 

I started out wanting a traditional coop as I do think they look lovely but I love my eglu now .

 

I hope you don't think I'm trying to contradict all your points, Chickenanne, but it might help Trudyw make up her mind to have both sides of the argument (or totally confuse her ).

[chickenanne]

Not at all! I don't hate the eglu, I just far prefer my wooden one .... I remember when I was first deciding what to get I seldom came across anyone who had both (unless the wooden coop was bought off ebay and a disaster!).

A lot of other forums have people on BOTH sides getting very heated and unreasonable: the "eglu's are an overpriced gimmick made by satan and bought by people who don't know where eggs come from" and "all wooden houses are flimsy mite-infested death traps" type "discussions" which are totally useless when you're trying to make a decision !

TBH I like a decent wooden coop more than an eglu, but ultimately both are good options. Both have some limitations, both have some advantages, and ultimately it depends on your own circumstances as to which suits best.

But I will never think those terrible run clips are anything other than the worst invention ever..... !

[Ain't Nobody Here]

but ultimately both are good options. Both have some limitations, both have some advantages, and ultimately it depends on your own circumstances as to which suits best.

 

Couldn't have put it better myself .

[trudyw]

Thanks Guys I did say I wanted your opinions, hopefully we will be going to see an eglu at the weekend someone my husband works with has one, will let you know how we get on