Eglu Cube Coop For Sale

[djandalex]

Hi there, Derek and Alex here. We do not keep chickens yet but are thinking of doing so. We live in London and are looking to find out if it is possible to keep chickens in such an urban setting We have a fair sized back garden of 75sqm. We have obliging neighbours who I am sure will be fine with us keeping hens (two to three max) but are concerned about cats and Mr. and Mrs Fox who we know o live locally! We would welcome any advice from anyone already keeping chickens in London.

[Olly]

Welcome - I'm going to move your post across to 'Chickens', where you'll get more replies.

[djandalex]

ooo...lovely - thank you!

[Mollie333]

Hi and welcome.

 

First of all, chickens aren't as noisy as you may imagine, and need not a great huge amount of care and attention, just food, fresh water and loving owners. They need space of 1 square meter each, but love to roam your garden, supervised only, since with us Urban Keepers, foxy is bound to be around.

 

It is possible to keep chickens in your Urban style garden, and cats? Chickens can be violent towards other animals (but friendly to us) and a slight peck on the nose would do perfectly, the cat would soon back off, they can defend themselves. The fox however is something to be carefull of. What sort of set up would you want? The eglu is great and will fit three hens.

 

The reason people get three is if one comes to its time or gets ill ect and passes away, then you wont be left with one lone hen. It can be hard to introduce more hens to your flock if this happens, ALWAYS introduce in two's.

The live span of a chicken is about 2-5 years, depending on breed, And will slow down the egg production as they start to get older.

 

I don't live in London but live in a semi Urban area, but i am familiar with Urban area chicken keeping.

Anything elts don't hesitate to post here on the Chicken section.

 

Good luck.

Edited August 6, 2010 by Guest

[Goldstar]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

 

I have 2 cats and 3 chickens and havent had any issues so far. The cats are curious but havent tried anything, the chickens are big girls.

 

I live in an area that has foxes (I saw 2 the other night). I havent had problems yet, but I only lets the chickens out to free range when I am in the garden, or watching from the kitchen window.

 

They are very relaxing and rewarding and to top it all off you get the best tasting eggs.

[Egluntyne]

I live 5 miles out of Sheffield City centre, in a very urban area, Foxes galore, and spotted regularly in the early mornings in the garden.

 

So long as you keep your Eglu on slabs, supervise the free ranging and make sure that food is brought in at night, you shouldn't be troubled with either foxes or rats.

[Olly]

Well I only had time to move the post last night, not reply, but I am in an urban area (albeit with quite a long garden). Chickens make ideal pets for an urban garden, and it's good that your neighbours are already on side.

 

Cats won't be a problem - I have two cats myself, one is terrified of the chickens, and the other one ignores them unless they get too close. Local cats may show an interest in the hens, but experience indicates that a full-size chicken is more than able to look after itself, and as Mollie says above, a peck on the nose will soon see them off.

 

Foxes are a different matter - a secure run is essential, and any free-ranging really needs to be supervised; unfortunately foxes can strike in minutes, so leaving your hens out while you pop out to post a letter isn't an option, however mine love to keep me company while I'm gardening and it's surprising how many jobs you can find to do even in winter! The Eglu or Cube run are generally secure, but you can take extra steps like weighing down the skirt (or putting the whole thing on slabs).

 

You will see a few people on here who've had problems with noise, it does vary from chicken to chicken as some are noisier than others, but generally they will only shout when they are announcing an egg! If they are very near your neighbours then you might want to consider a blackout cover for the Eglu or Cube, and not letting them out too early, and don't give in and start feeding them treats to keep them quiet, because that is just creating a rod for your own back!

 

I'd just qualify what Mollie has said above about hens' longevity, sadly 10-15 years is exceptional for a chicken; 2-3 years is more likely for hybrids, and perhaps 5-6 years for pure breeds. They make fabulous garden pets, and the lovely fresh-laid eggs are a bonus. There's lots of information on the forum, so do search around, the FAQs sections is always good for new starters, and do feel free to ask any questions if you can't find the answers elsewhere.

[Mollie333]

Sorry, i ment that they could live to 10 years if looked after.

[djandalex]

Wow - thank you all for your replies, really really helpful...the more research we do, the keener we are

[patsylabrador]

I have had three bantams in suburbia for about a year, and have no great problems. They have a WIR and don't free- range. We had a problem with rats and foxes but we haven't seen either for some time and the run certainly made a difference - it outfoxed the fox. The rats would hide out in the compost bin where they were an easy target.

90% of the time the chickens are quiet, just a general clucking noise, I do worry when they shout but it's not every day and not for very long. They do holler if any cats are daft enough to come in the garden but they don't often now.

One neighbour was a bit moany at first, I think that like me she didn't know what to expect, but she's fine now.

I think you'll enjoy your garden a lot more, because I spend so much more time in it now, it's been lovely this year, lots of veggies growing and if, like my cauliflowers they are bit of a disappointment, the chickens help clear them up.

[Tiggy]

welcome, Ive had chicks for about 3 years now & have had problems with urban foxes & buzzards, I now have a walk in run so no problems, my girls free range during the day if Im at home otherwise its 'lock down' They are great fun. i have an ex bat who survived a fox attack and now is about 3-4 years old, my other 3 are omlet girls who now are about 2.

 

I also have 2 cats, who are no match for the chickens watching Molly our ex ferral run for her life chased my a mob of chickens was amusing, she now keeps well away from them as do the local cats.

good luck with whatever you choose to do

[Tricky]

Mine are free ranging all day in a fenced off area at the bottom of the garden. Have only had foxes visiting at night on two occassions in only 5 years that i am aware of....and only then because the eglu cover was ripped to shreds but the girls slept through it in their secure Eglu

 

Personally I wouldn't want to keep three chickens in a standard Eglu run all day so would consider a walk in run if that was the only option.

[Olly]

The Eglu is big enough for three hens, but I agree the standard run isn't - the recommendation is one length of run per hen, so the standard is fine for two, or an Eglu run with an extension for three.

[djandalex]

I have had three bantams in suburbia for about a year, and have no great problems. They have a WIR and don't free- range.

Whats a WIR?

[djandalex]

Ah WIR = Walk in Run...where can we get one of those from - or do people tend to build their own?

[migsy]

A walk in run like this:

 

[djandalex]

Also - any chicken keepers in Hackney (East London)?

[djandalex]

Wow...

[migsy]

You can build your own if you have loads of time or you can order the panels for self assembly from places such as Flyte so Fancy, Chirpy Coops and Bay Animal Housing (where I got mine). I'd strongly recommend one as it gives loads of space for your chooks and is fairly cost effective because you do not need to buy the run that comes with the Eglu. You will want more chickens once you get some, so you might as well start off with a WIR to be prepared for the future

[patsylabrador]

I got my WIR from Forsham Cottage Arks in Kent and am very happy with it. My husband fixed some of that wavy clear plastic roofing and it has been brilliant. They sell runs with covers if you prefer.

[Old Hazel]

Hi

I'm new too and am learning all about chickens. Although I'm from (almost) your neck of the woods, I now live abroad in quite a rural setting.It sounds like there is always a fox issue wherever you are! We're hoping to buy a WIR from Aviaries4u - I think quite a few other people here have used these.

 

We're just waiting for our Cube to arrive now and have already sourced our chickens - it's all very exciting!

 

Hazel

[sadietoo]

Just to add my twopenneth...I live in quite a built up area but we are "semi" urban here. I haven't received any complaints from neighbours about noise but I only keep two girls in a standard eglu run...they do shout a bit when they've laid an egg or are bored, or can just hear me in the kitchen. We get about 12 eggs a week on average which are absolutely delicious, much nicer than anything you can buy, and more than that we get great entertainment. They are the loveliest of pets, chatty and fun, they follow you around, come in the house, are cheeky and sassy..you can tell, I'm a huge fan. I haven't had a mouse or rat problem (the cat keeps those at bay, I think. I feel he must be concentrating on these since he hasn't fulfilled the contract I took out with him on the blackbird that chook chook chooks outside my bedroom window from 6.00 am onwards ) but we have had a fox problem, as you can see from my signature, and so consequently I only free-range if I'm actually in the garden these days...however that does mean the garden is the best it's looked for years The cat gives the chickens the respect they deserve. ...our late and much missed dachshund was a great poo-picker, but otherwise completely oblivious to the girls.

With regard to the eglu run, unless you are going to be able to move it for cleaning then imo you need to be very very good at yoga. (OMLET please design a better door or a lift up top on the run or something to make it more accessible)

One thing I can guarantee though ...you'll wonder why you didn't take the plunge sooner...Happy Chicken keeping

[Cheryl]

Hello, we live in North London which is very much a residential area, but we have quite a long garden (about 150 feet) and the chickens live at the end of it, we also had a cockeral which crowed quite a bit but our neighbours quite accepted it, but we ended up culling it because it became very aggressive and not because of the noise, subsequently I have built a second walk in run and have been breeding chickens for the past few months, AND have two cockerals!, which I hope dont get too overwelming for everybody but we will see, as the reason I have them is because I would like to breed, especially my BaldNecks who are delightful and adorable..

If anyone wants to come see me to see my set up I would be happy to receive them, I have about 23 chickens at present and my neighbours are fine.. as everyone says, in some ways people welcome sound of them as compared to the boy racers, skip lorries clanking over the humps in our road, dogs barking, burgular and house alarms, sirens, noisy people leaving the pub, builders drilling and diy enthusiasts using power tools early on the weekend, our chickens are music to the ears. In some ways people are realising this more because chicken keeping is becoming very popular and soon it will be a normal and acceptable sound like everything else, its just about what you get used to, stop worrying about the neighbours they will soon get used to the sounds, also a box of eggs goes down well, theres a lot worse they could have to contend with...

[Tricky]

most people seem to build their own.There is a post all about this somewhere on here with loads of photos.I'M sure someone will point you in the right direction

[Shelley]

I live in London and have posted on here before about this very subject. Despite what the chicken idealists say there are issues of compatibility that you should be aware of. Foxes are definitely a problem, but they're your problem and no one elses. The difficulty I have had is one of noise. My chiekcens were in the habit of waking at 6.30 in the morning and squawking for attention. At that point we left the eglu door open overnight and so they ambled down into the run at dawn. Now we close it at night and keep the cube covered, but they're still waking at 7.15ish and making a bit of a racket. It will be easier in winter when people have their windows closed, but I have to say the summer months have been incredibly trying. Oh and the poo and the flies can be pretty unpleasanmt to