Chicken bald back

[Jools]

Just copied this of the GFD site

 

"We will have a range of our Chicken Houses and Lofts on display at the National Poulty Show 20-21 November in Stoneleigh, Nr. Coventry."

 

If you can wait that long!

 

Brilliant, I can get my hands on one then!!

[the bradley bunch]

yes thanks for that info chicken bark!

 

it's funny because i searched 'chicube' to find that old thread some people had mentioned, and what i found most interesting is how much the majority of omletter's attitudes has changed towards 'plastic' competitors!

people seem alot more open now to the discussion of the pros & cons of other houses.

 

i was also really grateful for the direction to the thread because i could read the opinion of somebody who had actually owned both a chicube and an eglu. i also found out from the thread that chicube will design a house to your own personal spec if you ask them, which i wouldn't have known otherwise and probably would've just gone ahead & ordered the most suitable exisiting design. aswell as the lack of 'nooks & crannys' to get into whilst cleaning, this 'bespoke' service option has the potential to make a massive difference to my life. as some of you know i suffer with chronic illness, so anything that can make keeping chickens easier and allow me to continue to do so as my health deteriorates, is simply invaluable to me.

 

i think it's good that people are more willing to actively participate in discussions like this, and i think it could also be a positive for omlet too, as they are given valuable insight into the reasons why people might buy alternative housing. such as cost, practicality, options available, customer service, the use of recycled materials, and even the partnerships developed with other cos - which is what caught my eye with regards to these particular houses (the 'little hen rescue' name & symbol on the home page of their website) ...well lets face it, it wasn't the aesthetics of the houses that made me stop & look further!

[eggandspoon]

CHICUBES!

 

We have Just received our chicube and very impressed with the product

We ordered a Complete starter package with 3 hybrids (Maggie Mo and Shirley)

Including set up and advice session

Total price paid £ 468.99

Cube is solid and has the optional back door opening there is plenty of room for them including 6ft run

 

However!

Chicubes as a business are not the most reliable company for honest communication , when I ordered via their website, the only order confirmation I had was from Paypal, confirming the payment.

2 days after placing the order I have a phone call to arrange for delivery (only 18 days to wait, I thought was pretty good)

On the Day of delivery , phone call, Delivery now cancelled due to a MOT failure, Chicubes tried to contact me via emails (none received ) they said they misspelt my name – strange I emailed them on several occasions. Delivery was now re scheduled for the following week,

AGAIN delivery was cancelled on the day. my husband took the message they asked for his better nature?! , this time the run wasn’t ready?! my husband had a few words and insisted we have an email to confirm the next delivery arrangements in writing.

We then had our first email “ Thank you for your understanding.

To confirm our conversation, my driver will be with you on Monday afternoon. I will add some extras to your package to make up for the delays.”

Being very patient people we gave Chicubes another chance and decided if we didn’t receive our order third time then we would demand a full refund.

Cube and hens arrives three days later, told delivery will be afternoon, 3pm phone call to say driver is delayed should arrive between 6 and 7pm.

Pick up truck arrives 7.30 Typically my husband is still working so I help driver with cube and run.

I also have 2 over excited children 5 and 7 that can not believe the chickens have finally arrived! (After being let down twice before).

I was horrified and felt guilty that these poor hens had travelled in a cage in the back of a open pickup truck for a 4 hour trip, heavy rain and It was late for them too!

I was told there are clips missing off the run ( to secure top opening) and there should be a cover, I also discovered the wormer and antiseptic spray were missing too (these were specified for the Complete Starter package £40)

We did receive the Plastic feeder and drinker ,20kg bag of food and half a bag of straw

There was also some anti pecking spray – was this the extras as promised?!

 

The advice session? Not even a demonstration ..... very disappointing

Delivery and installation £39.99

the only advice I was given, to make sure hens stay in their run for a week before letting them out and tent pegs will help to secure the run. ( I even made him a cup of tea!)

Told we have hybrids, how do I know? Could they be ex battery? Being a complete novice not even shown how to hold a chicken!

Even the delivery driver and was awkward handling the chickens!

Driver had gone by 8 pm

Overall The concept of the product is good quality and really well made, its a shame the company its self is letting it down! No helpline or follow up.

I think they need to give Mary Portas a call! Until they do our advise would be to keep clear.

[Duncan08]

That is a shame if the product is good.

 

And it is certainly one of the reasons why I return to Omlet. Our first delivery of the was great, we were taught how to clip the wings, hold the girls, the guy was really chatty and helpful and put the run togther for us. He even gave us an egg that had been laid on the journey!

When we ordered the it was the same guy. Lovely bloke, really helpful, in fact so chatty, my dad who saw him in, told him he would finish off so he could go and get his lunch

 

If I have ever rung for advice again, always really helfpful.

[counturchickens]

We started with a chic cube and it was fine and easy to clean but I prefer the cube because of the plastic perches. We also had one of their packages and the delivery was fine too, maybe they were having some bad luck.

[julie4181]

Hi, I dont normally post on here - so hello everyone - but felt I had to echo the post of eggandspoon above. I got my chickens approx a year ago and started out with a chicube package - the product itself is very good (altho the auage on the weldmesh on the run is too big) and I have no complaints on that score.

 

However the service they offered was absolutely dreadful. I lost count of the number of times they changed the delivery date, I got no cover for the run either, no purple spray etc etc. I waited in for them on several occasions taking time off work etc and they didn't arrive. I was very patient at the time because they told me it was due to family illness and they seemed nice people.

 

After it eventually arrived - I decided to order an extension for the run - 3 months later this still hadn't arrived and I cancelled it - however I never got the money back that I paid for the extension - by this point I was just sick of the whole thing and wrote it off as a bad experience.

 

I've since upgraded to a cube and the service from Omlet was absolutely excellent - wish I'd just gone with Omlet from the start - I would have saved myself a lot of grief.

 

As said above - it's a shame because the product is a good one but I would never use them again or recommend them to anyone. I really felt they took advantage of my good nature at the time - never again!