Topic: Eglu anyone?

[louise stella]

In response to an earlier post......

The Eglu itself IS foxproof!!

The run however only claims to be Fox resistant!!!  It's very much down to a combination of things such as installation and maintenance.  You need to have it on flat ground and peg it down securely, then you should be Ok!!!  But you must close the pop hole door at night to ensure your girls safety.  A determined and very hungry fox given long enough could work out how to dig his way in!

I check the integrity of my run daily - vigilance is the key here I think!!

Louise

[louise stella]

Hiya... They're not! See what Phill says here:

http://forums.thepoultrykeeper.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=18008&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=15

I don't know Phill, but it looks pretty genuine!

I think Eglu try very hard to hush up any kills (the topic on the Eglu sight on "how did you lose yours" only has mentions of the door being left open - but I know their site is very heavily modded). I would say that they are highly fox resistant, the run has a "skirt" of plastic coated steel all the way around the outside and the house is very solid.

But I think a very determined fox will eventually find a way.

Omlet do not hush up kills!

In fact there is an active thread on the Omlet forum where you can leave details of what happened to you regarding foxes.  Information shared is the way to outwit them after all!

Louise

[OllieC]

Tell Phill that!

http://forums.thepoultrykeeper.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=18008&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=15

[littlebabybird]

Ollie are you still eggless?
lbb

[OllieC]

Yes, lbb but...

I just went outside & we have a croucher! Woohoo!! Looks like it might be Chicken is going to be the winner!

[Hyacinth]

Yes, lbb but...

I just went outside & we have a croucher! 

prolly constipation ;D

[OllieC]

Yes, lbb but...

I just went outside & we have a croucher! 

prolly constipation ;D

No! She was waiting for me to fertilise her eggs... Don't worry, I declined on this occasion! Mind you, she is the best looker...

[Poet]

we had a beautiful wooden coop but it was awkward to clean out (lots of bending down and nooks and crannies) we also got red mite in there and despite our supreme best efforts, we couldn't get rid of them!  We bit the bullet and invested in a cube and it's so much easier to maintain.  I agonised for ages over the cost but we paid about £200 for the wooden one which lasted less than 12 months!

[Poet]

We quite fancied the eglu but we talked to a couple of bird suppliers and they weren't keen.  They said the plastic might be easier to keep clean but was too cold in the winter and too hot in summer.  ....

they are double walled so very well insulated.  These people haven't checked their facts I'm afraid.  Our girls are toasty warm in their cube and I know they're nicely waterproofed too (our wooden one also started to leak which was another reason we got rid).

[louise stella]

Tell Phill that!

http://forums.thepoultrykeeper.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=18008&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=15

A lot of chicken safety is down to luck and vigilance.  I never get foxes in my garden, but I never let the girls out on their own.  Omlet don't claim that no fox could ever get in but providing you stake down the run and make sure adequate clips are in place and always shut the door etc ....is is pretty d**n good!  Foxes can bite through chickenwire, so the weldmesh is a better bet!

A lot of this is down to choice at the end of the day - I find it easier to clean and thats enough for me - I have better things to do with my time - such as going down the lottie!  I kept rabbits years ago and was a slave to keeping the hutch clean - It was a disgusting thing to clean and eventually ended up stained and smelly no matter what you did to it! 

I bought mine second hand (a year old) and have no regrets and would love a cube if I had more space.  So much of this eglu/cube knocking is really silly!  Akin to knockinng people who are now queuing up for allotments - what does it bl**dy well matter if they "jumping on the bandwago" so to speak - if popele are getting more involved in where their food comes from and how it's produced - then to me that's a good thing!

Personally I love the look of some of the wooden coops - but I just don't wish to be a slave to cleaning them out! 

Louise