Omlet Eglu Thread

[upinrunnin]

** For those worried about heat...I am in central FL. Temps have been in the 90's. I put a little temp/humidity gauge in my Cube out of curiosity...I have not seen the temp inside the coop go above 75 over the past 2 weeks.

Good to know.

 

[Atonica Farm]

Thank you so much for posting this comparison! I just moved from city to country, and I’ve wanted chickens as long as I can remember. Was thinking of the Eglu to start while I slowly acquire my skills, tools and materials. Sounds like the Eglu cube is a good starter coop
I have some dog kennel material on the property that I plan on using for a run, with mods for improving security.

 

[lesliedow]

So, I just got the cube. I live in raccoon country so after building it, I had to cover it with machine cloth. Also the knobs on the back to open the hatches cannot be secured and they twist to open so it's likely a raccoon could figure out how to open them. I have ended up securing them with a hasp that I riveted over the knob to prevent the raccoons from accessing the knob. After all this I guess it's a good coop, but it has been a slog to get it fully predator-proof. I am not sure it's worth the $$$.

 

[Atonica Farm]

So, I just got the cube. I live in raccoon country so after building it, I had to cover it with machine cloth. Also the knobs on the back to open the hatches cannot be secured and they twist to open so it's likely a raccoon could figure out how to open them. I have ended up securing them with a hasp that I riveted over the knob to prevent the raccoons from accessing the knob. After all this I guess it's a good coop, but it has been a slog to get it fully predator-proof. I am not sure it's worth the $$$.

Thank you for sharing your review!

The Cube looks easiest to keep clean. Everything seems so crazy expensive this summer.

I’m trying to scavenge materials from the property to design/build , since prices for materials are so high right now. And still
Moving , and renovating house, and new job… oh my!

I was thinking the cube might be an easy one for maintenance, and then eventually I could modify it as a chicken tractor once I got my permanent coop built, probably next summer.

I’m just so eager to get started with chickens, and I don’t want to wait too long to get the chicks. Sounds like it’s not a good idea to start in the fall/winter

 

[lesliedow]

Thank you for sharing your review!

The Cube looks easiest to keep clean. Everything seems so crazy expensive this summer.

I’m trying to scavenge materials from the property to design/build , since prices for materials are so high right now. And still
Moving , and renovating house, and new job… oh my!

I was thinking the cube might be an easy one for maintenance, and then eventually I could modify it as a chicken tractor once I got my permanent coop built, probably next summer.

I’m just so eager to get started with chickens, and I don’t want to wait too long to get the chicks. Sounds like it’s not a good idea to start in the fall/winter

Totally get it. The cube is my pre-coop. I am building an 8x12 Woods-style coop but like you I wanted to get started fast and the Eglu fits the bill!
Here's a progress pic of my Ultimate Coop. We've not cut out the high windows yet, that's for tomorrow but it's looking pretty good! I'm going to finish the run first so I can move the Eglu inside. Then me and the chooks can finish the big coop!

 

[lesliedow]

Oh and here is the fully locked down Eglu:

 

[Atonica Farm]

Totally get it. The cube is my pre-coop. I am building an 8x12 Woods-style coop but like you I wanted to get started fast and the Eglu fits the bill!
Here's a progress pic of my Ultimate Coop. We've not cut out the high windows yet, that's for tomorrow but it's looking pretty good! I'm going to finish the run first so I can move the Eglu inside. Then me and the chooks can finish the big coop!
View attachment 2742146

That looks amazing! You’ve definitely inspired me

 

[Louwin]

I agree with Dee Dub, go for the Omlet Cube over the eglu go up if you can. I have both and also find the cube easier to clean. I love the autodoor on the cube. I also have the walk in run which i really love as i can get in with them and move things around to provide interest and outdoor roosting options. I live in Australia and had 4 standard hens in the cube over summer. Nights were often around 20 degrees celsius. They were very comfortable. This summer i will have 7 in there which has been great in the cooler weather but i will watch once summer arrives again. Thankfully being in Australia the only predators we have are foxes and they don't enter our suburban backyard as we have a dog. I can't believe what some of you have to do to protect your chickens. I feel very fortunate. I would love to build a big woods coop but don't have the space or skills so the omlet cube answers all my needs for my ladies.

 

[Mermaid1206]

Totally get it. The cube is my pre-coop. I am building an 8x12 Woods-style coop but like you I wanted to get started fast and the Eglu fits the bill!
Here's a progress pic of my Ultimate Coop. We've not cut out the high windows yet, that's for tomorrow but it's looking pretty good! I'm going to finish the run first so I can move the Eglu inside. Then me and the chooks can finish the big coop!
View attachment 2742146

That looks awesome.

 

[Mama_rama]

Hi all! I'm in South Florida and this is my first post on BYC! I live in a relatively urban environment, close to my neighbors, and I have an Eglu. Although we get some relief from the heat bc we are close to the beach, it can get hot in the coop /run during certain times of the day. I just recently placed a box fan at the back of the coop that blows through the coop and down the run to help with the hottest months (August /September) which are ahead of us. I keep 4 hens. I have noticed they are suddenly laying less (I used to get 4 beautiful eggs every day) now that it's gotten hotter and more still, hence the addition of a box fan.
I haven't found a lot of specific information about the Eglu on this forum, so I'm going to overshare .
It seems to me that the Eglu is really suitable for an environment like mine, where space is limited and neighbors are near. I clean out the poop tray weekly and turn over the pine shavings biweekly, and add new shavings when it starts to get a little stinky. I also use a product from Amazon that I spray in and around the roosting area and run as needed to help with odors and breakdown of organic matter.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B2CQPLN/ref=cm_sw_r_u_apa_glt_fabc_K68DNGH79NK0YDRFY7VB?psc=1
My girls free range along the side of my house during the day. I installed an Omlet autodoor (game changer, imo this is a must-have item) that opens automatically in the early morning, and closes automatically at around 8pm. I typically go out go out and open the run gate and hook in the food trough in the run before their autodoor opens, so when it does open, their food is immediately available and so is the free range area next to my house (which they've totally destroyed omg. Are chickens part canine? They dig MASSIVE holes! Lol)
Because of where we are in the city and the growth that has occurred, I don't notice raccoons anymore. According to my "chicken cam" our problem is rats. I do see the occasional opossum, but they never try to enter the coop, just sniff around out of curiosity.
After their autodoor closes around 8, I go out, clean out and refresh their water trough, bring in the Omlet food trough, and close the run gate.
Then they are secure for the night behind the run gate and the autodoor.
I've tossed around the idea of leaving the run gate open overnight so I don't have to go out early in the morning to let them free range, but I don't want to risk inviting something into the coop that doesn't belong. I did purchase two autodoors with the intention of placing one on the Omlet run so that it will auto open to let them range in the AM, but I haven't installed the second one yet bc I don't want to become too "hands off" just yet. Maybe for a weekend away tho, so I'm holding onto the extra door just in case.
I've always wanted to have chickens and now I can have them where I live thanks to the Eglu! Although chickens are a no - no according to my city ordinance, I am crossing my fingers and keeping them anyhow, making sure that they are not disruptive.
I hope this helps!