With demand for organic food steeply on the rise, as well as increased interest in knowing the source of food, many people have turned to growing their own organic gardens and even keeping chickens. Though many urban municipalities allow the keeping of a small number of chickens, urban dwellers who are interested in doing so either don’t know how to care for chickens or know how to construct a proper dwelling for them. The company Omlet (great name) solves both of these problems for the organic urbanite by offering its detailed knowledge of chicken rearing along with its stylishly modern new Eglu (another great name) chicken dwelling; complete with real chickens!
The Envy Of Every Chicken
The Eglu is molded out of 100% recyclable plastic and comes in five different colors. Along with the ‘house’ comes a 5′ by 9′ fenced in run that allows the chickens to scratch around and well…be chickens. Also included are the most important thing; the chickens themselves! That’s right, Omlet will actually ship you up to 4 chickens through the mail. All of this for around $500 which if you think about it, really isn’t that much. They also offer all the accessories your chicken could ever want and need including organic chicken feed as well as egg cartons for the eggs you collect.
Each Eglu can comfortably house 4 hens and designed to accommodate pairs since chickens are very social animals. From Omlet’s website:
The eglu has wooden perching bars and a generous nesting box for egg laying – all the practical features that your chickens need. As well as this come thoughtful extras such as the modern twin walled insulation and draught free ventilation that keeps your chickens warm in winter and cool in the summer.
Designed to be a house that chickens themselves would choose, the Eglu is also designed to be convenient for its human caretaker as well. Ease of cleaning and egg gathering have all been thoroughly thought through in it’s design. Again, from Omlet’s website:
For weekly cleaning simply slide out the innovative tray which catches all the chickens droppings. For more extensive cleaning and airing the whole lid can be removed. The eggport, on the side of the lid, gives easy access to the nesting box and makes looking for and collecting the eggs a daily pleasure.
In addition to the Eglu being able to house chickens, it can also be fitted to house rabbits as well!
A Few Prerequisites
Though many people may want to run out and order an Eglu right away (me), there are some requirements and strong guidlines Omlet suggests you follow. First of all, you need to make sure your local code allows the keeping of chickens. Many municipalities you would think wouldn’t allow chickens in fact do (Atlanta is one of them), and many you would think do in fact do not. So make sure before you get chicken fever. Also, Omlet suggests that you have proper ground cover and a fenced in yard. Other suggestions can be found here on their site.
The Good: A turn key solution for the person who wants chickens, but has no idea how to raise them or build a home for them. Stylish ‘early iMac” design may encourage those who want chickens, but don’t want the Old McDonald farm chicken coop aesthetic.
The Bad: Though recyclable, the Eglu itself isn’t made from recycled materials. The cost may be too much for some, especially the do-it-yourselfer who could build a coop themselves.
The Bottom-Line: A well thought out and stylish all-in-one solution for the urban dweller wanting to take their organic food production beyond their simple garden. It’s design and accompanying know-how may make chicken keeping appealing to those who otherwise may not have been interested.
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