Behold the Eglu!
This may sound crazy but it’s true - I love chickens. Years ago a coworker who lived in Pembroke MA gave me some eggs from his Plymoth Rock hens, and they were the most delicious and beautiful things I’d ever seen. The yolks were so fresh they were dome-shaped in the pan, and the whites were thick and shapely. Plus, when we paid him a visit I discovered that chickens are hysterically funny to watch, and ever since I’ve wanted my own, but we live in suburban Boston next to Route 128, which is not exactly farm country. My neighbors are more likely to have tennis courts and in-ground pools over henhouses. We also have a mid-century modern house, and the coop designs I’ve seen are squarely vintage farmhouse.
However, the Eglu might be just the ticket. It’s got a cool design, sort of an iMac for fowl and like an iMac is comes in different colors. A late night search on my town bylaws indicates that residents are allowed to keep chickens for a modest fee ($10 a year), and I only want two - just enough for eggs. A rooster is not in the equation because they are too noisy, have only one thing on their minds anyway and we don’t need to breed chicks. All I need to do is talk John into it!
Mary Beth said,
August 18, 2007 at 4:43 pm
Great! I love chickens, too. I hope you can keep them in your area.
Another useful thing about the Eglu is the fertilizer potential: move it to the area where you’ll want to plant in a few seasons and let the chickens do their thing. They’ll also clean up the bugs in the area very nicely besides providing hours of hilarity. They are seriously funny birds. Annnnd, they will kill the mice that might want to steal their feed (I thought they were playing football or something but no, it was mouse-bopping)
LauraM said,
August 18, 2007 at 7:24 pm
I love my chickens too! Don’t know what it is about them, I have Rhode Island Reds! We are in the country, mine run around the yard area cleaning bugs all day long. Yes & fresh eggs are so much better then the store bought! IMHO
Kathi S said,
August 21, 2007 at 4:49 am
Chickens are great- they have individual personalities and can become quite companionable if you only have one or two. Years ago, I had a Japanese Silky named Bucky who used to cluck at the back door politely for a handout. She would “brood” anything that even remotely resembled an egg and we gave her some mallard eggs to sit on. She nearly had a fit when her chicks/ducklings jumped into a tub of water in the yard and began swimming! Since then, I have always lived in areas where “farm” animals are not allowed, but if I get the chance someday, I plan on having a chicken or two. Have fun!
Lisette said,
August 22, 2007 at 1:19 am
I was just telling my DH that I really wanted to get a couple of chickens! I grew up on a small organic farm and miss those eggs more than anything. There is a south American breed that lays low cholesterol, easter egg colored eggs they are small but too cute. Chicken “fertilizer” is really acidic so be careful where you put it, Hydrangea’s would LOVE it!
Vivienne said,
August 23, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Embellishment for the back yard? I am definitely on this idea like a chicken on June bug.
Gigi said,
August 27, 2007 at 4:45 pm
I too LOOOOVE chickens! Hope you are able to talk John into it.
He’s In! « Obsessed with Embellishment said,
August 28, 2007 at 12:45 am
[...] thrifty Scots heritage did kick in and he quickly nixed the Eglu ($800 avec chickens), so I had to do some internet searching on chicken coop plans. One thing I [...]