Plastic chicken coops and wooden chicken coops differ most in maintenance, cleaning, weather resistance, durability, and long-term cost, and for many backyard chicken keepers, plastic comes out ahead. With no rot to worry about, no repainting, no annual weatherproofing, and surfaces that wipe clean in minutes rather than hours of scrubbing, it’s easy to see why so many keepers make the switch.
That said, the best coop for your flock is the one that stays dry, secure, well-ventilated, and is easy to keep clean, regardless of what it’s made from. In this guide, we cover everything you need to know to make the right choice: how long each material lasts, which holds up better against rot and damp, how waterproofing compares, and what to look for when predator protection matters most.
Whether you’re setting up your first coop or thinking about switching from wood, here’s what to expect from both materials.
Plastic vs Wooden Chicken Coops: Which Is Better?
Plastic chicken coops and wooden chicken coops differ most in maintenance, cleaning, weather resistance, durability, insulation, and long-term cost. A plastic chicken coop is often better than a wooden one for keepers who want easier cleaning, less annual maintenance, and no risk of rot. Wooden coops offer a traditional appearance and can be customised, but they need regular maintenance to protect them from rain, damp, pests, and wear.
A dry, secure, well-ventilated coop matters more than material alone, but plastic reduces many of the most common wooden-coop problems.
Why Chicken Keepers Switch From Wooden to Plastic Chicken Coops
Chicken keepers most often switch from a wooden to a plastic chicken coop because of the same cluster of problems: rot, warped panels, leaking roofs, red mites, and cleaning that takes far longer than it should. Wooden coops demand repainting, sealing, roof repairs, and regular checks for damaged timber, and those tasks accumulate quickly over the life of the coop. Plastic chicken coops, by contrast, have smooth, non-porous surfaces with fewer cracks and joins for red mites to hide in, making them far easier to hose down, wipe clean, and disinfect. Because plastic doesn’t absorb damp, droppings, odours, or cleaning products the way ageing wood does, it also dries far quicker after rain or a wash-down.
Wooden Coops Can Be a Health Risk to Chickens
Damp or damaged wood can retain moisture, creating conditions that encourage mould, mildew, and bacteria, while cracks, joints, warped panels, and rough timber give red mites more places to hide, breed, and return after cleaning.
Red mite infestations can cause:
Irritation, stress, and feather loss
Anaemia and reduced egg production
Illness in severe cases
Absorbent wood also holds droppings, dirt, and odours, making a thorough deep clean more difficult, and ageing timber can splinter or develop sharp edges that may injure chickens while they roost, nest, or move around. Leaks from worn roofing, damaged seals, or warped panels leave bedding damp, which increases the risk of respiratory problems, particularly during colder or wetter weather. A well-maintained wooden coop can still provide a safe home for chickens, but it demands regular inspections, cleaning, repairs, and weatherproofing to stay hygienic.
Is a Plastic Chicken Coop Worth the Extra Cost?
A plastic chicken coop can cost more upfront than an entry-level wooden coop, but long-term costs are often considerably lower. With no paint, wood sealant, replacement panels, or rot-related repairs to budget for, and wooden coops frequently needing replacement every 3 to 5 years in wetter climates, a well-made plastic coop that lasts many years with only routine cleaning represents strong value. Less time spent cleaning, repairing, and weatherproofing adds real value for busy chicken keepers too, and fewer replacements are better for both the wallet and the environment. For keepers prioritising hen health, hygiene, convenience, durability, and low maintenance, a plastic chicken coop is worth the extra upfront cost.
Can a Plastic Chicken Coop Be Moved?
Most plastic chicken coops are lighter than wooden coops of a similar size, making them easier to lift, carry, or reposition, and smaller models can typically be put on wheels and moved by one or two people without any tools or disassembly. Moving a coop to a fresh patch of ground gives chickens access to new grass, reduces the build-up of droppings in one area, and lowers the risk of bacteria accumulating in the soil beneath it. Unlike wooden coops that can warp or crack when frequently shifted, a plastic coop doesn’t need to be re-sealed, re-painted, or repaired after being moved, making it a far more practical choice for keepers who want to rotate their flock across different areas of the garden.
How Long Does a Chicken Coop Last?
Chicken coop lifespan depends on material quality, weather exposure, drainage, maintenance, pest damage, and predator pressure, with every component playing a role: roofs, floors, doors, locks, ventilation, mesh, joints, and lower wall panels all affect how long a coop stays a suitable home for your flock. A coop remains fit for purpose when it stays dry, secure, hygienic, structurally sound, and comfortable for chickens, and poor drainage or direct contact with damp ground can cut that lifespan significantly, particularly for wooden coops.
How Long Do Wooden Chicken Coops Last?
How long a wooden chicken coop lasts depends heavily on timber quality, weatherproofing, and maintenance. Basic wooden coops can deteriorate within a few years in wet or humid conditions, and even high-quality treated timber requires frequent painting, sealing, repairs, and inspections to last. Floors, roof edges, lower panels, joins, and screw holes tend to show damage first, worn down by the combination of damp ground, rain penetration, UV exposure, insect activity, and the wet-dry cycles that Australian backyards deliver across the seasons.
How Long Does a Plastic Chicken Coop Last Compared to Wood?
Plastic chicken coops don’t rot, absorb water, or suffer from wood-boring insects, which means a high-quality model can last for many years with nothing more than routine cleaning and secure placement. In wet climates and high-maintenance garden environments, plastic coops frequently outlast lower-quality wooden ones, and UV-resistant moulded plastic with durable fittings keeps them performing well outdoors over the long term. Removable parts also make repairs and component replacement far simpler than rebuilding damaged wooden panels.
Do Plastic Chicken Coops Warp or Crack?
High-quality plastic chicken coops are designed to handle regular outdoor temperature changes, rain, sun, and cleaning, and heavy-duty UV-resistant plastic is far less vulnerable to warping than thin or brittle alternatives. Severe impact, uneven ground, incorrect assembly, and extreme conditions can damage any coop material, but these risks are largely avoidable with proper setup.
Level ground and secure placement reduce pressure on panels, doors, and fittings, and are the most important steps you can take to protect a plastic coop’s structure long-term.
Do Chicken Coops Rot?
Chicken coops rot when wood absorbs moisture over long periods, and the effects go beyond surface damage. Rot weakens walls, floors, roofs, doors, perches, nest boxes, locks, and predator-proofing features, while damp wood becomes progressively harder to clean and more likely to hold odours, droppings, and pests. Rain, wet ground, leaking roofs, poor drainage, and damaged paintwork all contribute to the problem, and once rot takes hold in one area, it tends to spread.
Why Wooden Chicken Coops Can Rot, Warp, and Weaken
The deterioration of a wooden coop is rarely caused by a single event. It’s the accumulation of smaller problems over time:
Rainwater entering through roof edges, joins, screw holes, splits, and damaged paintwork
Damp ground beneath the coop floor
Wood expansion and contraction during changing temperatures and humidity
Small damaged areas spreading into larger structural problems
The result is a coop that becomes progressively harder to clean, less secure, and more likely to harbour pests. Regular inspections can slow this process, but they can’t stop it entirely.
Are Chicken Coops Waterproof?
Most chicken coops are designed to be waterproof, but how well they perform depends on material, build quality, roof design, and how consistently they’re maintained. Plastic chicken coops are naturally water-resistant because the material doesn’t absorb moisture, whereas wooden coops can be waterproof but only with regular sealing, paint, and roof maintenance to prevent leaks and rot.
Roof gaps, damaged sealant, warped wood, poor drainage, and ground-level placement can make any chicken coop less waterproof over time.
What Makes a Waterproof Chicken Coop?
The key features to look for when evaluating waterproof performance of a wooden coop:
A sloped roof that directs rain away from the coop
Roof overhangs that protect wall panels, doors, and ventilation openings
Raised flooring above damp or muddy ground
Sealed panels, joins, access doors, and nest boxes
Covered ventilation openings above chicken level
Weather-resistant locks, hinges, and fittings
Level, well-draining ground around the coop
Are Plastic Chicken Coops More Waterproof Than Wooden Coops?
Plastic chicken coops don’t absorb rainwater, and moulded plastic panels tend to have fewer vulnerable seams than wooden panels joined with nails or screws. Wooden coops can be waterproof, but their coatings and sealants need regular renewal to hold that protection in place. Roof design, drainage, ventilation, door fit, and access-hatch construction all affect waterproofing regardless of material, but the key difference with plastic is that its baseline protection doesn’t degrade the way painted or sealed wood does over time. A waterproof Eglu chicken coop has insulated, plastic panels with strong seals to keep rain out and the inside warm and dry.
What Is the Most Low-Maintenance Chicken Coop Material?
Plastic is the most low-maintenance chicken coop material for many backyard chicken keepers. Because it doesn’t need painting, staining, sealing, or replacement after rot damage, smooth surfaces simplify both routine cleaning and deep cleaning, with fewer hidden spots for dirt and pests to accumulate. Low-maintenance chicken coops still need bedding changes, dropping removal, safety checks, pest checks, and periodic disinfection, but all of these tasks are faster and easier with a plastic coop.
How Much Maintenance Does a Chicken Coop Need?
A chicken coop needs a few minutes of daily care, a more thorough weekly clean, and periodic deep cleaning and safety checks.
Daily maintenance: fresh water, feed checks, egg collection, and removing any wet or heavily soiled bedding
Weekly maintenance: removing droppings, replacing bedding where needed, and checking the coop for damp, pests, damage, or predator access points
Deep cleaning: usually needed every few weeks, depending on flock size, bedding type, weather, and coop design
Plastic chicken coops need quick cleaning but little structural upkeep, whereas wooden chicken coops need all of the above plus additional painting, resealing, roof checks, rot repairs, and replacement of damaged timber.
Why Plastic Chicken Coops Are Easier to Clean and Maintain
The practical advantages of plastic become most obvious at cleaning time:
Smooth plastic surfaces wipe clean and dry off quickly
Hosing and disinfecting take less effort than cleaning porous or weathered wood
Removable droppings trays and nest-box components support faster routine cleaning
No annual painting, wood treatment, or rot repair
Fewer cracks and crevices for dirt, moisture, and red mites
Cleaner surfaces and easier access support more consistent coop hygiene
Are Plastic Chicken Coops Cooler Than Wooden Ones in Summer?
Chicken comfort in summer depends on ventilation, shade, insulation, and airflow, and chickens can struggle quickly when a coop traps heat. Wooden coops absorb warmth through their walls and roof across the day, then radiate it inward during the evening when chickens are trying to roost. Plastic chicken coops with twin-wall insulation handle Australian summer heat far more effectively, and with optimally positioned ventilation, like in the Eglu coops, there’s hot air is drawn out rather than trapped inside.
How Insulation Helps Keep Chickens Comfortable
Insulation slows rapid temperature changes inside the coop, which matters more than hitting a specific temperature target. In summer, the Eglu chicken coop’s twin-wall construction works like your own double-glazed windows to stop warm outside air from getting in while keeping the air inside cool. Good airflow carries heat and humidity away from roosting chickens, shaded positioning reduces heat absorption through the coop walls, and a well-insulated coop buffers against sharp temperature spikes during the hottest part of the day.
Why Gaps in Wooden Coops Cause Problems in Summer Too
Wood can shrink, split, warp, and develop gaps around doors, roofs, panels, and access hatches over time. In summer, these gaps allow hot air to pour in during the day and let in flies and insects that thrive in warm conditions. Warped panels and poor-fitting doors make it harder to control airflow strategically, giving you less control over the internal temperature when it matters most.
Regular checks and repairs are necessary to keep ageing wooden coops in good condition through summer, and that maintenance burden grows as the coop gets older.
A plastic coop with moulded, fitted panels maintains its shape consistently across seasons, giving you reliable ventilation control without gaps developing at joins and access points.
Best Predator-Proof Chicken Coop Features to Look For
No chicken coop is completely predator-proof, but a coop can be predator-resistant, with features that make it much harder for predators to break in, dig underneath, chew through weak areas, or reach chickens through gaps.
Key predator-resistant features to look for:
Two step locks and secure access doors
Small-gauge, heavy-duty steel mesh on the run and ventilation areas
Secure roof panels with no gaps around joins, doors, or nest boxes
Reinforced floors, corners, doors, and access hatches
An anti-dig skirt, buried mesh, or secure flooring to stop foxes, quolls, and dogs
Daily checks for damaged mesh, loose fasteners, gaps, and signs of attempted entry are also essential, regardless of what material your coop is made from.
Why Plastic Coops Can Offer Better Predator Protection Than Wood
Moulded plastic panels avoid the weak points created by rotting, splitting, and softened wood, and integrated access points can reduce the gaps around doors and joins that tend to develop in ageing wooden coops. Plastic surfaces also retain their strength better than damp or decaying wood at ground level, where predator pressure is highest.
The Eglu Pro chicken coop also features two step locks which require a push and twist motion to open – easy for humans, hard for sneaky paws. Plus, the attached run comes with anti-tunnel skirting which can’t be dug through by predators like foxes.
Omlet Chicken Coop vs Wooden Coop
Omlet Eglu chicken coops and wooden coops differ in cleaning, insulation, maintenance, pest resistance, portability, weather protection, and long-term ownership costs. Where Eglu coops feature smooth plastic surfaces, removable components, twin-wall insulation, and secure access points, wooden coops offer a traditional appearance but require considerably more ongoing weatherproofing and repair work to maintain hygiene and security. For keepers who prioritise easy cleaning, low maintenance, durability, and practical day-to-day use, an Omlet chicken coop is a strong fit.
Is an Omlet Eglu Worth It Compared to a Wooden Coop?
An Omlet Eglu is worth it compared to a wooden coop for most backyard chicken keepers, particularly because of lower maintenance requirements and easier cleaning. Removable droppings trays, easy-clean surfaces, zero maintenance and insulated construction, and secure access points all support everyday chicken keeping without the usual upkeep burden of wooden coops.
There’s no repainting, wood sealing, rot repair, or replacement of damaged timber panels, and a higher upfront price is balanced by fewer repairs and replacements, less cleaning time, and a longer usable lifespan. The value is especially clear for keepers in wet climates, busy households, and backyards with persistent red mite or predator concerns.
Why Omlet Eglu Coops Are Built for Low-Maintenance Chicken Keeping
Every design decision in an Eglu coop is made with practical chicken keeping in mind:
Smooth, wipe-clean and quick dry plastic surfaces
Removable droppings trays and nest-box components
Insulated double-wall construction with draught-free ventilation
No wood treatment, painting, or rot-related repairs and maintenance
Raised designs with accessible egg collection and cleaning areas
Modular runs and accessories for changing flock sizes and garden layouts
What Are the Disadvantages of a Wooden Chicken Coop?
Wooden coops have some real drawbacks that are worth understanding before you buy:
Regular painting, sealing, weatherproofing, and repairs
Moisture absorption, odour retention, and a higher risk of rot
Gaps, cracks, and joints that can harbour red mites and other pests
Warped panels and weakened floors after repeated rain exposure
Heavy structures that are difficult to move onto fresh ground
Weakening around hinges, locks, mesh, roof fixings, and access doors
Weak points make the coop and your chickens vulnerable to predators
Ongoing maintenance costs beyond the initial purchase price
Final Verdict: Is Plastic Better Than Wood for Chicken Coops?
Plastic is better than wood for chicken keepers focused on low maintenance, easy cleaning, waterproof performance, long-term durability, and resistance to rot. Wood remains an option for keepers who prefer a traditional appearance and are genuinely prepared for regular upkeep, but the practical advantages of plastic are hard to argue with.
A plastic chicken coop is often the stronger long-term choice in wet climates and for first-time chicken keepers, and the best coop regardless of material stays dry, secure, well-ventilated, easy to clean, predator-resistant, and appropriately sized for the flock. Omlet Eglu coops remove many of the most common problems associated with wooden chicken coops, including rot, difficult cleaning, red mite hiding places, and ongoing weatherproofing.
Omlet and Your Flock
When it comes to choosing between plastic and wooden chicken coops, we’ve done the hard work so you don’t have to. Every Eglu chicken coop is built from durable, easy-clean plastic with twin-wall insulation, smooth surfaces that won’t harbour red mites, and secure access points designed to stand up to determined predators. No rot, no repainting, no replacements, just a low-maintenance home your flock will love for years to come.
Wondering if you can keep a garden and chickens? With these gardening tips for spring, you’ll be able to integrate your flock with your plants in a symbiotic way. With some preparation and protective measures in place, your hens can actually be a great help in the garden. Here’s how to keep your chickens and your plants healthy and happy this spring.
What do chickens do for my garden?
Chickens are excellent help in the garden as long as their roles — and boundaries — are clearly defined. With the help of chicken fencing to keep your hens away from prized or hazardous plants, your flock will happily forage to remove unwanted insects and weeds like clover or dandelions from your garden. They’re also excellent help with the compost, doing the daily turning for you and eradicating any insects that may be drawn to it.
In addition to pest control and help with the compost pile, you can supplement your chickens’ diet with fresh foods from your garden. By filling your flower beds with nutritious treats for your flock, you’ll boost their immune systems and overall health.
Planting for chickens
Chickens can eat a wide variety of vegetation — but as with humans and other animals, just because it’s good for other species doesn’t mean it’s safe for chickens. Familiarise yourself with chicken-safe plants, as well as plants that are toxic to them to create a flock-friendly garden that’s both beautiful and nutritious.
Chicken-safe plants
Most herbs are safe for chickens to eat, and often are the most beneficial in terms of immune-boosting and availability. For healthier hens, try growing:
Basil
Oregano – immune support
Parsley – vitamin-rich
Coriander – a flock-favourite for taste
Mint – cooling and calming effects
Lavender – natural stress reliever
Sage – antioxidant
Rosemary – promotes respiratory health
These herbs can be served dried mixed into your flock’s feed, or fresh from the garden as a treat.
Other plants that are safe for chickens to eat include:
Sunflowers (and their seeds)
Nasturtium
Dandelions
Beebalms
Clover
Coneflowers
Marigolds
Daisies
Roses
If you’re a vegetable gardener, here are some chicken-safe varieties:
Carrots (especially the tops)
Beetroot greens
Broccoli
Lettuces
Kale
Silverbeet
Squashes
Cucumbers
Capsicums
Cabbage
And finally, some fruits are safe to feed to your flock, but they should be fed in moderation due to their fiber and sugar content:
Berries
Watermelons
Rockmelons
Grapes
Apples (seeds removed)
Stone fruits with pits removed
Plants toxic to chickens
While chickens can eat a diverse diet, there are some plants that are toxic to chickens. When keeping chickens near or in your garden, avoid planting:
Rhubarb
Tomatoes (underripe tomatoes are toxic to chickens)
Potatoes (raw potatoes are toxic — sweet potatoes are safe)
Foxglove
Hemlock
Rhododendrons
Elderberry leaves
Lily of the valley
Tulips
Daffodils
Morning glory
Azaleas
Ferns
Tansy
Amaryllis
Trumpet vine
Oleander
Lantana
Other common foods and kitchen staples that you may toss out with your compost could pose a threat to your hens. Avoid letting your chickens ingest:
Coffee grounds or tea
Onions
Avocados
Apple seeds
Citrus fruits
Raw or dried beans
Chocolate
Sugary or salty foods
Spoiled or mouldy food
This is not an exhaustive list of plants and substances that are toxic to chickens, so always conduct thorough research or contact your veterinarian if you’re unsure about what to feed your flock.
What to plant in preparation for spring
Seed packets or plant inserts will usually give you an idea of when to plant them accordingly and at what time of the year. As a general rule, avoid planting anything in the ground before the last anticipated freeze of the year.
You can easily start an herb garden in a windowsill or other sunny spot in your home. Use cuttings from a mature plant, or start from seeds to grow chicken-safe herbs in time for spring. You can also start seedlings for vegetables and some flower plants indoors before transferring them outside once the weather warms up.
Omlet and your flock
Whether your chickens have run of your garden, or are chicken run– adjacent, we have everything you need to foster a symbiotic relationship between your flock and your fauna this spring. From chicken-keeping essentials like chicken coops to modern accessories like an automatic chicken coop door, you can have your garden, and your chickens too. Discover spring gardening the Omlet way, and never compromise on either hobby.
When we last spoke to Jude Harper, he was building a slower and more grounded kind of life – one wonky project at a time. It clearly struck a chord. People loved his honesty, his humour and his refusal to pretend he had everything figured out.
This time, the conversation moved naturally on to what comes next. Because once the chicken coop is built and the hens are happily settled in, you start to notice the systems around them. The everyday details, the little things that make chicken keeping feel easier, cleaner and smarter.
For Jude, that means thinking a lot about waste. What gets used properly, what goes back into the garden, and what definitely shouldn’t be ending up on the floor of the chicken run. That’s exactly why the Smart No Waste Feeder has become such a useful part of his setup.
Anyone who keeps chickens will know they are not known for their table manners. Feed has a habit of travelling: scratched out, pecked around, flicked onto the ground and trampled into the ground. And once that happens, it’s no longer doing the job you bought it for. That’s what Jude appreciates about the Smart No Waste Feeder.
“There’s definitely never anything on the ground underneath,” he says, “which is great, because if you’re buying chicken feed, chickens might as well eat it.” It’s a simple point, but an important one. No waste feeding isn’t just about things looking neat. It means feed stays clean, dry and available to your hens, rather than disappearing into the floor of the run or getting spoiled by the weather.
That practical side matters even more when you think about pests. Feed on the ground doesn’t just create a mess, it can act like a dinner invitation for rats, mice and wild birds. And in the countryside, those opportunists are never far away.
“There are rats in the area because, I mean, it’s the countryside,” Jude says. “My neighbours will say sometimes, ‘Ooh, the rats are back!’”But Jude is quick to point out that the problem hasn’t come anywhere near his chickens: “I haven’t seen any rodents around the chicken coop or feeder… It’s nice to not have temptation lying around.” That really gets to the heart of it. The point is not to pretend wildlife doesn’t exist, it’s to avoid creating the kind of setup that makes your run inviting in the first place.
The design of the Smart No Waste Feeder plays a big part in that. Jude says his hens took to it straight away: “They worked it out really quickly and had no issues whatsoever.” That’s exactly how the best chicken-keeping products should feel – easy for chickens, easy for people, and quietly effective in the background.
He also noticed how the Feeder’s shape helps keep food protected. “Chickens have to kind of get their head in a bit more to get the feed, which is fine if you’re a chicken, but harder, I think, if you’re a rodent or another kind of animal.” It’s one of those clever design details that does a lot without shouting about it. Jude keeps his feeder hanging in the run, which suits his setup and helps keep everything raised off the ground, dry and clean. He also likes knowing it’s one less thing to worry about in the evening: “That’s a job you don’t have to worry about… it’s not tempting anything in the night.”
What makes Jude such a natural person to talk to about avoiding waste is that the idea runs through so much of his life already. Long before the chickens arrived, he was composting and growing his own food. What started with pots and a tiny garden has gradually become something much bigger: berries, carrots, onions, garlic, salad leaves, courgettes and whatever else the season allows.
But, as ever, he’s refreshingly realistic about it. “I am not fully self-sufficient,” he says. “I think being completely self-sufficient is incredibly hard to achieve for one household, let alone one person, but I do what I can!” That honesty is part of why his way of doing things feels so approachable. This is not about doing everything perfectly, it’s about making thoughtful choices, building habits slowly and noticing where waste happens.
That thinking extends to the chickens too. Some of what Jude grows can go straight from the garden to the run – berries are a particular favourite.
He says his hens love strawberries, redcurrants and blackberries, and homegrown courgettes can go down equally well when they get a bit overenthusiastic in the garden. It all fits into the same wider loop: compost feeding the soil, soil feeding the garden, the garden feeding the household and the hens, and the hens giving something back in return. It’s not polished or performative. It’s just a good, sensible system that makes use of what’s already there.
And that’s really why the Smart No Waste Feeder makes so much sense in Jude’s world. When you’ve put time into growing food, making compost, reusing what you can and learning how to live a little more seasonally, wasted feed starts to feel particularly unnecessary. It becomes part of a bigger picture: using things properly, protecting what you’ve paid for, and not accidentally feeding every passing pest at the same time.
Like the rest of Jude’s story, none of this is about getting it perfect first time. It’s about making one good change, then another, and letting those changes build into something that works. Sometimes that means learning how to grow raspberries or carrots, and sometimes it means choosing a feeder that quietly solves several problems at once. The beauty of the Smart No Waste Feeder is that it does exactly that – it keeps feed where it belongs, helps keep pests away, and makes the whole setup feel more under control.
For farmer, author, and regenerative agriculture pioneer Joel Salatin, chickens can do far more than lay eggs. Given fresh ground to explore, they can help transform a garden or stretch of land, one patch of grass at a time. At Polyface Farm in Virginia, USA Joel has spent decades moving animals across pasture in a rhythm that benefits both flock and land. Chickens get fresh grass, insects, and new things to peck at, while their manure returns nutrients to the soil before the ground is left to rest and regrow.
It’s a big idea with a surprisingly backyard-friendly application. Even on a smaller scale, regularly moving a chicken coop can turn a well-worn lawn into a more interesting, productive space for chickens and a healthier garden over time.
Why keep chickens moving?
For Joel, it comes down to hygiene. “Animals aren’t potty trained,” he says.“They tend to develop a toilet and they tend to walk through their toilet.” Leave chickens on the same patch for too long and manure builds up, which is less hygienic for the flock, and too much nitrogen in one place can overwhelm the grass beneath them.
Moving chickens onto fresh ground breaks the cycle. “The more often you move them, the better, to move them away from yesterday’s manure,” says Joel. “I’m a big believer in daily moves. I just think there’s nothing like it, and it’s the best way ensure hygiene, sanitation and wellness.” A movable coop makes that much easier. All of Omlet’s Eglu chicken coops can be fitted with wheels and handles, so you can reposition the coop and run around the garden without taking the entire setup apart. For the chickens, it is a fresh patch to explore. For the lawn, it is a chance to catch its breath.
A new adventure, a new salad
Fresh pasture isn’t just about what chickens leave behind, it’s also about what they find when they arrive. “Animals will always eat dessert first,” says Joel. Give chickens a new patch of grass and they will head straight for the good stuff: tasty plants, bugs, seeds, and whatever else catches their eye. Leave them there too long and, as Joel puts it, “they’re then into garbanzo beans, liver and onions.” Moving the flock resets the menu. “Moving them every day provides a new adventure, a new place, a new salad, and away from yesterday’s excrement.“
It is enrichment without needing to overthink it. New ground gives chickens fresh places to scratch, peck, forage, and investigate, which is exactly what chickens like doing best. Joel also points to one change many keepers notice when their hens regularly forage on fresh ground. “The beauty of the pastured egg is the carotenes, the phytochemicals in the grass,” he says. “One thing you’ll notice is the yolks will get darker.” Grass is not a complete replacement for chicken feed, of course. Think of it as the salad bar alongside a balanced main meal.
How often should you move a chicken coop?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer. A small run with several chickens will need moving more often than a larger area with only two or three birds. Joel favours daily moves where practical, but the best guide is the ground itself. If the grass is looking worn, trampled, or heavily manured, it’s time to move before it turns into a bare patch.
It’s just as important to leave each patch to recover for long enough. “You need to rest the land at least 21 days, preferably 30, in order to actually get enough rest,” Joel explains. That gives grass a chance to regrow before the chickens return. It also helps prevent the same ground from becoming a permanent chicken bathroom, which nobody wants.
If you don’t have room to give each patch a proper break, Joel doesn’t recommend endlessly shuffling chickens between the same few tired spots. Instead, he suggests changing the system. “If the space is that tiny, I would go stationary and deep bedding.” A stationary setup needs a genuinely deep layer of bedding, with enough material for microbes to establish and decomposition to take place. Joel suggests more than six inches. The point isn’t that one system is better than the other. It’s about choosing one that works for the space you actually have.
Chickens can work wonders for your lawn
Done well, the relationship goes both ways. The chickens get fresh ground to explore. The ground gets chickens. As your flock moves around the garden, their manure is spread more evenly instead of building up in one spot. “You’ll have the prettiest lawn in the country because you’re painting it with nitrogen,” Joel laughs. “There’s nothing that grows lush grass like a chicken.”
That’s the big idea behind Joel’s approach. Don’t treat the chickens, coop, and garden as separate things to manage. Let them work together. The chickens forage, the ground gets fertilised, the grass recovers, and then the flock comes back to a fresh new patch.
Don’t forget the feed
Fresh pasture is only part of the picture. Chickens still need a nutritionally balanced main diet, and wasted feed can add up quickly. When we showed Joel Omlet’s Smart No Waste Chicken Feeder, his reaction was immediate. “Wow, now this I like! This is very good.” For Joel, it solves a real problem. “Wasted feed is a huge problem, and it adds up, this is really solving that waste problem.” The Smart No Waste Feeder helps keep food contained rather than scattered across the run, which means no mess, no waste, and no rodents.
Fresh ground, happier chickens
Joel’s advice comes back to a simple idea: chickens thrive when their world changes with them. Moving a coop gives your flock fresh grass to scratch through, new things to peck at, and a cleaner patch to call home. It also gives your lawn time to recover, spreads nutrients more evenly, and turns everyday chicken keeping into something that benefits the whole garden.
Not every garden has the space for daily rotation, but for chicken keepers who do, a movable setup makes the difference between a coop that stays put and one that works with the natural rhythms of the flock. With wheels and handles available on all Omlet Eglu chicken coops, it’s easy to move your chickens onto a fresh patch of grass, then let the ground behind them rest, regrow, and get ready for their next visit.
Best known for his soulful voice and chart-topping songs including September Song, JP Cooper spends much of his life creating music. But at home, life looks a little different. Between homeschooling, raising three children and looking after a growing flock of chickens, the singer-songwriter has discovered that some of life’s biggest moments of inspiration come from slowing down. What started as a project for his children has become something much bigger.
JP’s journey into chicken keeping began thanks to his sister, a teacher who runs hatching projects in schools. After seeing how naturally his son Leo connected with the newly hatched chicks, JP and his wife decided to bring the experience home. “They seemed to instantly really calm him down,” JP says. “We thought, let’s do it ourselves.” Initially, it was all about giving their children responsibility, routine and another way to learn while homeschooling. “I thought, you know, this is something for the kids,” he laughs. “But I actually think I’m enjoying the chickens more than anybody.”
That unexpected twist has become one of the biggest surprises of keeping chickens. Like many first-time owners, JP expected them to be hard work. “Every time we get pets I’m always kind of like, ‘Why the hell have we done this?’” he jokes. “But this has really surprised me.” Instead of becoming another task on the to-do list, the flock has become a daily opportunity to slow down. “There’s something about just watching them do their thing that sort of slows me down,” he says. “I’m searching for the things that help my brain be present.” For someone balancing family life with a busy creative career, that pause has become invaluable. “If you’re not allowing yourself time to switch off all the noise in your head, there’s no room for new ideas and new inspiration.”
The chickens have also become an unexpected anchor for family life. Every morning, Leo pulls on his Crocs and heads straight outside to let them out. “The first thing he does nearly every single morning is go out the back door and let the chickens out,” says JP. “It’s become part of our morning and we absolutely love it.” For Leo, who is autistic, it’s a routine he chooses himself. Rather than being told to go outside, the chickens naturally spark his curiosity. “He’ll follow them around, then he’ll spot a bug on a rock and become interested in that. They’re just a great entryway to the garden.” It’s a simple ritual, but one that encourages time outdoors, child-led learning and moments of calm for the whole family.
JP admits he had all the same worries many prospective chicken keepers have. He thought they would smell, be messy and create extra work. Instead, he says, “It’s just so, so, so easy.” Cleaning takes minutes, the Eglu Pro Chicken Coop stays remarkably fresh, and the overall Omlet setup has made everyday jobs even simpler. “The Smart Feeder closing at night… it’s just a game changer,” he says. “It couldn’t be easier. I think that’s the biggest surprise I’ve had.”
Although the family’s hens haven’t started laying yet, JP already feels they’ve given them something far more valuable than fresh eggs. They’ve encouraged the whole family to spend more time outdoors, inspired dreams of growing their own food and reminded him to appreciate life’s quieter moments. “My dream has always been to disappear one day and live simply with my family, have some animals and grow our own vegetables,” he says. “The world feeds us this idea that you need this and you need that to be happy. But actually, when you boil it down to our basic needs, we’re not that complicated.”
For now, that simpler life starts with a coffee in hand, opening the coop door and watching the chickens wander into a new day. “I got them thinking they were for the kids,” JP says. “But they’ve given so much back to me.” JP has even started taking his guitar into the coop for some music time with his flock. Check it out.
For as long as humans have built shelters, we’ve been trying to outsmart the weather.
From mammoth hides stretched over Ice Age frames to sheep wool stuffed into medieval walls, the quest for keeping things warm, or cool, has driven thousands of years of ingenuity. By the start of the 21st century, we’d become pretty good at insulation. We’d wrapped it around our homes, stitched it into our clothing and built it into products we use every day.
Chicken coops, however, seemed to have missed the memo. When Omlet co-founder James first started keeping chickens, he did what most first-time chicken keepers did: he built a traditional wooden coop. Like most people, he quickly discovered its flaws. It got damp, it was awkward to clean and red mites seemed to view it as a luxury apartment.
There had to be a better way
At the time, James was studying Industrial Design Engineering – a discipline that combines engineering with product design. “Good design is all about choosing the appropriate material.” he says. That simple idea would eventually become the foundation of the Eglu.
(L-R) Hanns, James, Simon and Will in the early days of Omlet.
The road trip
After university, James teamed up with fellow design graduates Simon, Hanns and Will. Together, they set out to rethink chicken keeping from the ground up. Their first step? A road trip around plastic moulding factories.
Not quite as glamorous as inventing the next smartphone, but for Omlet it turned out to be a pivotal moment. The team visited manufacturers producing everything from industrial components to marine equipment, looking for ideas that could solve the problems they’d experienced with traditional coops. By the end of the trip, they’d found one. As James recalls, “By the time we came back, we were like, ‘Oh my God. Hollow plastic mouldings are totally amazing.”
Early sketches and mini models of the first Eglu coopThe first warehouse
The breakthrough wasn’t simply that plastic was different from wood, it was that twin-wall construction solved multiple problems at once. The hollow walls trapped a layer of air, creating an insulating barrier, while the material itself was strong, easy to clean, resistant to moisture and could be moulded into smooth surfaces without the cracks and crevices that red mite love. One design decision solved a surprisingly long list of problems.
More than just warmth
When people hear the word insulation, they tend to think about winter. In reality, it works both ways, helping keep heat out in summer and warmth in during winter. But the trick wasn’t turning the Eglu into a giant thermos flask. Chickens need fresh air just as much as they need protection from the elements, which is why ventilation was designed into the Eglu from the very beginning.
As Omlet Design Manager Josh explains, “Think about walking into a garden shed on a hot day. It’s stuffy, hot and the air feels stagnant.” Traditional coops can suffer from exactly the same problem. The Eglu’s twin-wall construction slows the transfer of heat, while carefully positioned vents keep fresh air moving through the coop. Together, they help regulate temperature, manage moisture and maintain airflow all at once.
The clever bits you never notice
Most Eglu owners probably don’t realise there are more than 15 patented design features hidden inside their coop. Tiny details help direct rainwater away from the coop. Structural features add strength without adding unnecessary weight. Ventilation systems quietly do their job in the background. There are even specially designed channels that stop water creeping into places it shouldn’t. That’s often the hallmark of great design: when something works so well, you stop thinking about it.
Designed for Britain. Loved everywhere.
The Eglu was originally designed for British weather – cold, damp and often unpredictable. What surprised the team was how well the same design worked elsewhere.
As Omlet expanded around the world, customers began reporting benefits the designers hadn’t specifically planned for. In places like Florida, owners praised the coop’s resistance to humidity, moisture and pests. Others found its robust construction stood up impressively well to extreme weather such as storms.
It turns out that if you design something to survive temperamental British winter, it’ll cope with quite a lot. The Eglu’s impact was even recognised beyond the world of chicken keeping, earning its place in the V&A’s Best of British Design exhibition alongside some of the country’s most iconic innovations. Not bad for a chicken coop.
From coop to cup
Over the years, one challenge kept cropping up in conversations with chicken keepers around the world: water. In winter, drinkers froze. In summer, they heated up quickly in the sun. Some keepers in hotter climates were even adding ice to their chickens’ water every day and it was still going warm. So, we invented the Insulated Chicken Waterer. Want to know the full story? Read it now.
The Eglu’s place in the history of insulation isn’t about inventing a new material or discovering a new scientific principle. It’s about asking a simple question: why are we still doing it this way? More than 20 years after James, Simon, Hanns and Will first set out to rethink the chicken coop, that question still drives Omlet’s design team today.
When temperatures rise, water becomes a vital part of chicken care. In hot weather, how that water is presented – temperature, cleanliness, accessibility – can make a real difference to how much your flock actually drinks. We spoke to Blayne Mozisek (A.K.A The Poultry Doc) to get a deeper understanding of how important water is for your flock’s health, especially in the hotter months.
“Water is the most important nutrient for chickens,” says Blayne.“Clean, fresh water is paramount to anything else.”
1. Spot the signs of dehydration
One of the earliest warning signs of dehydration is much more visible in chicks.
“The skin will be drawn up around their shanks,” Blayne explains.“That vein starts to stand out.” In older birds, the signs are more subtle – skin that doesn’t bounce back quickly, reduced activity, or simply a drop in normal behaviour. In more serious cases, birds may stop drinking altogether, which is often a sign that something deeper is going on. “In critical situations when birds go off water, there’s typically a larger issue at play.”
2. A sudden stop in laying is often linked to water intake
Egg production is far more fragile than many keepers realise – and heavily dependent on hydration. “An egg is mainly water,” says Blayne “If you impact the supply of water, hens can stop laying almost immediately.” In fact, vets sometimes use controlled water restriction in very specific medical situations to temporarily halt laying while a bird recovers. For backyard keepers, though, the takeaway is simple: if eggs suddenly stop during hot weather, water quality, temperature and easy access should be the first things you check.
3. Clean water matters more than anything else
Water quality plays a bigger role in flock health than most people realise. If their water isn’t clean, it can lead to algae, which can lead to biofilm – and that stuff is full of harmful bacteria.That slippery green build-up in waterers isn’t just unpleasant – it can affect both hen health and overall hygiene in the coop.
“There are tons of studies that show biofilm can contain some really nasty bugs,” Blayne explains, including bacteria like listeria.
Blayne’s advice is simple: “Keeping the water clean, preventing algae, keeping the biofilm out… can all have long-term impacts on overall health.”
4. Temperature matters – but extremes are what to avoid
One of the most common questions in summer is whether chickens should have ice-cold water. The answer is more nuanced than a simple yes or no. Blayne explains that chickens don’t necessarily benefit from water that is ice cold, and in some cases it can reduce how willing they are to drink. “A lot of people relate water to how we as humans want water when we’re hot,” he says. “But that’s not always the case.”
Extremely cold water can be off-putting, particularly for younger birds, while very warm water in hot weather can also reduce intake. The sweet spot is consistently fresh, cool water that stays stable throughout the day – shaded, protected and refreshed regularly. In prolonged heat, adding small amounts of ice to the Omlet Insulated Waterer can help moderate temperature, but the goal isn’t to make the water freezing cold – it’s to prevent it from becoming uncomfortably warm. This is where consistency matters more than anything else: stable access to drinkable water throughout the day, rather than large temperature swings.
5. Electrolytes aren’t essential – but have a place
Walk into any farm store in summer and you’ll find shelves of electrolyte powders and vitamin mixes promising to “boost” hydration. But the Poultry Doc is clear that these aren’t always necessary. “The idea that you need to have vitamins and electrolytes in your water all the time is not true.”
That said, there are specific situations – such as heat stress – where they can support recovery. “When birds pant, they blow off CO2,” he explains, which can affect internal balance and even egg quality in some cases. Used occasionally and appropriately, electrolytes can play a positive role, but Blayne doesn’t believe they should replace the foundation of flock health.
The takeaway
Summer chicken care doesn’t need to be complicated. It comes back to the basics: clean water, stable conditions and keeping your flock drinking consistently through the day. “Good, clean and adequate supply of fresh water is critical,” says Blayne. And in hot weather, how that water stays cool, clean, and accessible can make all the difference.
Adding an Omlet Insulated Chicken Waterer to your setup is a great way to ensure you’re aligning with The Poultry Doc’s advice. Its opaque design blocks 99% of light, resulting in no algae or bacteria build up, the insulation keeps water cool and fresh, and it has a water level window so you can easily see when it needs filling.
For many chicken keepers, summer means longer days, more time outdoors and baskets full of fresh eggs. But for hens, rising temperatures can quickly become uncomfortable – and in extreme heat, even dangerous.
According to long-time chicken keeper, breeder and author Brandelyn Tafoya, helping chickens cope with hot weather comes down to three essentials…
1. Keep Fresh Water Available at All Times
“Access to fresh water at all times is super important,” says Brandelyn. During hot weather, chickens can quickly become dehydrated, especially if their water warms up in the sun.
Top tips:
Consider adding electrolytes during periods of extreme heat.
Brandelyn also recommends offering frozen treats to encourage hydration and provide enrichment.
Why not try:
Ice cubes with treats frozen inside
Frozen fruit pieces
Chilled veggies your flock already enjoys
2. Prioritise Coop Ventilation
“Airflow is also super important in the coop to keep them cool,” Brandelyn explains.
A poorly ventilated coop can quickly become hot and humid during summer, especially overnight. Good airflow helps remove warm air and allows fresh air to circulate around your flock.
Why ventilation matters:
Reduces heat build-up inside the coop
Helps prevent hot, humid conditions
Keeps hens more comfortable overnight
Encourages better air quality year-round
Omlet’s Eglu Chicken Coops are designed with twin-wall insulation and strategically placed ventilation points to help regulate temperatures and maintain airflow throughout the year.
3. Monitor Your Chickens’ Behaviour
One of the easiest ways to tell if chickens are struggling with the heat is to simply watch them. Signs your chickens may be too hot:
Panting
Holding their wings away from their body
Lethargy
Drooping posture
Reduced activity
Unusually quiet behaviour
If you notice these signs, provide extra shade, fresh cool water and electrolytes where needed.
What not to do
Unlike dogs, chickens don’t benefit from being sprayed with a hose or being submerged in water. Brandelyn says this can often cause unnecessary stress and do more harm than good. Instead, focus on the basics: cool water, airflow, shade and hydration support.
Bonus Tip: Choose Heat-Hardy Breeds
If you live in an area with consistently hot summers, breed selection can make a difference. “There are breeds that do handle the heat better than others,” Brandelyn says. Research breeds that are known for coping well in warmer climates before starting or expanding your flock.
Helping chickens stay comfortable in summer doesn’t have to be complicated. Fresh water, good ventilation and keeping an eye on your flock’s behaviur can go a long way towards preventing heat stress.
As Brandelyn puts it, preparation is key. By getting ahead of rising temperatures, you’ll help your hens stay healthy, comfortable and productive all summer long.
It started, as so many family stories do, with a child who simply wouldn’t let it go. Caspian had decided he wanted chickens. Not as a passing phase or a fleeting birthday idea, but with a quiet, unwavering determination that slowly reshaped the household.
“He just kept coming back to it,” his mum Emily says. “I did secretly think he might change his mind and ask for a bike instead. But he never wavered.” So he got to work. Pocket money was saved, birthday presents were redirected and small jobs around the house suddenly had a new purpose. “He asked for money instead of presents so he could put it towards a coop and chickens,” Emily says. “He didn’t quite get to the chickens themselves at that point, but he saved enough for a coop and run. It showed us how serious he was.” The family went to a local poultry farm “just to look”… and came home with four chickens.
“We went for two Silkies,” Emily laughs. “Then they mentioned they had a couple of Warrens already laying, and it suddenly felt like we might as well.” From there, things escalated quickly. At a local agricultural show, Caspian spotted a Polish bantam and spent his pocket money on the spot. “Other children had sweets and toys,” Emily says. “He came out with a chicken.” That bird became Henny Penny – and the flock officially became a family fixture.
The love for chickens didn’t stop with Caspian. His sister Romy was just 13 months old when the first hens arrived, and Emily says she was drawn to them immediately. “Since having the chickens, it’s naturally become part of Romy’s daily routine,” she explains. “She just goes out to them.”
Over time, those small visits turned into habits – feeding, checking and learning how to care for them gently. “It’s never felt forced,” Emily says. “She’s just picked it up naturally and enjoys being involved.”
For her fourth birthday, Romy got her own flock and her own Eglu Go Up. “It felt like the natural next step,” Emily says. “She already spent so much time with them.” Now the garden holds two overlapping worlds – Caspian’s original flock and Romy’s growing group, all part of the same daily rhythm.
Caspian still leads much of it, often getting to the coop before anyone else. “I’d go down to let them out and he’d already be there,” Emily says. “Just sitting with them.” And while the flock has grown, Emily insists it’s all been surprisingly simple. “Much easier than rabbits or guinea pigs,” she says. “Once you have a routine, it just becomes part of life.”
What started with one determined child has become something much bigger – a family rhythm shaped by early mornings, muddy footprints and a flock of chickens that quietly took over the garden.
If you’ve spent any time on YouTube or Instagram recently, chances are you’ve stumbled across Jude Harper – better known online as Rewilding Jude – building raised beds in the rain, repurposing old junk into something useful, or chatting to his chickens while standing ankle-deep in compost.
What started as a personal project after a huge life change has quietly grown into an online community of people craving slower living, muddy boots, fresh air and a reminder that life doesn’t have to move at full speed all the time.
After losing both his parents in 2022, Jude left behind a life that no longer felt right, packed up his things and moved to a fixer-upper in rural Scotland. No countryside experience or grand masterplan, just a gut feeling that something needed to change. Somewhere between building a wonky chicken coop, growing vegetables in reused containers and rescuing ex-commercial hens, things slowly started to click into place. “I sort of felt like I didn’t have a purpose anymore. And this has really helped with that.”
Jude didn’t exactly set out to become a chicken person.
In fact, he originally built his enormous DIY coop as a way to learn basic construction skills. “I thought, ‘It’s probably better to start with a chicken coop than a wall in the house,’ because if it’s wonky, it doesn’t really matter,” he laughs. Three months later – after battling Scottish weather, uneven ground and a steep learning curve – the coop was finally finished. “So I thought… I should probably put some chickens in it now.”
Enter Bossy, Scraggy, Prison Chicken and Hennifer Saunders – four rescued hens from the British Hen Welfare Trust who quickly became the stars of both Jude’s garden and his social media channels.
“I had no idea what good pets chickens are,” he says. “They’re such little characters, and are way more useful than my cat. The cat just brings me rodents.”
Chicken therapy is real
For Jude, chicken keeping became something much bigger than fresh eggs. Like many people taking on a renovation project, he found himself overwhelmed by stress,but the chickens changed something. “If everything’s getting a bit too much, I’ll just go and give the chickens treats and watch them jump around. They don’t really have much to worry about, and it puts things into perspective.”
There’s something about chickens that forces you to slow down. Watching them scratch through leaves, follow you around the garden or inspect absolutely everything you’re doing has a grounding effect that’s difficult to explain until you’ve experienced it yourself.
“They’re so interested in everything,” Jude says. “If I’m outside doing something, they want to be involved.”
And while the internet often romanticises “escaping to the countryside”, Jude is refreshingly honest about the reality of it all. It isn’t perfect or polished – sometimes your well runs dry, sometimes your coop goes mouldy and sometimes your chickens escape into the neighbour’s garden.
Healing through growing
Long before the chickens arrived, gardening was already helping Jude process grief. He started small – growing vegetables in containers on a tiny patio after his parents passed away.“It sounds cliché, but getting your hands in the soil really does make you feel better.” Watching things grow became a quiet form of therapy, it was a reason to get outside and a reminder that things change slowly.
“The joy I’d get from waking up and seeing what had changed overnight in the garden… it really helped.”
That connection to nature eventually snowballed into composting, growing food, building things by hand and documenting the entire process online. In many ways, it became a way for Jude to stay connected to his parents too. “I think I’ve absorbed all of their hobbies,” he says. “If my mum could see how much I’ve turned into my dad, she’d probably be rolling her eyes.”
“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not making anything.”
One of the most refreshing things about Jude’s outlook is that he doesn’t pretend to have everything figured out and that’s exactly why his content resonates.
“There’s this idea online that if you can’t do sustainability perfectly, there’s no point trying at all,” he says. “But small things really do add up.”
For Jude, that might mean composting food scraps, reusing old materials, growing some vegetables, or simply making fewer supermarket trips. It’s not about doing everything. It’s about doing something.
“I think the skill I do have is not being afraid to be bad at something.” It’s a sentence that perfectly sums up both his online success and the reason so many people connect with his videos. Watching someone honestly muddle through, make mistakes and keep going anyway feels reassuring in a world obsessed with perfection.
Start small, start messy
So what advice would Jude give someone dreaming of a slower life, chickens, vegetable patches or simply feeling more connected to the world around them?
“Don’t try and do everything all at once.”
Jude had already been living in Scotland for over a year when he got chickens. Before that came composting, gardening and learning basic skills one step at a time. And crucially – accepting that you’ll probably be a bit rubbish at first.
“No one’s perfect the first time around. You just have to get past being bad at it.”
Jude’s advice is refreshingly simple:
Start small
Grow one thing
Build one thing
Try one thing.
Because somewhere between the compost piles, the wonky DIY projects and four rescued hens, Jude built himself a whole new life – one that’s inspired thousands of people to slow down, get outside and realise you don’t need to have everything figured out to start.
You can follow Jude’s renovation and gardening journey on both his Youtube and Instagram channels.
There’s something deeply satisfying about collecting a warm egg from the nesting box, stepping into your garden and building a meal from ingredients you grew yourself.
For Toni Farmer – sustainable agriculture professor, science-led gardening educator, and long-time chicken keeper – this isn’t a trend. It’s a return of how we used to do things.
“We need to stop thinking of chickens as the cheapest way to get eggs,” she says.“You’re not saving money. You’re investing in food security.”
Toni has a name for the way she lives: the backyard supermarket. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Out of spinach? Pick it. Need herbs? Snip them. Breakfast? The eggs are already there.
“Yesterday, I wanted spinach for dinner. We were out in the fridge, but I had it growing in the garden,” she explains. “I didn’t have to drive to the supermarket, waste petrol, or buy more than I needed.” Instead, she stepped outside, picked exactly what she needed and got on with her day. “It makes you wonder why we ever moved away from this.”
For Toni, this isn’t about perfection or self-sufficiency extremes. It’s about something simpler: eating well, wasting less and reconnecting with where food actually comes from.
It often starts with chickens
For many people, including Toni, chickens are the gateway. After reading about the horrors of the commercial egg industry, she made a snap decision. “I went to my husband and said, ‘We’re building a coop this weekend.” And that’s exactly what they did. Seventeen years later, she’s still keeping chickens – and still finds joy in the smallest moments. “There is nothing like walking into your garden and picking up warm eggs. It feels like a magic trick.” Her current flock? Named after queens from Game of Thrones.
What makes Toni’s setup so powerful isn’t just the eggs or the veggies – it’s how everything connects. Chicken bedding doesn’t go to waste – it becomes compost. That compost feeds the garden, and the garden feeds the household. “It’s a really good three step cycle,” she says. The result is less food waste, healthier soil and a system that largely sustains itself.
If the idea of growing your own food feels overwhelming, Toni’s advice is simple: “Just start.” Not with a full garden overhaul, not with perfection, but with one small bed. “Make it about 32 square feet. Grow what you usually buy – tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce.” And accept that things will go wrong. “If your plants die or bugs eat everything, you have not failed. You’re just at the beginning of your learning curve.”
If you’re not sure where to begin, Toni recommends starting with:
Peas – fast-growing, low maintenance and beginner friendly
Raspberries – expensive to buy, surprisingly easy to grow and come back every year
“Within two years, you’ll have so many raspberries you can’t believe you ever paid for them.”
One of Toni’s most refreshing ideas is the community flock.
One of the biggest barriers to keeping chickens is people thinking they won’t suit their lifestyle. Holidays. Busy schedules. Costs. Her solution? Share the load. “One household keeps the coop. Others contribute to food or costs. Everyone shares the eggs.“If I told my neighbours I was going on holiday tomorrow, I’d get 20 offers to help,” she says. “Mostly because they want the eggs.”
For Toni, this shift back to growing your own isn’t nostalgic – it’s necessary.“Climate change is coming for our food,” she says. “It’s probably time we learned these skills.”
But beyond resilience, there’s something else. Joy. The joy of stepping outside instead of driving to the store. The joy of cooking with ingredients you grew yourself. The joy of knowing exactly where your food came from. And of course, the joy of a warm egg in your hand and spending quality time with your flock.
If there’s one message Toni wants people to take away, it’s this:
“Don’t give up after your first failures, give it time and within a few years, you’ll know so much you can start teaching other people.”
Four-year-old Romy doesn’t just have chickens – she’s the ultimate mini chicken boss. She manages them, feeds them, cleans up after them and is very firm on the fact that they “poo a lot.”
For her fourth birthday, Romy received her very own Omlet Eglu Go Up chicken coop and five chicks, which she immediately accepted as her official workload. We were so excited to find out how the flock have been doing so far – and she had plenty to say!
What did you get for your 4th birthday?
“I got a coop. I’m lucky! I got the coop! And 5 chicks! It’s green and white and has a green cover to protect the chickens from the rain & a door I can open & shut so they can go in the yard!”
What did you name your chickens? What are they like?
“My new chickens are called Hetty, Plant, Sandy, Pingu and Ginger. Some are frizzles because they have sticky-out feathers. Pingu has browny-black feathers & Sandy is yellow. Their mommies are Karen & Blossom, white Polish bantams in our yard. The chicks make noise if I leave them. I think we have two roosters because they are jumpy.”
What are your daily chores to help look after the chickens?
“I feed them, fill their water and feed them happiness. I help mommy poo pick the big coop, I help clean out the brooder coop. I have a little spoon to poo pick the chick coop. They poo a lot. I have to pick out their poo so they don’t eat it.”
What do you love most about the chickens?
“Hmm… because they’re funny. I love playing around in the garden with them. They follow me because they think I’m going to dig the worms. I love my new chicks too. They are so fluffy. They will be big chickens soon I can’t wait!”
Where do the chickens live?
“The chicks live in the brooder coop to keep them warm, but they will live in my new Omlet chicken coop soon. The big chickens live in mummy’s coop, but they are Caspian’s chickens really! I just have Gloria & Pickle. They all snuggle up together.”
What do you think of their new Omlet coop?
“Good! I love it so, so, so much! It’s so cosy and it has a door you can open and shut, and a nest so they can lay eggs. My coop makes me happy because it’s like my mummy’s but a bit smaller so I can clean it myself.”
Do you have a favourite chicken and why?
“Wolfie! Wolfie is my favourite. She is a Copper Maran. I love her because she’s so naughty. She makes me so happy and she makes me laugh. She jumps on me if I sit down. I hatched her from an egg.”
Do you collect the eggs? What do you do with them?
“Yes, I do. If I have a broody hen, I have to try and get the eggs if they let me. They don’t peck me though. I sometimes give them to my teachers and my grandma and grandpa. I like scrambled eggs and bacon and eggs and egg bites. Mommy makes cakes sometimes.”
We’re looking forward to catching up with Romy again soon – we’ll be sure to share the updates.
Erica grew up on a farm in Colombia, where caring for animals was part of daily life from a very young age. One chicken in particular ended up shaping the course of her life – a meat bird she named Chiquita. Originally bought at a local market with the intention of being raised for food, she quickly became a companion for Erica. After persistent pleading, her father agreed to spare her life. Erica reflects that this experience changed her entire perspective on animals: “Chiquita ultimately taught me the important lesson that ‘livestock’ holds far more value than simply being meant for a plate.”
That bond stayed with her long after childhood. She explains that being exposed so young to the idea of chickens as “nothing more than a food source” is exactly what later made her question it. “I knew for a very long time that I wanted chickens on my own terms – as pets – once I was old enough.” She adds, “Chiquita helped shape my mindset as a child, and that deep empathy followed me into adulthood.”
After high school, Erica joined the U.S. Army. Military life meant constant relocation and living on base, which made it impossible to keep animals. Still, she says the idea of chickens never left her and remained something she carried with her quietly through those years.
It wasn’t until Erica left the military and settled in St. Louis with her husband that things finally shifted. With stability and space, she was able to turn a long held dream into reality: a home where she could keep chickens.“The dream of having chickens on my terms was finally going to become reality,” she says. That moment became the beginning of what would grow into Second-Hen’d, a non-profit dedicated to rescuing and rehoming ex-commercial egg laying hens.
As she learned more about so-called “spent” hens (hens are often disposed of after 1-2 years when they no longer produce eggs, despite being able to live up to 10 years if properly cared for) her purpose deepened further. Since founding the organisation in 2016, she describes the biggest change in her life as internal: “Waking up every single day with a feeling of purpose.” She is also open about her past struggles: “The ‘before’ was incredibly difficult. There were days I simply couldn’t get out of bed or function at all no matter what.” What changed, she says, is responsibility and connection: “Knowing these sweet souls need me to continue saving them and educating others while telling their stories is what keeps me going.”
For Erica, the most powerful part of rescue work is watching transformation unfold. “There are so many rewarding aspects of saving and re-homing ‘spent’ hens (especially the glow ups!),” she says, but what stands out most is when the personalities emerge for the first time. She describes the hens that arrive as “scared and confused empty shells” who have never experienced open space, sunlight, or freedom. What follows is a gradual unfolding of behaviour and identity: “their first scuffles as they work out the new concept of a pecking order, their first nest building, their first attempts at ‘flying,’ their first explorations – and just ‘learning how to chicken!”.
To date, Second Hen’d has saved 1065 hens. To find out more about Erica’s work, head over to the Second Hen’d website.
When asked to complete the sentence “My life is better #BecauseOfTheChicken because…”, Erica simply says:“They are why I found renewed meaning in existence.”
Over in Washington State, USA, Venise Cunningham’s chickens aren’t just part of the farm – they’re part of the bar.
It began with “a teeny, tiny chicken coop” and five Rhode Island Reds at Venise’s first house by the river, and her family’s first time trying out chickens. Twelve years on, the flock has evolved. Most recently, her seven year old son decided he wanted to hatch eggs so they borrowed an incubator, sourced fertile eggs from local farmers and tried their luck. “Humidity and temperature is kind of hard here,” she says. “But we got seven to hatch!”
Today, the chickens roam, scratch, fertilise – and the hens lay eggs that find their way into the cocktail shaker of Simple Goodness Sisters drinks business.
Venise is the grower. She cultivates the herbs, edible flowers and fruit that shape the flavours of Simple Goodness Sisters, the business she runs with her sister Belinda. Belinda is the cocktail maker. Before setting up their cocktail syrup business, the sisters worked in downtown Seattle and Bellevue for tech companies, planning large scale events. It was there they spotted the gap.
“There’s a lot of attention on farm to table,” Venise says, “but not a lot of attention goes to the glass.” So they built what she calls “a whole cocktail farm.”
The syrups anchored drinks at their restaurant and at events across the region – including the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival in Seattle (where we met the sisters who also had a booth there) where they were mixing the introductory cocktails for the afternoon speakers.
When Venise is making a blueberry lavender syrup, she’ll use 100 pounds of blueberries bought directly from a neighbouring farm. The juice is pressed and bottled. And this is where the chickens come into play. The hens aren’t a novelty – they’re integrated. Because once 100 pounds of blueberries have given up their juice, Venise is left with skins and flesh still full of value.
“All of the juice comes out of the blueberries, but you still have all the skin and the flesh,” she says. “I’m still pulling a lot of really good ingredients out of the syrup kettle.”
In their book, she and Belinda call the philosophy “whole animal bartending” – the cocktail equivalent of nose-to-tail cooking. Use everything. Waste nothing. Some fruit leftovers become shrubs. Some are dehydrated and ground into sugar rimmers. And when they’ve taken it as far as they can, the rest heads back outside.
“It goes to the farm, and it becomes chicken food… then it goes into my compost, and then it turns into compost, and then I put it in my garden bed – it never goes into the dumpster.”
That circular thinking extends beyond the bar. Watching how thoroughly the chickens scratch through pasture sparked another idea: “Can they weed for me?” Venise built a temporary structure over her raised beds so the flock could claw through weeds before planting season.“In a couple of weeks, all of my beds are weeded,” she says.
And it’s not just weeding – “they’re adding the fertiliser… it’s all really great for the soil.” For Venise, this is the heart of farming. “That’s the part of farming that I love the most – getting really creative.” The Herb Garden Sour cocktail also involves the flock – it uses the egg whites from the flock’s eggs for its foamy and bubbly texture.
Why not give The Simple Goodness Fizz cocktail a go?
20ml ounce lemon juice, or a mix of lemon and lime juice, fresh squeezed
20ml Simple Syrup
15ml (or about 1 large) egg white or aquafaba (chickpea water) as a vegan/allergen substitute
1 scoop of 3 large cubes ice
Garnish of choice
Directions: In a cocktail shaker, add all ingredients but no ice. Firmly cap the shaker and do a dry shake of all ingredients for 1 minute (it’s a work out!). Gently, so as not to kill the foam, add a big scoop of ice to the shaker and then shake vigorously for another 30 seconds. Strain the drink into a coupe or stemmed wine glass. Some foam will come through and settle to the top. Capture the extra foam that has clung to the sides of the shaker by “rinsing” the shaker with just 25ml of club soda, swirling it to catch the foam and then straining it onto the top of the drink. If done correctly, there will be a solid line of silky foam ½ inch thick at the top of the glass, and a bright, transparent liquid layer of cocktail below. Find the full recipe and more over on the Simple Goodness Sisters website.
From coop to cocktail foam, from spent berries to chicken feed to compost to soil, the system runs in a tight circle.
The farm grows the flavours. The bar shakes the drinks. The chickens keep it moving. And as Venise puts it, nothing “ever goes into the dumpster.”You can find out more about the farm, the cocktails, and the book the sisters have written ‘Drink Your Garden’ on the Simple Goodness Sisters website.
Connie didn’t just get chickens, she discovered a whole new way of life.
What started as a practical decision (fresh eggs, better compost, a more productive garden) quickly became something far more immersive. These days, her Melbourne backyard isn’t just a garden – it’s a place of routine, entertainment, community and occasionally, a carefully timed feather trim.
“I love hearing them in the background,” she says. “It makes me feel like I’m living on a farm, even though I’m in Melbourne.”
One of Connie’s favourite memories is looking after Luna, her Araucana, who needed regular trims to keep the feathers out of her eyes.“I’d wrap her in my arms and use pet grooming scissors to give her a little haircut,” she says. What started as a simple task became a quiet ritual – a moment of trust and care between keeper and chicken.
Connie’s current flock – Berry, Chickpea, Daisy, Olive, Goldie and Poppy – bring plenty of personality (and a bit of chaos) to the garden.
One of the biggest surprises for Connie? How much she loves observing the flock. “I could watch them for ages,” Connie says. “They’re like TV.” What started as a quick daily check has turned into a full blown habit – rain or shine. Whether it’s dramatic pecking order politics, post egg victory songs, or general garden chaos, there’s always something going on. “I go out there every day now,” she says. “Even when I wouldn’t normally.”
Keeping chickens hasn’t just changed Connie’s routine – it’s changed how she sees the world around her.
“Looking after chickens has taught me so much about birds in general,” she explains. “I notice wild birds more now, and I care about them more too.” It’s also shaped how she lives day to day. Weeds are fed back to the flock, eggshells are crushed for calcium and chicken waste becomes compost for the garden. What started as a hobby has become a more circular way of living.
The chickens have also brought the local community closer together. Connie started a group chat with other chicken keepers nearby to share advice, swap tips and help each other out. “People are always surprised by the different egg colours,” she says. “I love talking about breeds with them.”
It hasn’t all been easy. Connie has lost two hens this year, Luna and Zinnia, and the experience has been difficult. But it’s also deepened her understanding of what it means to care for animals. “While it has been terribly sad, it’s only because of all the joy and love I experienced raising them,” she reflects.
Thinking of getting chickens?
Connie’s advice is simple: start by seeing it for yourself. Visit local chicken keepers, learn from their setups, and invest in tools that make life easier, like automatic feeders and waterers. Always make sure your coop and run are secure. And one final tip?“Get a bigger coop than you think you need,” she says. “You’ll probably end up with more chickens than you planned – chicken maths is hard to resist.”
We asked Connie to finish the sentence… My life is better #BecauseOfTheChicken “…because of all the times they’ve made me chuckle with their funny antics.” (Photography credit: Connie Cao / @connieandluna)
It only took one message – and a very efficient brother-in-law.
Hannah is the next chicken keeper in our series “How Chickens Changed My Life.”
After spending time around her boyfriend’s parents’ chickens and visiting a café where hens wandered freely, Hannah floated the idea of getting some of her own in the family group chat. By the next day, five bantam chickens and a coop arrived on her doorstep, courtesy of her brother-in-law.
“I instantly fell in love with them.”
That moment marked the beginning of what has since become a full, thriving flock. Today, Hannah keeps eight chickens, including three chicks she hatched herself over the summer. Each has its own personality, but together they form a lively, ever-moving part of her daily routine.
Her hens – Nugget, Winnie, Eggatha and Henrietta – are, as Hannah describes them, “lovely happy girls.” Dave the rooster keeps a careful watch over the group while Nutty lives up to her name. “She literally runs around like a headless chicken.”
What started as a simple addition to the garden has quietly reshaped how Hannah spends her time.
With chickens to care for, the outdoors has become part of her everyday rhythm rather than something reserved for weekends or spare moments. “I have always been a lover of the countryside and the outdoors but now this gives me a reason to get outside, potter about and enjoy nature without feeling like I’m not doing anything productive.”
There’s a slower pace that comes with it – small, familiar tasks and daily routines that bring a sense of calm and continuity. “It has inspired me and brought me so much happiness, I didn’t realise what I was missing and now I’ve found something that brings me endless joy.”
Alongside that enjoyment has come a subtle shift in perspective. Caring for animals day to day naturally builds patience, consistency and an appreciation for things that develop over time. “The best things in life don’t happen instantly, and material things aren’t the key to happiness or a measure of success.”
As her time outdoors increased, so did her interests beyond the coop.
That time spent outdoors has had a ripple effect, gradually expanding from the coop into the wider garden and into new, hands-on ways of living.“It started with 5 chickens and as I was spending more time outside, I started pottering in the garden and fell in love with gardening, which then led me to want to start growing my own vegetables and now I even bake my own bread!”
Sharing her journey has also connected her with a wider community.
Through her online presence, Hannah has found herself part of a wider network of like-minded people, with opportunities to connect beyond her immediate surroundings. “It has opened opportunities for me, I was kindly invited to an Omlet event, and loved meeting lots of other like minded people who are also creators too!”
But among all the day-to-day moments, one stands out clearly. “My favourite chicken related memory has got to be the day my chicks hatched… It was so adorable.”
For anyone considering starting their own flock, Hannah’s advice is reassuringly simple. “You don’t need heaps of space, just a good coop and a couple of hens and you’re good to go! You can learn everything about chickens as you go.”
We asked Hannah to finish this sentence: “My life is better #BecauseOfTheChicken… “ It’s brought me a whole new meaning to life.”
Chickens are naturally curious foragers, and their diet plays a significant role in their health, happiness, and productivity. At the heart of a balanced chicken diet is a high-quality layer pellet, which provides a carefully formulated mix of grains, protein, and essential vitamins. While chickens can enjoy a variety of treats such as grapes, bananas, tomatoes, and apples, it is important to ensure these extras are given in moderation. Overindulging in treats can disrupt the nutritional balance they need. Additionally, chickens require grit in their diet to help them digest food properly, supporting their overall well-being.
What to feed chickens?
Feeding chickens starts with understanding their basic nutritional needs. The primary food for laying hens should be layer pellets, which are designed to meet the daily requirements for protein, vitamins, and minerals. These nutrients are crucial for maintaining energy, supporting immune function, and ensuring consistent egg production. If you’re interested in making your own chicken feed, we have some advice on our guide to help you with this.
Layer pellets and chicken feed
Layer pellets are the gold standard for laying hens. As a guideline, each chicken should receive around 120g of pellets per day. These pellets contain a balanced blend of grains, proteins, and essential nutrients, ensuring your flock gets everything they need for optimal health and egg laying. If you are interested in maximizing your hens’ egg production, you may want to read our article on 8 ways to make your chickens lay more eggs.
Generic chicken feed, which often includes a variety of grains such as corn, wheat, and barley, can also be used. These feeds provide a good source of energy and can be alternated with layer pellets. However, always ensure that the feed you choose is appropriate for the age and purpose of your chickens, as chicks, growers, and layers have different nutritional needs.
The importance of grit
Chickens do not have teeth, so they rely on grit, small stones or insoluble particles, to help grind down food in their gizzard. Without grit, chickens may struggle to digest their food properly, which can lead to digestive issues and poor nutrient absorption. Grit should be made available at all times, especially if your chickens are not free-ranging on soil where they can naturally find it.
Feeding equipment
Investing in a reliable chicken feeder is an effective way to manage your flock’s diet. A well-designed feeder, such as the Omlet No Waste Feeders, helps you easily monitor feed levels, minimises waste, and keeps food clean and dry. Choosing the right feeder can make daily care simpler and more efficient for both you and your chickens.
Can chickens eat grapes?
Grapes are a popular treat among backyard chickens, but they should only be offered in moderation. Grapes are high in sugar, which can lead to health issues if consumed in excess. Additionally, whole grapes can be a choking hazard, especially for smaller birds.
To safely feed grapes to your chickens, chop them into small pieces or crush them into a mash. This not only makes them easier to eat but also helps prevent blockages and reduces the risk of sour crop, a digestive condition that can occur when food gets stuck in the crop.
Grapes are rich in vitamins C and K, calcium, potassium, and antioxidants, making them a nutritious occasional treat. Always wash grapes thoroughly to remove any pesticides or chemicals, and never feed mouldy grapes, as these can be toxic.
Can chickens eat bananas?
Bananas, including their peels, are safe for chickens when given in moderation. Bananas are packed with nutrients such as potassium, vitamins A, B6, and C, fibre, iron, and magnesium. However, their high sugar content means they should only be an occasional treat.
You can serve bananas whole, sliced, or mashed. Hanging a whole banana in the run can provide entertainment as well as nutrition, encouraging natural pecking behaviour. For a standard chicken, a golf-ball sized serving is sufficient.
Banana peels are also edible for chickens, though some may be less interested in them. If you choose to offer peels, make sure they are clean and free from pesticides.
For distributing treats evenly among your flock, consider using a Caddi Treat Holder, which can help prevent squabbles and ensure all your chickens get a fair share.
Can chickens eat tomatoes?
Tomatoes are another treat that chickens enjoy, but some precautions are necessary. Only feed ripe, red tomatoes, and always remove the green parts, including stems and leaves. These green parts contain solanine, a compound that is toxic to poultry. Green tomatoes should also be avoided for the same reason.
Ripe tomatoes are a good source of vitamins C and K, as well as antioxidants. Wash tomatoes thoroughly to remove any dirt or pesticides, and chop them into small pieces to make them easier for chickens to eat.
If you grow tomatoes or other potentially harmful plants in your garden, use chicken fencing to keep your flock away from these areas. This helps protect both your chickens and your plants.
Can chickens eat apples?
Apples are a sweet and crunchy treat that most chickens love. However, always remove the seeds and core before feeding apples to your flock, as apple seeds contain cyanide, which is harmful to chickens. Chop apples into small, manageable pieces to aid digestion and reduce the risk of choking.
Due to their high sugar and fibre content, apples should be offered in moderation. Avoid giving chickens any rotten or mouldy fruit, as this can cause digestive upset or illness.
Can chickens eat mealworms?
Mealworms are a favourite treat for chickens, and are valued for their high protein content. Protein is essential for feather growth, particularly after a moult, and supports healthy egg production. If you are looking for guidance around supporting your chickens during moulting, you may find our article on how to help your chickens through a moult useful.
Mealworms are also high in fat, so moderation is important. Too many mealworms can lead to weight gain and other health problems. Mealworms can be used as a training tool, as chickens are highly motivated by this treat. Scattering mealworms in the run encourages natural foraging and digging behaviour, which is both mentally and physically stimulating for your flock.
Our peck toys are perfect for mealworms as they make eating fun, as well as slowing down how quickly they are dispensed which reduces mess on the ground.
Can chickens eat hay?
Hay, especially nutrient-rich types like alfalfa, can be a beneficial addition to your chickens’ diet. Hay provides fibre, minerals, and entertainment, as chickens enjoy scratching at hay bales in search of bugs and seeds. A hay bale is also a fantastic source of enrichment, giving your flock the opportunity to rip it apart, forage, and stay busy throughout the day. It can also help insulate the coop during colder months.
Hay should be offered as an occasional treat or to encourage foraging. Too much Timothy hay can lead to impacted crop, a condition where food becomes stuck and cannot pass through the digestive system. If you notice signs of impacted crop, stop offering hay and consult a poultry expert. Always ensure hay is clean and dust-free to prevent respiratory issues.
How to serve treats safely
When offering treats to your chickens, preparation is key. Always chop treats into bite-sized pieces to prevent choking and make them easier to digest. Remove any parts that could be harmful, such as apple seeds or tomato stems. Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly to remove pesticides and dirt.
Treats should never make up more than ten percent of your chickens’ overall diet. The majority of their nutrition should come from a balanced layer feed, which is formulated to meet all their dietary needs.
Monitoring your chickens’ diet
Keeping an eye on what your chickens eat is essential for their health. Too many treats can lead to obesity, reduced egg production, and other health issues. Using a smart chicken feeder can help you track how much your flock is eating and ensure they always have access to fresh, clean food.
If you notice changes in your chickens’ behaviour, appetite, or egg production, review their diet and make adjustments as needed. Sometimes, a simple change in feeding routine or treat frequency can make a big difference.
Enrichment and feeding products
Providing enrichment is just as important as nutrition. Products like theTreat Caddi, Peck Toys, and Smart Feeder not only make feeding easier but also keep your chickens entertained and engaged, as well keeping the floor clean which in turn prevents pests. These tools help distribute treats evenly, reduce food waste, and encourage natural behaviours like pecking and foraging.
For example, the Treat Caddi can be filled with fruits or vegetables and hung in the run, encouraging chooks to peck and explore. Peck Toys dispense small amounts of food as chickens interact with them, providing both mental and physical stimulation. The Smart Feeder allows you to monitor feed levels and reduce spillage, ensuring your flock always has access to the nutrition they need.
Key takeaways
Chickens need a diet consisting mainly of layer feed to get essential vitamins and minerals
Occasional treats can include grapes, bananas, tomatoes, apples, mealworms, and hay
All treats should be served in moderation to maintain a balanced diet
Chop treats into bite-sized pieces to avoid choking and aid digestion
Remove any harmful parts, such as apple seeds or tomato stems, before feeding
Grit is essential for proper digestion, especially if chickens are not free-ranging
Use feeding and enrichment products to make feeding easier and more enjoyable for your flock
Omlet and your flock
At Omlet, we understand that keeping chickens is about more than just providing food. It is about creating a happy, healthy environment where your flock can thrive. Our range of products, from smart feeders to enrichment toys, is designed to support you in caring for your chickens every step of the way.
We are passionate about sharing our knowledge and expertise, helping you make informed decisions about your flock’s diet and well-being. Whether you are a seasoned chicken keeper or just starting out, you can count on Omlet for advice, support, and innovative products that make chicken keeping a joy.
For more tips and information, explore our other articles and guides, and discover how Omlet can help you and your flock live your best lives together.
Meet Brittany, the latest chicken keeper featured in our series “How Chickens Changed My Life.” Brittany’s journey into chicken keeping began in 2020, during the early days of the pandemic. She had started a garden and, fueled by a lifelong love of animals, realised chickens were the perfect addition to her backyard homestead. Her hens – Ginny, Nora, Essie, and Millie – are named after her grandmothers, a tribute to family roots and the spirit of nurturing that runs in her family.
“Ginny and Essie are spirited, Nora is skittish, and Millie falls somewhere in between.”
Life with chickens quickly reshaped Brittany’s daily routine. Without an automatic coop door, she rises with the sun to let the flock out, a commitment that has brought unexpected rewards. “I HAVE to get up, and as a result, I’ve caught some beautiful sunrises because of them.”
One of the first milestones that truly captured Brittany’s heart was finding her very first egg. “Finding that first little sage green egg was unforgettable,” she says. The tiny egg was the culmination of patience, care and observation, and it remains one of her favourite memories from the past year.
The hens have also provided lessons in patience and mindfulness. Waiting for eggs, tending to their needs and observing their personalities has been a gentle reminder that good things take time – and that nature has its own schedule. “They’ve been a reminder that great things are worth waiting for and to just enjoy the process, no matter how it looks or how long it seems to take.”
Brittany has discovered that her chickens are more than pets, they’re a bridge to community. Sharing knowledge, stories and sometimes eggs with neighbours and friends has fostered new connections, both online and in her neighbourhood. “Being able to expose people to a world they otherwise may not have known about is one of the best parts.”
Her flock has also influenced her approach to gardening, cooking and sustainability. Between composting, growing her own food and considering the impact of her choices on the environment, Brittany has become more thoughtful and deliberate in her daily habits. “Both my chickens and my garden have made me more conscious about what I put on and into my body.”
Brittany’s advice to anyone considering their first flock is simple but profound: do your research, prioritise the health and safety of your chickens and embrace the learning process along the way.
Ultimately, Brittany sees her backyard flock as more than just a hobby – they are a source of joy, connection and self-discovery.
We asked Brittany to finish this sentence: “My life is better #BecauseOfTheChicken… “They’ve brought me closer to myself and my purpose in this world.”
Meet Rebecca, Omlet’s New Product Strategist, who proves that sometimes you don’t choose the chicken life – the chicken life chooses you. It all started fifteen years ago with a chance encounter under a bridge and a very surprised pair of labradors. From that first muddy rescue to now helping shape the future of chicken care at Omlet, see how one Rhode Island Red sparked Rebecca’s lifelong passion. The discovery took place on a country bridle path in the UK, a route Rebecca had walked hundreds of times before with her dogs. But one afternoon, leaning over the stream bridge revealed something unexpected. “Standing by the water was a bright red Rhode Island Red hen,” she remembers.“Not a duck. Not a heron. Definitely not a fish.”
Knowing the local foxes wouldn’t be far behind, a rescue mission was launched. Armed only with a pair of trusty wellingtons and childhood memories of chicken-sitting for neighbours, Rebecca scrambled down the bank. “With a chicken tucked under one arm, I climbed back up, wondering: how exactly do you transport a rescue hen?” The solution? A seating reshuffle in her small blue hatchback: dogs on the back seat, chicken in the boot and a very interesting car ride home.
That “accidental” hen was the start of a 15-year journey for Rebecca and her family. Today, the flock consists of four characterful birds: Trunchbull (named after the Matilda villain for her bossy attitude), Grayling and the Colombian Blacktail duo, Autumn and Copper.
The joy of the flock comes in small, daily wonders. “The colour of the eggs from the black chickens is green, which is quite unusual and always a delight to see,” Rebecca says. Beyond the breakfast table, the chickens have become genuine garden companions. They are famously comical, tilting their heads to “talk” and charging across the grass the moment they hear the food tin shake.
The chickens have even taken over some of the gardening chores. By digging through weedy soil, they turn it into fine, perfectly fertilised earth ready for reuse. “Nothing goes to waste,” Rebecca notes, as the hens also happily manage any leftover vegetables from their garden.
Her practical advice for newcomers? Focus on their natural behaviours. “Chickens love digging and need mental stimulation. If you don’t want them roaming your borders, a Walk In Run is essential with the addition of a Poletree to keep them entertained“. She also shares a pro-tip from her own experience: given the choice between wood chips and soil as the base of their run, her girls will pick the soil side every time.
Rebecca had no idea at the time that things would come full circle and she’d one day be working at Omlet, where chickens are at the heart of everything.
And when we asked Rebecca to finish this sentence, she said: “My life is better #BecauseOfTheChicken because… I’ve always got a fresh egg in the morning and someone to enjoy being in the garden with.”
Meet Kealy from Norfolk, the next chicken keeper in our series “How chickens changed my life.” Having grown up around chickens, Kealy always knew she’d one day have a flock of her own. When the opportunity finally arose last year, she didn’t just find a hobby – she found a source of daily laughter and a brand new community. From garden mirrors to improved soil, see how Kealy’s world has been transformed by her feathered friends.
The journey began with three mixed-breed pullets: Eggsy, Henrietta, and Penny. Each brought a distinct flair to the Norfolk garden. “Eggsy is very much the noisy neighbour of the group,” Kealy says, describing her dominant Rhode Island Red. In contrast, Henrietta remains “wonderfully chilled,” while Penny the Leghorn mix dashes about “as if she’s permanently late for something.” The family grew even further a few months later when Kealy rescued a hen named Karen and her chick, Keith, who has since claimed his title as the resident cockerel.
The most unexpected shift, however, was the emotional bond. “They really have become pets to us, not just animals in the garden,” Kealy explains. “Each one has their own personality, habits, and quirks, and it’s impossible not to get attached.”
The chickens have even turned Kealy into a budding gardener. To boost her flock’s immunity and digestion, she began growing herbs directly in their run, with some help from the experts of course: the chickens themselves have been busy fertilising and improving the ground as they go.
While Kealy was already an outdoorsy person thanks to her three Labradors, the chickens added a new layer of presence to her time outside. “We’ve found ourselves spending even more time outdoors – often just sitting and watching them go about their day,” she notes.
A standout moment of “chicken magic” occurred during a routine coop clean. Kealy had set her phone down, only to find Eggsy captivated by her own reflection in the screen. “That moment inspired me to buy them a mirror,” Kealy says. “Of course, Eggsy was the very first to check it out. She absolutely loved it.”
Beyond the coop, the flock has opened doors to a global network. Through social media, Kealy has connected with a vibrant community of fellow keepers. “It’s amazing how something so simple can connect you with so many like-minded people.”
Kealy’s practical tip for those on the fence? Don’t overthink it. “Just go for it. The benefits go far beyond fresh eggs. Chickens bring joy, calm, connection and a surprising amount of laughter.”
We asked Kealy to finish this sentence: “My life is better #BecauseOfTheChicken… it’s the quiet moments outdoors, the sense of purpose, and a little flock that has become such a big part of our world.”
We’ll be back with more ‘how chickens changed my life’ interviews soon!
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