Hello,

We thought we'd start off this Newsletter with a competition.  Previously we've brought you such greats as 'Guess Where The Flipping Pancake Is', 'How Many Chocolate Eggs are in a Glug' and who could forget the 'Bake Me Happy Competition'  ( which you can still enter! )

This one is a cracker too, it's a good old fashioned caption competition.  The photo we've chosen is the one of the two portly policeman looking at the eglu at last weeks Fruitstock Festival.  So give your funny bones a little tickle and send your entries to: johannes@omlet.co.uk by the end of the month for a chance to win a £20 gift voucher to spend in the Omlet shop.

Fruitstock celebrity spotting...
We love doing shows because we get to meet so many people and last weeks Fruitstock was no exception.  It was fantastic weather and around 80,000 people filled Regents Park in London over the two days.  The eglu display was very busy with interested Londoners, including a certain old rocker with a very distinctive haircut. Yes Rod Stewart himself wandered past and cast an admiring eye in the direction of the eglus or was he drawn to our very own blonde bombshell, Jan?  Well, we wouldn't part with her not even for such a megastar as Rod and you can see why because she's modelling the new Omlet shopping bag at the end of the newsletter. 

Show Calendar Dates:
Tatton Park Country Show - 27 and 28th of August.
The setting for this family show is the parkland around a large country house and it's only about 12 miles south of Manchester.  There will be demonstrations of traditional country pastimes, lots of animals (including of course Omlet's very own chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs) and if the weathers' nice the chance to enjoy a scoop or two of ice cream.  Tempted?  Then you can find out more here.

National Amateur Gardening Show - 1-3rd September.  This will be our third time at this fantastic Somerset show where keen gardeners show the pick of their produce from beautiful blooms to giant vegetables - it's a show not to be missed.  For more information click here.

Hatching plans?
"It's a miracle" proclaimed Simon. when he realised he'd become a father of sorts for the first, then second, then third and finally 8 times in quick succession.   His broody hen had hatched all the eggs she was sitting on.  Luckily he had his camera ready to record the moment the little fluffy chicks wandered out into the eglu run and the result is below.  Hatching your own chicks is great fun and it seems like Simon isn't the only one as there's another proud parent in this weeks Star Photos.  Congratulations to you both!  

Lots of other great stuff in the Newsletter, including the forum update and of course egluowner of the week.  If you fancy feeling a little famous why not enter to become egluowner of the week yourself? 

Enjoy the newsletter and could someone please bring back the sunshine for our party this weekend!?

The Omlet Team

PS.  Could the person who sent in a photo of their pet pig in the eglu please resend it to johannes@omlet.co.uk he accidently deleted it. Opps :(

Congratulations to Simon who has recently become the proud father of 8 little chicks. (That's not Simon on the right of the photo by the way.)

"Can you think of a great caption for this picture?"

Chickens in Regents Park "more popular than Lions in London Zoo!" exclaim gloating giraffes!

Last years winner of the biggest beetroot at the National Amateur Gardening show has promised he will be back this year with something even bigger!!!!

At the end of a busy show an Omlet band member grabs 40 winks in an unlikely place.

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Star Photos

Dating advice from an eglu owner:
"The chicks really dig me since I got my eglu!"

"Look into my eye, don't look around the eye, look into my eye...you will feed me grapes and strawberry's everyday."  Beware of looking at your chickens for too long!

You can see more photos if you click this link:  gallery

They've hatched!!!!!!

Any chance of a cuppa, luv?

Barbara's Weekly Diary!

Barbara has been on holiday so no diary this time but she's always on hand to answer your questions about chickens - just pop her an email to barbara@omlet.co.uk

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What's on the forum?

RT is about to rescue some ex-battery hens but had a few concerns which were answered as usual by the forum folks...

RT - Our ExBats are due to be rescued in 2 weeks. Now although I'm excited about it, the more I read the more worried I am about coping with them. Please can you put my mid to rest and let me know if...

a) Wing clipping is painless and as easy as it looks

b) Prolapsed egg canals are rare

c) They don't mind being handled

d) They shouldn't make too much noise so the neighbours won't complain

e) that any of the other scary things that I've heard are untrue

I may sound silly but I need to know that I can be a good mum!  

PS anyone who has ExBats - Is there anything that I need to know, special care etc

Muppet81 - Hello there. Please don't panic. We have had ours for 5 weeks and have really enjoyed it. I think we were lucky that they were on the whole in reasonable condition. Apart from poor old Norma who appears in a couple of posts on the Chicken site. She has no top beak at all. We had no problems with wing clipping and the chickens were not bothered at all. We have had a bit of a scare over a chicken who looked at deaths door one night but was right as rain the next day and we have one who has developed a limp. With each we just resorted to RLC, a nice nest box of hay and kept our fingers crossed.  The main thing is that this site exists. If there is anything you are worried about or unsure about, just place a post on here and someone will reply and give you advice. We have found it a brilliant support network.  Just look forward to getting your girls. Ours have come on in leaps and bounds and we have been amazed that the chicken instincts kick in so quickly. It is already hard to believe that they had never seen the sun, felt the rain, dust bathed, dug up worms etc. They are just old hands at it already.  Please keep us informed and photos would be great.

Jess - a) Wing clipping is painless and as easy as it looks. YES in fact I did it myself the other day and it was very easy, they dont feel a thing naturally, and they just watched me do it. no flying on the hedge since!!!! good girls.

b) Prolapsed egg canals are rare definitely

c) They don't mind being handled

I have had my girls a week, penny will come sit on my lap and let me stroke her soft speckeldy feathers and clucks and talks to me, Bella is the same but the dog chased her yesterday so she has been a bit nervous. UNLESS you have sweet corn in which case they absolutely ambush me and jump all over me

d) They shouldn't make too much noise so the neighbours won't complain

Bella is completely silent except for a tiny "beep" noise every so often or a quiet trilling if she is having a dust bath

e) that any of the other scary things that I've heard are untrue

I can't think of anything scary about them!!!!

It was the best thing we ever did getting chickens for sure, they are so lovely and follow me round the garden and chat to me, and let me stroke them, and i have had them like 12 days and i have 10 eggs!!!

You won't regret it they are lovely lovely things

Afamily - I agree, we'll have had our ex-battery girls 2 weeks tomorrow and they've settled in like a dream. A little bit of hen-pecking amongst themselves, but nothing too worrying. They do only eat layers mash though, so don't be tempted to offer pellets as they won't recognise those as food. Mine were given sweetcorn for the first time today..... and eyed it with great suspicion, whilst my others went mad for it. I've been told that the ex-batteries tend to have lovely personalities and I can believe it. They are bred to be placid and easy-going, makes for less aggression in those cages  . Mine are only just getting used to being handled, but seem to enjoy a hug. Tilly loved a bath as well, the other 2 were less keen.  They are nosey, love to see what's going on, and I'm sure that my ex-batteries are desperate to join the others in the wholesale destruction of the garden, but I'm still keeping them seperate for now, to give them the chance to strengthen up and recover. Already their combs are redder and they just generally look better, although still very straggly featherwise with some very bare bits.

You're doing a wonderful thing giving them a great new home, and I'm sure you won't regret it. Do let us know how you get on with them.

Karen & Co - Good luck with your girls RT, I'm sure they will settle in quickly for you, and there will always be someone on here to answer any questions.

Melcotton - I was really worried about all the same things when we got ours and was close to backing out but Oh and the kids persuaded me and I have never looked back! Some of mine prefer handling more than others but all have great personalities and lay lovely eggs!!

RT - Thank you all so much for the support. This really is the best place full of people in the know. I'm feeling a little better about it all - just a case of cold feet I guess- although I've just read the post about the blackbird  Hope that's very very very rare.

I'll let you all know when they actually arrive.

RT -  Our  ExBats are here. I collected them earlier this evening and have just placed them in the run. (one went rather reluctantly) I know everyone here is full of useful advice so can anyone tell me how we can entice then into the Eglu? They are still stood where we placed them and they don't seem to want to move. We've left the door open but do you think they'll find their way there? Much excitement and fun to come I expect.

Paola - Once it gets dark, if you shine a torch in the egg port they should come into the eglu.  Am sure somebody with more experience will be along soon. Do keep us informed how they are getting on.

If you aren't an eglu owner then you can have a trial access to the forum, simply by clicking this link here -> forum 

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Eglu Owner of the Week

Hayley and Nicholas Smith

About You

Your occupation: Teacher (H) and Digital Press Operator (N)

When and where were you born? Hayley – 11/01/1981 Carshalton, Surrey; Nick – 16/03/77 Carshalton, Surrey

When and where did you find love? We met in 1996 at a local roller disco, got married in 2002

What is your greatest extravagance? Two Eglu’s!

Do you have a hidden talent? Best courgette grower ever! (N) I make great lasagne apparently! – (H)

Who or what inspires you? Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall – we would love to have small holdings one day

Who would play you in a movie of your life? (N) – Peter Kay, (H) – Me!

What’s your most annoying habit? (H) – nagging! (N) – moaning about Hayley nagging!

Is there anything you regret? Not getting chickens sooner!

It’s Sunday morning, what song do you most want to hear? Tim McGraw – “Live like you were dying”

You can go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Las Vegas

About your chickens

How many do you have? Two

How long have you had them? Since November 2005

Do they have names? Yes, Mable (Black) Marmalade (Ginger)

How many eggs do you get a week and what’s your favourite way of preparing them? 14 - when Mable isn’t broody! We love the eggs prepared in any way. Hayley prefers them scrambled though!

Do you get lots of double yolkers? No, we’ve only had one egg like that

Do you bake more cakes now you have your own chickens? No, because we’d eat them!

What do your chickens like more than anything else in the world? Broccoli and worms

What’s the funniest thing your chickens have ever done? Find their way in to the lounge without anyone noticing!

Which do you prefer, your chickens or your children and why? Has to be the chickens as we have no children! Though I’m sure chickens are easier to keep and cheaper!

If your chickens could speak, what would they tell you? “Open up the wormery and let us eat them all!”

Can you imagine life without chickens ever again? No, never. They are a definite part of the family. They are so amusing to watch and we love having the fresh eggs everyday. We would recommend them as pets to everyone, as they are so easy to keep, especially in the Eglu!

About your Rabbits

How many do you have? One

How long have you had him? Three years

Does he have a name? Yes, Bernie Buttons

What’s the best thing about him? He is very friendly and we love watching him run circuits around the run with his carrot rattle!

What does your rabbit like more than anything else in the world? His carrot rattle and toilet roll tubes

If your rabbit could speak, what would he tell you? “More yogurt drops please…!” He would probably be able to tell us all about what has gone on in the garden throughout the day as he is very nosey.

It's such a long way to the eglu from here, couldn't you just bring me some hay?

The purple grass totally confused Liquorice

werekjajf;j

rabbits are bonkers

Would you like to be egluowner of the week?
Each week we will be featuring an elguowner of the week.  If you would like to be featured then please email johannes@omlet.co.uk .  

Photos will increase your chances!

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Featured Product

The new omlet shopping bags as modelled by our very own fabulous Jan.   

Omlet's shopping bag

Stylish and sustainable this bag is such a good excuse to go shopping! They fold up really small so you can stow one in your handbag for those spur of the moment purchases (you know those ones you have to explain like this when you get home: "well it was on offer Dear and it is my birthday next month!") or take several with you when you go to the supermarket and cut down on those 'orrible plastic bags!

£6 for a pack of 3 - click here to order

Where are you from?

www.omlet.co.uk
info@omlet.co.uk 
0845 450 2056