Happy New Year! We know it's a bit late but we needed a bit of a break after all the eggcitement of the 12 offers of Christmas. The good news is that those promotions were so popular we have decided to introduce a 'Deal of the Week' for the rest of 2011. You will be able to find out the details of these on our website and in your inboxes every week so keep an eye out – there will be some cracking offers!
Bee Shampoo
It's great to hear your feedback on the Omlet Newsletter, and it's nice to know that lots of you find it highly hentertaining...but last month one reader was particularly amused after reading it with her grandson:
“Hi Barbara and co. This might amuse you. I read through every newsletter with my young grandson, and December's describes your bee-keeping DVD, closely followed by photo of the animals' Health Pack. The last item is small animal shampoo. "Gran!" he exclaimed, wide-eyed, "Do you have to shampoo the bees then?"”
Thank you Pauline – perhaps that'll be a new product to look into!
Scrappage Scheme
We launched our amazing Wooden Pet House Trade-In scheme at the end of 2010 and we have already had a fantastic response. It seems that there are quite a number of people with 'orrible wooden houses and many came out of the closet when we introduced our tempting offer. It's not hard to see why – the Omlet Scrappage Scheme allows you to get £50 towards a shiny new Eglu or Beehaus in eggschange for any wooden pet house or hive . No matter what age or condition, we'll take it off your hands!
We've put together a rogues gallery of some of the houses we've collected so far and you can click here to see it. And if after looking at the photos you decide that you, too, would like to get rid of your old wooden hen house or rabbit hutch and replace with a clean and colourful Eglu, you can click here for more details!
Harry Potter to Keep Bees?
Keeping bees is growing in popularity year on year with even celebrities getting involved. The likes of Scarlett Johansson, Bill Turnball and Ronnie Corbet have all beecome converts to the sweet life of apiary and it is rumoured that even Daniel Radcliffe has been toying with the idea...
Now that all of the Harry Potter movies have been filmed, Daniel thinks his character should be allowed some peace and quiet after a rather hectic life at Hogwarts. After all, a life of fighting Voldemort can really take it out of you! He had two ideas for Harry – to start bird watching (he is a big fan of owls) or to retire to start keeping bees.
Unfortunately Daniel himself isn't planning on settling down just yet, he's got a few more years of acting before he plans on getting a Beehaus!
If you fancy taking up beekeeping this year click here to read our guide!
How Eggstraordinary!
The best thing about keeping your own chickens is the eggs, and sometimes Eglu owners open the eggport to discover one or two that are out of the ordinary. When Julia visited her hens one morning recently she had a bit of a suprise, finding a tiny egg no bigger than a quail's egg. It weighed just 4g – not quite big enough for her breakfast. Luckily this was a one-off and the hens went back to laying normally. That is until she found another shocker a few weeks later. This time it was a big egg she found, weighing in at 118g and measuring around 9cm in length.
According to the Egg Leaderboard on Omlet Forum neither of Julia's eggs are record breakers – amazingly the largest egg so far was 170g. However, we wonder if she has set a new record for the biggest difference in eggs from one hen.
From the Omlet Team
Cock-a-doodle-do it's 2011! Louisa sent us this photo of her hen Snowy, in the snow!
Just one of the less-than-pretty wooden houses we have received...click on the picture for even more!
Two owls sitting on a Beehaus, one says to the other one "I just got married", the other replies "you twit, to hoo".
Big Egg Little Egg Cardboard Box
Poultry Comb and Wattle Protector
The sub-zero temperatures which have affected most of England over the last month or so have given me a really good opportunity to thoroughly test some Poultry Comb and Wattle Protector. The temperatures didn’t get above 0ºC at all during the day for a week or so and on some days it was much, much colder so hens with large combs and wattles ran the risk of getting frostbite. Definitely time to deploy the Comb and Wattle Protector! It has a nice smooth texture and is very easy to apply, even on hens who really don’t want it applying, and as some of my girls have been moulting right up until the bitterly cold weather hit, they had pretty dry looking combs and the balm seems to have revived these nicely too. It seems to have offered really good protection and despite it getting down to -12.5ºC during the morning one day, none of the girls suffered any cold weather damage to their combs or wattles. The only downside is that the balm becomes a bit of a magnet to anything the hens get too close to so we have had lots of very amusing moments watching them running up and down with feathers, leaves and bits of twig stuck to their combs!
Barbara's hen doing a great Pocahontas impression!
Buy Poultry Comb and Wattle Protector now for £4.09!
Your name:
Natalie Clark, (along with Callum age 10, Liberty age 8, and other half (Saint - see reason below!) Paul.
Where do you live?
Gloucester.
What pets do you have?
3 chickens - Shirley, Ramona and Beatrice. 3 cats - Murphy, Beano and Dandy. 1 rabbit – Snudge.
What's your favourite food?
Chocolate.
What's your favourite colour?
Pink!
How long have you had your Eglu?
I had my Classic for four years and for Christmas I finally got my cube (I had been hoping for one the previous year but my other half got confused and bought me a bike!) So I've spent the last year saving my £2 coins and colouring in little squares on my chicken chart on my kitchen wall. But this year my other half surprised me with a cube - he even drove to Omlet HQ in the thick snow to pick it up and sneakily hid it to surprise me on Christmas day. He had even managed to convince me I was getting an new extractor fan for the kitchen. It's safe to say I was more excited than the children and he will never be able to top this year's present!
Why did you get chickens?
Because I love them and had wanted them for a very long time.
What is their favourite food?
Porridge.
How do you like your eggs?
They are always lovely but particularly nice fried on top of bubble and squeak!
Do your chickens have a party trick?
They used to like climbing in to the nesting box one on top of the other (double decker laying!) I don't think they'll have to do that now they've upgraded to Cluckingham Palace, Peck-ham!
Natalie with the Christmas present she always wanted!
Natalie's hens are so naughty they are always doing porridge.
The latest products to hit our shelves...
Winter Wild Bird Feeding Pack
Spare a thought for wildlife this Winter. British birds have trouble finding food in the colder months so why not give them a bit of help? This pack includes all you need to give birds a fancy feast and you will have the fun of watching them in your garden.
Poultry Tonic
Similar to poultry spice this is a mineral supplement for your chickens. It will give them a boost while they are going through a moult or during the colder months of the year. Add 2ml of this tonic to each litre of drinking water for 2 chickens. You will receive one 500ml bottle.
Guzzini Egg Cup Set - Violet
A boiled egg is the perfect way to start any day, and this egg cup and matching spoon will make your breakfast experience a whole lot more stylish. The transparent, bright purple plastic stands out from traditional egg cups and it successfully encorporates the funk and pizazz which is oh so important to egg - lovin' modernistas.
Small Topiary Hen Green
Impress your neighbours by creating a topiary chicken masterpiece. Made from plastic coated wire it is rust resistant, and the frame can be used over and over so you can produce as many chickens as you choose. Simply pop onto your pot plant, wait for it to grow, then trim around the frame. What could be easier? (Approx 20cm high.)
