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.
Most chicken keepers know the routine – breaking ice on winter mornings, adding ice cubes on hot summer afternoons. Scrubbing away algae. Refilling water that somehow seems dirty again five minutes later.
When Omlet started speaking to chicken keepers around the world, these frustrations came up again and again. What began as a conversation about frozen water quickly revealed a bigger challenge: keeping water clean, accessible and appealing to chickens all year round.
Over the next two years, that challenge would lead to customer visits across the UK and the US, hundreds of product testers, countless prototypes and some surprisingly extreme temperature tests. Here’s the story of how Product Research Manager, Rebecca and Design Manager, Josh transformed hundreds of conversations with chicken keepers into the Omlet Insulated Drinker.
The why
With Rebecca, Product Research Manager
Every Omlet product starts in the same place: with a question. Not “What should we make next?” But “What are chicken keepers struggling with?”
For the Insulated Drinker, that process began in 2023. Rebecca and the research team visited chicken keepers across the UK and the US, spoke to customers online, gathered feedback through surveys and worked closely with Omlet’s product testing communities.
“We begin by listening carefully to people who know their flocks best. Sometimes a single comment, routine, frustration or little hack can unlock a much bigger insight.” The team visited around 20–30 chicken keepers in person and continued gathering feedback from hundreds more through Omlet’s Curious Collective, surveys and product testing groups.
One topic kept coming up: water.
Not just keeping it available, but keeping it clean, fresh and at the right temperature. At first, the focus was winter. Chicken keepers told the team they worried about water freezing, particularly when they were away from home or relying on someone else to care for their flock. Many didn’t have access to electricity near their coop or run, making heated drinkers impractical. But as the research continued, a second challenge emerged…
“In summer, many chicken keepers struggle to keep water cool, fresh and clean. Some add ice, while others battle algae when drinkers sit in direct sunlight.” What started as a winter problem quickly became a year-round challenge.
What were chicken keepers looking for?
As Rebecca’s team dug deeper, a clear picture began to emerge. Chicken keepers weren’t just looking for a water container. They wanted a solution that would:
Keep water cleaner for longer
Help reduce algae growth
Stay stable on uneven ground
Be easy to clean and refill
Support temperature regulation in both summer and winter.
“What became clear was that there wasn’t really a solution that combined cleaner water for longer with support for temperature regulation.“
Expect. Seek. Discover.
At Omlet, every product brief is built around three principles:
Expect – Do the basics brilliantly.
Seek – Understand the problems flock keepers actively want help solving.
Discover – Deliver something people may not even realise they need until they’ve experienced it.
Only once those needs were clearly understood was the challenge handed over to the design team.
The how
With Josh, Design Manager
Once the team understood the problem, it was over to Omlet’s designers to find a solution.
The biggest challenge? Creating a drinker that could help keep water cooler in summer and slower to freeze in winter – without relying on electricity.
“The water will always be trying to get to whatever the outside temperature is. The insulation creates a barrier and slows that transfer down.”
The first idea didn’t work
Like many products, the Insulated Drinker didn’t arrive at its final design straight away. Early concepts explored twin-wall designs that relied on trapped air for insulation. “We tried using air and a twin-wall design on its own, but it wasn’t good enough.” While the design performed slightly better than a standard drinker, the results weren’t strong enough to meet the team’s goals.
After exploring different options, they settled on a foam-insulated twin-wall construction, with around 2.5cm of insulation helping to slow heat transfer between the water and the outside environment.
Putting It To The Test
Designing a product is one thing. Making sure it works in the real world is another. Some of the earliest versions of the Insulated Drinker were 3D printed at Omlet HQ and sent out to small groups of testers for feedback. “This is the stage where we tend to make the most changes. Sometimes one specific use case can change the direction of a project.”
As the design evolved, testing expanded across multiple countries, climates and flock setups. Before launch, more than 300 chicken keepers tested the drinker in the UK, Germany, France, Australia and the United States. The team gathered feedback on everything from assembly and cleaning to stability, usability and how chickens interacted with the design.
Alongside real-world testing, the drinkers were also subjected to rigorous laboratory testing. Using temperature-controlled chambers, drinkers were exposed to conditions ranging from -4°F to 100°F and compared against equivalent non-insulated drinkers. Each test was repeated multiple times to ensure the results reflected real-world conditions. The outcome was clear.
“The Insulated Drinker consistently performed four to five times better than comparable non-insulated drinkers.” Josh says seeing the results was one of the most rewarding parts of the project. “It was really interesting to see how much effect the insulation had on the water temperature.”
Why does water temperature matter?
Keeping water at a comfortable temperature isn’t just about convenience. It’s about encouraging chickens to drink. “Chickens are a bit fussy. As water moves outside their preferred temperature range, the amount they drink reduces.” On hot days especially, helping water stay cooler for longer can support better hydration and encourage chickens to keep drinking throughout the day.
Every feature has a purpose
Many of the final design features can be traced directly back to the challenges Rebecca’s team uncovered during research.
To help reduce algae growth – the reservoir limits light exposure.
To help keep water cleaner for longer – stored water is separated from the drinking area.
To improve stability – the drinker features a tripod-style stand.
And for greater flexibility – it can also be hung.
Every detail exists for a reason.
The listening never stops
Although the Insulated Drinker is now in chicken runs around the world, the process behind it is still ongoing. Customer feedback, reviews and real-world experiences continue to shape future improvements and innovations.
“We don’t just speak to people once at the beginning and then disappear into product development. We revisit them throughout the journey to test our thinking, uncover new insights and make sure the product is genuinely matching their needs.”
Because the best products aren’t designed for chicken keepers. They’re designed with them.
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