Solitary chicken - need advice

[Phosphorus]

Trying to get my head around what I will need for our fixed run.

 

Possibly going to put some slabs down - we have some spare at back of garden - thinking that might solve a lot of the mud problem

 

Is either preferable - hemcore or aubiose (might have spelt these incorrectly!) ? Where do you get it from is it expensive? So 3 inch deep seems to be the depth and how often to change it / rake it over?

 

Thanks this forum is wonderful. Can't wait now for chooks getting so obsessive My poor breeder keeps getting emails from me poor love

 

Andrea

[The Dogmother]

Aubiose is slightly finer than Hemcore and kinder on your hands and chickens' feet. You can get it from most feed suppliers or horsey places (Or just google).

 

I never have it that deep - 1" is fine for my bantams and I put kickboards around the sides of the run to stop them kicking it out.

 

I remove it roughly every 6 weeks, rake it out and onto the compost heap, sprinkle garden lime on the soil, water it in and tip a few bucketloads of Aubiose in theer for the chooks to kick about.

[Laura & CTB]

Hi Andrea

 

Paving slabs are a good idea and will definately keep your run mud free.

 

Hemcore is slightly chunkier than Aubiose but they are both suitable. You can get it from most horsey supply shops - I pay about £7.50 for a bale which is just about the right amount for my 4m x 2m run. I rake it over every couple of days and change it about every six weeks.

 

Exciting times for you ahead

[debbie26pet]

mine is all slabbed for easy clean, i dont put anything down on the slabs, i pick up the poos each night and brush it down with a drop of the animal disinfectant,

i am thinking of making soem sort of dust bath in corner mine do free range every day but for next few days may stay in as gonna worm them

[Busybird]

I didn't realise that the chicken run could be on slabs with nothing else (i.e. no aubiose, hemcore, chippings or whatever). Sounds much better than on mud that used to be lawn

[NClaire]

I have slabs with either aubiose or easibed down. They like to have something to scratch in, so it's nicer for them to have something down I think. They have a cat litter tray with sand in as a dustbath, but they quite often just use the easibed to dustbathe. The advantage of the litter tray is that I can very easily put mite/lice powder in it and they treat themselves!

 

The other advantage of slabs is that nothing can dig under and in.

[Guest]

our coop is on slabs, the run is on soil with a thick layer of aubiose on top and surrounded by slabs. All the pooey aubiose gets dug out each month and put on the compost heap, Stalosan f is sprinkled around and dug lightly into the soil then fresh aubiose goes down.

 

They do free range but only for a short time so I like to give them something to scratch around in, it's their natural behaviour and considering where they've come from, anything we can do to make their lives more natural (while keeping them safe) we do it

 

here's a pic so you can see what I mean http://www.liverpoolpoet.talktalk.net/newrun1.jpg

[Eyren]

I didn't realise that the chicken run could be on slabs with nothing else (i.e. no aubiose, hemcore, chippings or whatever). Sounds much better than on mud that used to be lawn

 

You should really put something down on the slabs, otherwise it's very boring for them - scratching around in the hope of finding something nice to eat is one of the main daytime occupations of your average chicken. With nothing to scratch in, they may turn on one another out of boredom, like battery hens

 

Plus the bedding absorbs poos, so they don't stick to the slabs.

[Phosphorus]

Thanks for all the replies, really helps. I think I will go for the slabs over part of the run - where house is - and soil with aubiose or hemcore for the rest. I've just realised that I don't have enough slabs to put under the whole run anyway. I might just put them around the edges to minimise digging by our local resident foxes.

 

Poet I love your setup. I will have to do something like that

 

Thanks everyone.

 

Andrea

[emmaw298]

just a quick question - do I need to use stalosan if my run is on slabs? i have just been raking it out and hosing it down when cleaning it out..

[The Dogmother]

It's one of those things that "Ooops, word censored!"ody really 'needs' to use, but lots of us prefer to. It disinfects everything and keeps damp at bay. If you go to Regency poultry's site, there's loads of info there

[Egluntyne]

If you don't have anything on the slabs, you would have to be strict about hosing the poo away ...not easy in winter.

 

Scratching is a natural part of their behaviour and if they are kept in the run all day, they will be bored........

 

Also.....slabs will be harsh on their feet.....and chilly I imagine.

[Jane 20]

We are just finishing our run - we put slaba around the outside, in the middle we have put rubber matting with holes in on the earth, and then will put hemcore on top. The idea is that we keep the soil fairly level and perhaps some bugs and plants will find there way through to keep the girls happy...the OH has even talked about putting some grass seed down....are we completely mad

[Egluntyne]

..the OH has even talked about putting some grass seed down....are we completely mad

 

Maybe just a trifle optimistic...but it is worth a try!

[The Dogmother]

It'll make a nice meal for them if nothing else!

[guildfordchick]

So... am I right in thinking some of you have the run in a fixed place with aubiose on top of just soil?

 

Also, how do you rake it out each month? We can't get more than an arm's length into the run... is there a trick we don't know about?

 

It's great hearing about all the different set-ups. We're not too particularly fussed about the state of the grass per-se, but do want what's best and healthiest for the chickens.

[The Dogmother]

If you have a flick through the forum, you'll find that most people detach the run from the eglu and drag it off the patch to gain access.

[chickenNutter]

No, my eglu and run plus run converter sit under a pergola and only just fit, sort of wedged, so I can't take it off the eglu for cleaning. Sadly I have to crawl into the run on my hands and knees and do advanced yoga to clean it out. I generally do a poo pick and quick rake weekly for about 3 weeks, and then on the 4th week I get just inside the door and rake all the surface towards me and stock pile it just inside the door whereupon I shovel it out into a couple of old feed sacks and take it down the tip. I then replace it with clean Easibed or Hemcore on my hands and knees.

 

It is a complete faff, and I must admit I am jealous of the new Go runs with their door in the side, it would be the answer to all my problems. I wish Omlet would start making individual run sections with a side door in them for the eglu classic, it wouldn't half make my life easier!

 

Are you listening Omlet HQ????

[sadietoo]

I wish Omlet would start making individual run sections with a side door in them for the eglu classic, it wouldn't half make my life easier!

 

I second that...or maybe the top bit of the run could fold back on itself so you could stand up inside it and sweep around (like the top of the framebow run does). Like you I can't move my eglu run either. I find that if I use a long handled rake I can get most of the aubiose out of the run (upside down works better than the other way round) and then I have to lean in through the eglu and push from that side. It is undoubtedly a pain, and the worst thing about the eglu classic system.

[Lewis]

I wish Omlet would start making individual run sections with a side door in them for the eglu classic, it wouldn't half make my life easier!

 

I second that...or maybe the top bit of the run could fold back on itself so you could stand up inside it and sweep around (like the top of the framebow run does).

Could you not unclip the top of the run and open it flat to the floor, or just take off one side panel anyway?

Some people have adapted their (mostly cube) runs, might be an idea to make your own side door

 

 

If you really want HQ to listen then I'd give them an email - the worst they can do it say no

[Chucky1]

It'll make a nice meal for them if nothing else!

 

Good call