Lone Ranger Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 I have a standard run with 2 chooks that I've had a couple of months. The run is on a permanent site on soil, covered with a mix of bark chip and hemcore (slowly replacing bark with pure hemcore). I've just read on another link that the ground can become 'fowl-sick' with a build up of poop and parasites - does this mean I will need to move the run at some point ? Also I understand I should put down garden lime when I have a full rake out every few weeks - how much should I put down ? and will this solve the problem of the soil becoming contaminated ? Thanks, Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 It will restore the PH back to normal levels, but won't kill the parasite eggs. All you can do is rest the soil to break the cycle. Mine stay on the same bit of land mainly , so I dig it over and lime it now and then, and have a regular worming schedule in place. So far so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superjules Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 Sorry, that may have been me - don't panic! Old-style poultry keepers used to have 2 runs, so that they could alternate between the 2, with one being used and the other limed and rested. But this refers to just keeping chooks in an uncovered run, on soil. If the run is covered and the floor stays dry, I would say that just daily poo-picking and replacing the hemcore every 4-6 weeks is enough. If the ground gets wet, then it starts to get a bit whiffy, so you might need to dig an inch or so of earth out every now and again before putting new bedding down. If you are going to keep your chooks on the same ground it is important to keep up to date with worming them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Ranger Posted April 4, 2008 Author Share Posted April 4, 2008 Ok, Thanks - the run is covered so is kept dry - they tend to scratch any poop away so can't really do a poop pick on a regular basis. Will have a look at the threads on worming regimes - thanks again for the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 Sorry....I misunderstood a little! There is a product called **Stalosan F** which has bacteriocidal effect and will also kill off some parasite eggs. I use this in the run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Ranger Posted April 4, 2008 Author Share Posted April 4, 2008 Thanks Egluntine, will have to get some of that .... do you use garden lime as well as the Stalosan ? - and I'm assuming neither do any harm to the chooks if they are allowed straight back in the run ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 I use now use Stalosan and lime in my chicken area. The eglus and runs and on paving slabs and they have a free range area to scratch around in. Why not lay slabs down? Easy to clean, just rake out the hemcore/aubiose and hose down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 Bear in mind that the 'fowl sickness' thing relates to a time before proprietary wormers, and when chickens were not vaccinated regularly - they were probably also kept in larger numbers and closer concentration than our average Cube or Eglu (or home-built run). It would have made sense then to change the area regularly to let the ground recover. I would think that if you worm your hens, give the run a rake-out every so often and use a bit of garden lime/add some aubiose or other stuff, then it should be ok. A lot of people on here have permanent runs, or Eglus on permanent sites, and don't seem to have any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 Thanks Egluntine, will have to get some of that .... do you use garden lime as well as the Stalosan ? - and I'm assuming neither do any harm to the chooks if they are allowed straight back in the run ?I use both, and neither are harmful to the hens.Garden lime is only crushed chalk or limestone....it might improve the eggshell quality! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Ranger Posted April 4, 2008 Author Share Posted April 4, 2008 Thanks all for the advice. I was tempted to put the slabs down, but as I'm new to all this I wanted to make sure I have them in the right place. They are fairly close to the house (for those 7 am dashes) - but this means they are also close to the neighbours - so will give it a little longer in case they start macking a racket !! Will get some lime and Stalosan for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 I use Stalosan in the run aswell under the hemcore. I think its good stuff and it seems to keep the hemcore drier after wet weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
over easy Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 i have some garden lime which comes in little round pellets is this the type you talk about for some reason i get the impression yours are in powder form Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abwsco Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 Is it still ok to put the poo and bedding in the compost bin if you've used Stalosan and garden lime? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 i have some garden lime which comes in little round pellets is this the type you talk about for some reason i get the impression yours are in powder form The garden lime I use is in pellet form . Is it still ok to put the poo and bedding in the compost bin if you've used Stalosan and garden lime? I don't use Stalosan (yet, it's on order ) but put hemcore with lime into the compost. Don't imagine there's any reason why we shouldn't - after all it improves the soil so maybe it'll improve the compost too . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 i have some garden lime which comes in little round pellets is this the type you talk about for some reason i get the impression yours are in powder form I've used both sorts. The powder is generally cheaper. Is it still ok to put the poo and bedding in the compost bin if you've used Stalosan and garden lime? I do. The Stalosan is made from natural ingredients so it won't disrupt the compost heap much if at all. I've got masses of lovely compost this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueSteve Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 We had a problem keeping our girls on a permenant patch, but it got wet and muddy. And we ended up losing 3 of our girls to Botulism! We now have them on slabs, we put down a thin layer of stal... follwed by jopak bedding. We try to change it once or twice a week, but the bedding goes a long way. I agree with a strict worming regime, it's surprising how quickly the worms can spread. e.g. one of our new girls was gapping on the day after we got her, within 7-10 days they were all at it. We ended up giving them flubenvet for a week, but then it started again about a week later. Then we gave for 2 weeks. IF YOU DO PLAN TO DO IT FOR THIS LENGTH OF TIME. YOU SHOULDNT EAT THE EGGS I think we are now clear, but I am keeping a close eye on them and their poop for tell tale signs. Using the stal. I hope it will keep the worms under control, and plan to worm every 3-4 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 Where can you get Stalosan and Lime??? Louise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 You can get garden lime at any garden centre. I get my Stalosan **here**. You can get a small shaker to try first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abwsco Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 i have some garden lime which comes in little round pellets is this the type you talk about for some reason i get the impression yours are in powder form I've used both sorts. The powder is generally cheaper. Is it still ok to put the poo and bedding in the compost bin if you've used Stalosan and garden lime? I do. The Stalosan is made from natural ingredients so it won't disrupt the compost heap much if at all. I've got masses of lovely compost this year. Thanks Egluntine I'd read somewhere else that you couldn't put anything in the compost bin if it had come into contact with stalosan which I thought odd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...