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Aubiose- How deep in run pls?

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Thanks for that info.

 

Oooo! Our run is 15ftx 15ft. Will I be a poor but happy chicken owner? I know Aubiose is costly but reading about shavings/bark has made me think twice about using it. Am I right in saying that Aubiose is the better option? and what is the average cost of one bale?

 

Troy

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Hi Andrea

 

looks like you are getting your chooks before me! But from my horse mucking out days and average stable 10x8 I would think maybe 3 required. Thats comparing it to woodchip mind and I'm only guessing.

 

Maybe someone can tell us both!

Good luck with your chooks!

Troy

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I paid about £8.50 a bale and have so far used 2 bales, but used one bale to put on the 8x6 shed floor. The 9ftx13ft run is only half covered (on top of chip bark)- the rest is chip bark and the bit behind the shed (an additional 8ft x 4ft section) is not covered and is now mixed up chip bark and soil as the rabbits keep digging.

 

The rabbits are also pushing it around - excavating warrens I guess, so I will probably need another bale, so 2-3 bales should be enough for your run.

 

the chicken breeder I went to yesterday seemed suprised I was putting anything down, and just recomended that they had dirt so they could peck grubs and worms etc. Luckily mine have behind the shed to do that, as it is the only part that doesn't have a plastic roof over the top of the weld mesh. So I have just left it as it is.

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That sounds like a pretty good set-up you have. Chip bark underneath sounds like a good idea but I think I read somewhere that it can have mould spores or was that something else ? How have you found it?

Our local equine farm wants £10 a bale for Aubiose. Cheeky.

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I used 1 bag of Aubiose to cover about 56sq feet of concrete to a depth of about 3" On that reckoning you are going to need about 4 bags. As to how long it will last depends on how many birds you have and how often they will be free ranging etc. I have 6 chickens and they only get to free range for a couple of hours in the evening so most of their poo is either in the run or in their sleeping quarters. I reckon I will have to change the Aubiose every 4-5 weeks. I pay about £7 a bale.

 

Aubiose is very good at absorbing poos and doesn't end up like dust, no matter how hard the chickens scratch. It's easy to handle and makes excellent composting material. You can add diatom to it and it is light enough for them to use it as a dust bath. Although on an area your size that might not be very practical.

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Thanks for the info everyone

 

Gamebird- we hope to be getting 5 girls. 3 of which are bantams. They will have a similar set up as yours ie out for a few hours pm and longer at weekends - under supervision. So most of the time they will be in what I really hope is a large enough run. I'm guessing you're right and I will need around 4 bales. I'll see if I can get it cheaper than £10 though!

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That sounds like a pretty good set-up you have. Chip bark underneath sounds like a good idea but I think I read somewhere that it can have mould spores or was that something else ? How have you found it?

 

The ground was like a swamp at the time I was building the run, so I put down chip bark originally to stop getting stuck in mud while I was building. But now the roof is on, and it is drying out I put aubiose over the top half.

 

I'm not sure how bad the spore problem can be. I guess they are something you can not see, and probably worse for birds that are kept is smaller runs. however, most of my 150ft garden will have chip bark, so when the chickens are free ranging they will come into contact with it eventually. But the bark is well aired. I also think it is more of a problem in the clumped, vacuum packed type of bark. Whereas the loser, fresher bark is probably less likely to have spores - I'm not sure. Maybe someone else knows more. I may remove the bark form the run, and replace it with just aubiose now!

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Ooooh Am I doing something wrong??

We are/or thought we could... have 2 hybrids and 3 pekins.

Is this not advisable?

 

Now I'm worried.

 

Generally the advice is not to mix them as the hybrids are inclined to pick on the little ones.

 

However, some owners have done it successfully.

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As Egluntine has said, there have been cases where people have mixed the two sizes and it has been OK, but I am also aware of numerous cases where it hasn't worked out.. with sad consequences.

 

Personally, I wouldn't try it.

 

They would be fine in seperate housing and runs, but not together. A friend of mine tried it (against my advice) and ended up having to have her two bantams put down as they were badly injured.

 

There are a few threads here on the forum about this - best have a read of them first and then ask us any questions you may have. There is a wealth of information and experience on this forum and we're only too happy to help.... that's how you learn. :D

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Thank you so much for those words of warning.

 

I was totally ignorant and unaware of the potential problems! I'm a bit surprised that our local Poultry centre did'nt bat an eye lid. We even talked about how we would like to home some ex-bats in the future-whilst holding one of their gorgeous Pekins!?

 

Last thing we want is for any of our girls to be injured or worse. I shall definately read up some more and would like to hear from any one who has successfully mixed and how.....

 

Michelle - sorry to worry you re bark! Maybe someone more in the know might be able to clarify for both of us!

Troy

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Yes, they are usually around the same size.

 

Bantams are small chickens for which there is no bigger counterpart, but the term is usually used generically for most small chooks

 

Miniatures are the smaller version of a big breed, for example RIR miniatures like my Roxanne

 

It's perfectly OK to refer to all of them as bantams though

 

I'd recommend getting them all on the same day if you can, then they'll integrate better from the start.

 

If you're thinking of getting ex-batts, then you will need seperate housing for them for at least a month, as isolation as well as for introductions. They often take far longer to integrate with an existing flock, if they ever manage it at all. It really does depend on the chooks that you already have.

 

There are stickies and topics on the subject already on the forum - happy reading :D

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