4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Dave36]

I didnt realise how badly my chickens would kill my grass so quickly, Can someone tell me if i could leave them on a soil patch in my garden?? or do they need some grass, and if so what about if its soaking wet and them getting filthy dirty.

Many thanks

Dave & Jo

[Tessa the Duchess]

Chickens don't 'need' grass, although they seem to enjoy it very much They will be fine on earth, and maybe you could give them some cabbage, spinach or other green veg to replace the grass in their diet. You have my sympathies re: the wrecked lawn, I am in the midst of re-turfing the lawn after 10 months of chickens scratching it all up

 

Tessa

[Ain't Nobody Here]

What you need is horse bedding called Hemcore or Aubiose . You put a thick layer on top of the soil and, as long as your run is mostly covered, it stays dry and magically absorbs poos! You can clean out the run every couple of months and the soil/hemcore composts really well. I put down garden lime and Stalosan (a disinfectant) when I clean out the run before putting new hemcore down.

 

Here are their websites: * Hemcore * and * Aubiose *

 

Equine suppliers should stock one or other (there's a list of distributors on the websites). They cost anything from £6-9 for a bale which should last a few months at least.

 

Hens don't really need grass in their run but it's nice for them to have when they're freeranging. You can always give them greenery in their run.

[chocchick]

I raked up the poo over the Winter when it was just mud. The acidic poo can scorch the grass as opposed to the chickens just digging it up and eating it. I'm astounded to find I have grass now it is getting warmer, as last year I just had mud. I think the raking helped or the chickens are less destructive than the last lot (1 hybrid versus 3 last year).

We moved the chickens onto the other lawn and reseeded the grass in 2 areas with 2 types of seed. 1 is growing well but patchy and probably needs weed n seed. The other seemed to work a lot better. Some people put down garden lime or a type of seaweed (I think ) to make it less acidic before reseeding.

[dogs and chickens]

Quick question, can you put hemcore directly onto soil or do you need something underneath?

 

Thanks

[Jonesy]

I didnt realise how badly my chickens would kill my grass so quickly, Can someone tell me if i could leave them on a soil patch in my garden?? or do they need some grass, and if so what about if its soaking wet and them getting filthy dirty.

Many thanks

Dave & Jo

 

My birds live right under two massive trees and as a result all the soil is well dry. Maybe try something similar if you've got the same set up. Hens love to eat and destroy grass though. That is a fact!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Quick question, can you put hemcore directly onto soil or do you need something underneath?

 

Yes, you can . I sprinkle some garden lime down after digging it over and removing the top couple of inches. I've recently started using Stalosan F too.

[Dave36]

Hi Everyone, Thanks so much for all your help and input, It really helps us

being new owners, We just want to do the right thing for our chicks, Once the auboise is down can we still scatter a few treats later in the day for them to forage for ? we will build the sides of the eglu run up to keep the auboise in ..... would mice nest in this stuff at all at night?

Many thanks

Dave & Jo

[Olly]

yes, they will love searching for treats through the aubiose/hemcore. It is definitely worth putting some sort of 'kick-board' round the side of the run to keep the aubiose in, otherwise as they scratch they throw it out through the edges. Plastic lawn-edging is good, or log-roll.

 

I'm not too familiar with mouse nesting-habits, but I'd have thought they prefer somewhere quiet and undisturbed. The aubiose will be thoroughly sorted through every day by your hens, it's unlikely to provide a quiet resting-place for mice! I only put a thin layer of aubiose in mine.

[poachedegg]

. It is definitely worth putting some sort of 'kick-board' round the side of the run to keep the aubiose in, otherwise as they scratch they throw it out through the edges. Plastic lawn-edging is good, or log-roll.

We edged ours with Decking Boards (on their side) - painted with green fence paint - and it looks quite neat.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

We edged ours with Decking Boards (on their side) - painted with green fence paint - and it looks quite neat.

 

Don't suppose you've got a photo of that have you? I'm getting very dissatisfied with my scruffy plastic stuff .

[mayflower]

On top of the aubiose I scatter the chicken grit and oyster shell. This gives them something new on a regular basis to scratch around in.

[dogs and chickens]

Quick question, can you put hemcore directly onto soil or do you need something underneath?

 

Yes, you can . I sprinkle some garden lime down after digging it over and removing the top couple of inches. I've recently started using Stalosan F too.

 

Brill, will help me out next winter as I ran out of grass to move the run too this year and I've only had the hens since March ! I knew they would eat the grass, I jut had not expected them to create such a mess! No matter, I have learnt for next year and will use hemcore in the run as suggested. Thanks so much

[Snowy]

And I wouldn't worry about mice in the run. No mouse in it's right mind would enter a chicken run. Unless it had a death wish!