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

[Abbey Road Girl]

When I got my hens in April, I wondered whether some offcuts I had of lino would be a good idea to put on top of my unslabbed run. Answer? NO. Perhaps if I'd had enough to cover the whole run on soil, it might have worked. It might probably be a very good idea on top of a slabbed run as it is very easy to clean but on soil it seemed to be a bad idea.

 

What I have found is a good idea is to line the nesting box with it. At first I'd used duct tape to close off the drain in the nesting box but it got partly pecked off. Now the drain hole can be removed easily and the lino itself is very easy to clean. With a layer of aubiose on top, it looks like nesting heaven.

 

I just happened to have some offcuts on hand, but you could probably get some from freecycle.

[Olly]

ooh - now that's a good idea. I do hate cleaning poo out of the nesting-box, it stains and with the Cube, the only thing to do is flush it down the drain (after scooping out as much as possible) and into their run. At least with the Eglu it drained underneath.

 

I've got some offcuts - I always keep them for laying on top of kitchen cupboards, makes them easy to clean as well!

[frenchlayer]

I have a square of lino in my hen house too, and it takes seconds every morning to s"Ooops, word censored!"e it off, its where they like to poo.

 

Then once in a while I take it out and wash it.

 

Works a treat. I nicked it from my garage floor !

[Abbey Road Girl]

I find it very weird that I have never found a poo in the nest box. OK, it's been since 17 April which isn't a long time and I only (!) have four chooks, but NO poos in the nest box?

 

All the same, the lino is an easy to clean surface under the aubiose. It makes it easy to shift the auboise into the poop trays instead of down into the run.

[Gallina]

If you are lucky enough to have hens which do not sleep in the nesting box. you shouldn't get any poos there.

 

When a hen has an egg, although it comes out of the same orifice as the poo, there is a separate tube that opens into that orifice, so there is no possibility of poo coming out simultaneously.

 

I have my first-ever broody hen, and I thought that I might get some poo in the nesting box as she is there nearly all the time: but not a spot of it yet.

 

I am very strict about not letting non-broody hens sleep in the nesting box. Two of mine have wanted to, but after turfing them out a few times at bedtime they soon get the message.

[..lay a little egg for me]

I find it very weird that I have never found a poo in the nest box. OK, it's been since 17 April which isn't a long time and I only (!) have four chooks, but NO poos in the nest box?.

 

I have never yet (looks for some wood to touch) found any poos in the nest box. I put it down to the fact that our wooden hen house has separate, low level nest boxes so the chooks are not inclined to roost there. I imagine that when an egg is on the way, the poo production is put 'on hold' so I suppose its nature's way of avoiding contamination of the egg/nest? I think the eglu design is great apart from the fact that the nest area is not physically separated from the roosting bars and also the bars are not really any higher than the nest (well that was the case in my friend's eglu anyway).

[Olly]

Top tip ... I couldn't find any lino after all, I was sure I had some in the garage but it's in such a mess, I can't find anything at the moment.

 

Then I had a brainwave ... I have a packet of Fleximats from Lakeland (of course). One of those is now reposing - cut down slightly to fit - in my nesting box, and I'm hoping pooey eggs will be a thing of the past!