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

[sparkysmum]

Hi Folks, please welcome Pochahontas, McNugget and Big Mac (aka Boris) together with my daughter Hazel who has taken to living in the run.

 

 

 

Aren't they all gorgeous One question please What does everyone use in the nesting box. I need to find something which they don't immediately pull out onto the grass and they don't seem to like hay Best wishes Allison & Co

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Hi Allison,

 

I'm not showing your daughter's pic to my daughter, I'd never get her out of the run! When I first got the Eglu, I went outside to find Katie & her friends playing dogs or some such game in & out of the run. They had it explained in words of one syllable, that the only creatures who were allowed in the run were chooks, as it was their space & no-one was to invade it, so they knew they were safe in there! It worked until the chooks arrived & I think the risk of getting covered in poo now deters them adequately!!

 

To the question in hand, we use shredded paper, which we have in abundance these days. It can be thrown on the compost with the poo & costs nothing - always an advantage!

 

I believe that you shouldn't use hay in the nest box as it can harbour dust which can cause respiratory problems, and if they eat it, the length of the pieces can cause impacted crop. All in all it's not a good idea to use hay!

 

Hope this helps,

 

Sha x

 

p.s. Your girlies look lovely, I'd love to have a few ex-batts once my 3 labs have settled with the healthy chooks I've got to start with! Some chance, 2 are fine & almost ignore them until they start to flutter their wings, and the 3rd has developed OCD tendencies towards them! We think she'd sleep outside by the Eglu if she could!! Also have to convince the neighbour that it'd be a good idea......

[Egluntyne]

Lovely pictures.

 

Hazel will not want to be in the run in a few days.

[Laura & CTB]

Fabulous piccies Allison

[lisa33]

Great Pictures

[dancing cloud]

What lovely girls, including your own !

 

You will need to put a sheet of newspaper or similar over the hole in the bottom of the nest box to stop the nesting material all falling out, and my ex-batts have shredded paper in their nest box - easy to obtain, keep clean and dispose of. They seem to like it - and they're quite good at expressing their views on anything they don't like

[Rhapsody]

Nice pics, congrats on your new chooks As for the nest box, I use the same woodchips that I sprinkle in the droppings tray. Straw/hay looks traditional and nesty but really isnt necessary and isnt to be recommended for reasons already posted here.

[chickenanne]

I really like Hemcore, is soft and has some citronella oil in it which keeps flies away. You can buy it at the Stirling farm shop on the Drop Road bit -(where Esso and United Auctions used to be).....

[sparkysmum]

Thanks Chickenanne, OH got some today It says something about adding water - do you know anything about this Could you also be from Stirling/Central

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Lovely pictures, Allison. Nice to see Hazel with her new friends .

 

I use shredded paper in the nestbox. I think adding water to Hemcore is only if you're using it for horses. No need for chickens!

[sparkysmum]

Thanks, ANH. Come and see our girls "in the feather!" when you are next in this neck of the woods. Allison&Simon

[prettychic]

Love the pics x

[chickenanne]

I don't add water to Hemcore either - the run gets damp when it rains anyway. I guess it keeps dust down, but I've never found it dusty to use.

And, yep, I live about 10 miles west of Stirling.... would like to claim an encyclopaedic knowledge of Hemcore suppliers, but sadly not...