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

[cluck and henry]

Hello

 

We have had our ladies for just over a year now. When we built their run it was on an area which was already concrete.

 

We are now going the have to move them but the area is grass.

We are fully aware in a short space of time it will be dirt but wanted to know if this was a good thing?

Should we put down paving slabs?

We put a really good layer of shruff/chippings down. This is cleaned out ona regular basis and then every 8 weeks or so we take out and replace all the shruff, scrub down the concrete with disinfectant then put in new shruff.

 

On our allotment some people have chickens, some of the ones that are on just dirt really do smell, though others don't.

 

We had thought if we had them on the dirt we would still put down the shruff but how do we clean the dirt when we take out the shruff???

Would we just dig over the ground and put down lime, does this stop it smelling?

Also as the ground will be soft how do we stop the rats and fox digging their way in?

 

It seems we still panic at what we are supposed to do for the best for the ladies. How many years does it take until a person manages to be happily confident??

Thanks, and sorry for the length of this topic.

[Olly]

don't panic! some people prefer slabs, but you do need a deepish layer of aubiose/hemcore/similar for them to scratch around in.

 

Mine are just on dirt, it used to be grass ha ha for about 24 hours! I have a thinnish layer of aubiose to start with, and then I top it up with fresh every time I clean out the Cube. Then about every 4-6 weeks I move the Cube to on side, rake it out and put it on the compost, dig over the earth and sprinkle some garden lime, and add another layer of aubiose.

 

I'd choose the site that suits you from point of view of access, how close it is to food storage, etc.

[cathybc]

I have only had my girls for a few months, they are on dirt (ie it was grass for about a week!).

 

But I am seriously considering putting them on slabs, they have made lots of big holes which I really don't mind from an aesthetic point of view, and a cheap way of getting to Australia would be cool.

 

BUT they dig in the corners of the run and I am concerned this might make the run less secure, as the ground it it sitting on has become more uneven. And unfortunately my garden isn't big enough to keep resiting it.

 

I feel a bit mean to take away their soil, but I intend to give them thick layer of bark/hemcore/auboise (that is for another tipic!) and will let them free range as much as possible so they can do their digging in the flower bed instead!

 

I guess it is down to personal preference and circumstances.

[Troy]

Ours are on concrete with a thick layer of Aubiose. They scratch quite happily in this and as we have some Pekins the advantage is also that their feathering stays dry in the wettest of days. Its very easy to pick out the poos in the run at the end of the day and turn the aubiose over and thats it really. We find this easy and as yet have had no smells etc . The aubiose soaks everything up! It was put down at the end of May and other than the poo picking we have not had to change this yet. We will probably do this after our hols ie end of August and give the floor a good clean then.

troy

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[Egluntyne]

Mine are on Slabs/cobbles with Aubiose. It works well. Easy to clear off and they love scratching around in it if they can't get to free range.