Stuck run

[Carl80]

Hello.

 

Got 3 ex battery hens on Saturday, things are going pretty good so far. 3 eggs laid already!!

 

I've built them a run 3 metres by 2 metres but im unsure what to put in it. I was thinking of having one area of bark chippings, one area of rocks and stones and one area of grass/mud. Maybe even build somes steps inside the run to give them something to climb. Also i want to hang brocolli and cds from the roof to entertain the hens.

 

Any advice/ideas/suggestions? Thanks

[chelsea]

perches are a good idea, we have one made out of a sturdy old branch, lots of people put branches in their run. I hang veg from mine aswell.

 

We also made a platform table with ladders leading from it to the cube.

 

Some people on here have put childrens garden benches or seats inside their run.

 

We have a shallow tubtrug full of compost also and they love to bathe in it.

[Carl80]

Good idea, and i've got plenty of loose branches in my garden after this wet & windy summer we've had

 

Is compost ok to use instead of, well, dust in a dust bath then?

[nikplus]

perches are a good idea, we have one made out of a sturdy old branch, lots of people put branches in their run

 

We put a perch in our run at the weekend, thinking that perhaps the hens would like somewhere to sit during the day other than the lawn. We took a long wooden pole and ran it through two slots on either side of the Eglu run (we have a Cube) but couldn't quite decide how high it should be. Any suggestions?

 

We've started it quite low, thinking they might hop on it and we could raise it over time as they got used to it, but at the moment they're just ducking down underneath it as they walk around the run and don't seem to have worked out what it's for.