Eglu Go & guinea pig zippi run

[sharon539]

Hi

 

I have an eglu and run which i put straight onto the lawn in a permanent position. I have put wood shavings in the run and use shredded paper in the nest box, my next bag for the run is aubiose so not sure if this will sort some of my problems out or not

 

Now with all the rain we are having my garden (clay clay and more clay) is very soggy

I have a winter cover over the run but still it ends up a soggy very smelly mess

 

I rake out everything in the run every couple of weeks but then I am having problems knowing what to do with it all

 

At the weekend I spread the contents over my veg patch as it is now empty and waiting for the winter stuff to go in

 

The run smells better but then I heard my new neighbours in the garden moaning about the strong smell of farmyard

 

Would I be better to site the run on slabs with aubiose over the top I am worried they will hurt their beaks when they peck about

 

What does everyone do with all the muck out of the run

 

Would a shower curtain be better would this keep them dryer

 

I have read somepeople saying collect the poo daily but unless you have very long arms you cant do this with an eglu run even a long rake does not get the full length and when it is smelly you dont want to crawl in

 

I am getting a little stressed about the run as I am worried for the chickens as it seems to be a boggy smelly mess most of the time at the moment all the pics you see on here show these lovely runs that look cleaner than some houses and give the impression they smell of flowers and fairy dust

 

Help please

 

Please help

[The Dogmother]

Don't worry, the wet weather doesn't help. Here's the plan:

 

1. give moany neighbours some eggs

 

2. get some clear shower curtains, bungee hooks and make yourself some waterproof run covers (mine have stayed in place all year!)

 

2. dig over the soil in the run, sprinkle with garden lime, which will help to stop it smelling and then put some Aubiose down. This will stop it getting so soggy and smelling.

 

I use Stalosan powder disinfectant in my housing to keep it dry and free of nasty niffs - it works a treat. I get it from regency Poultry online.

 

Good luck and enjoy your chooks.

[sharon539]

Hi thanks for the reply

 

I use stalosanf in the run and house I just sprinkle a bit before i put the wood shavings down do you think this does the same as garden lime

 

Do you reckon the aubiose will do a better job than the wood shavings ?

 

What do you think about the slabs down with aubiose on top ?

 

Sorry for all the questions

 

I did give them some eggs when they moved in but at the weekend they had friends round and I heard them having a laugh about the chickens being out I am not sure they wuite get the country life they have moved from a more towny area (wait until the lambs in the field across the road wake them up at 4 in the morning

 

Thanks for your help

[The Dogmother]

Don't worry about the questions Sharon - that's how we all learn.

 

Garden lime has a different use - it corrects the acidity in the soil that is caused by chicken poop, there's no reason why you couldn't use both before putting down the aubiose.

 

You will find the aubiose much better then wood shavings, which have a tendency to stay damp and get smelly. I wouldn't put slabs down just yet - see how you get on with the aubiose on soil - that's what I have and the chooks like to scratch about in the soil. I dig it all up every 6 weeks or so and lime the soil before putting down new aubiose.

 

I wouldn't worry about the neighbour's comments; people always feel the need to comment on something they consider strange or don't understand.

 

You're not too far from me - have you considered coming on one of my advanced courses? it would answer all your queries and help you to feel more confident about your hens?

[sharon539]

I didn't know anything about your courses can you give me some details please, it might be a bit of a struggle for me to get to one as i am self employed and have 2 young kids as well (not many babysitters available either)

 

I was wondering as well how often I need to clip their wings, they were done when I had them from Omlet in Feb but they seem to be flapping about when they free range and the height they can jump is getting bigger not sure if that is just them getting better at it or a sign they need clipping

 

How oftern do you have to clip them and when is the best time

 

One of the hardest things is not having anyone you can have a chat with apart from on here, if i had a cat or rabbit usually one of your friends or mums at toddler groups knows abit about it but ask anyone if they know anything about chickens and they look at you vacantly.

 

One of my best friends asked me if only the girls laid eggs or do cockerells do it too, no ont asking her for suggestions then lol

[The Dogmother]

Here's a link to my next advanced course with spaces http://www.omlet.co.uk/courses/courses.php?page=course_view&course_id=315&course_type=Chicken%20Keeping&host_id=2 the rest are booked up. I hope that you can fix up a babysitter and make it along to the course.

 

I wouldn't bother to keep clipping their wings unless they are escaping. It's good at first, before they know where home is and are more likely to fly off, I don't really bother now.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Hi Sharon

 

Claret's given you sound advice - just wanted to say I do the same and have no problems with smells . I have an eglu on soil with Hemcore - I use Stalosan F and garden lime and clear the run out every 6 weeks, putting the top few inches on the flowerbeds or in the compost bin.

 

I have a very windy garden and shower curtains didn't last long. I ended up using 2 sheets of corrugated plastic from B&Q (about £6.50 each) held on with bungee ropes. They keep the run really dry.