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

[moulin]

Hi

 

I've had my 2 lovely girls since June. They are in an eglu with a run attached and this opens into a fenced area for them. This is not roofed or slabbed. It was originally grass but after much pecking and scratching and rain it is now just mud.

 

From reading other posts over the last few months, a lot of people seem to have the eglus in covered slabbed areas. Should I be doing this, or are they ok as they are. I've just ordered an eglu winter cover for them, they have wood chippings on the floor which they scratch around in.

 

I'd be grateful for anybody's ideas or thoughts on this.

 

Moulin

[Egluntyne]

They will be OK where they are if you decide to leave things as they are, but it will be much easier for you if you put them on slabs.

 

You can top the slabs with Aubiose or similar for them to scratch around in and they will be very happy. (Remember to cover the run with a clear shower curtain if you do this, to keep the rain off.)

 

Also, another advantage of having the Eglu on slabs it will prevent rodents burrowing into the run at night in search of food.

 

Welcome to the forum btw.

[moulin]

Thank you so much for replying to me Egluntine - I've often seen your (very helpful) posts on the forum but have never posted before on any forum. I love having my chooks but there do seem to be so many options for everything - choosing the best is not easy!

[poachedegg]

We don't have ours on slabs, however we do have the run covered with a couple of IKEA shower curtains (85p) which make a lot of difference.

 

We also have Hemcore (horse bedding) in the run which absorbs poos etc. We top it up once a week and then every 5 or 6 weeks s"Ooops, word censored!"e it out, sprinkle with garden lime and re stock with fresh hemcore.

 

It isn't in a sunny spot of the garden, however the cover and hemcore dosn't seem to get too wet.

 

PS Welcome to the forum Moulin.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Hello Moulin, welcome to the forum .

 

I have a similar setup to Poachedegg (but with 2 lengths of corrugated plastic from B&Q) and find it works really well. The trick is to keep it dry and every few weeks or so, remove the top few inches (to compost or flowerbeds), sprinkle down garden lime (and Stalosan F if you want) and renew the bedding. I have used Hemcore and now use Easibed, both of which I really like.

[Hen Watch]

Hi Moulin and welcome to the forum.

 

You say your run opens to a fenced area. Is that area permanently designated for the chooks or is it possible the fenced area will change in the future?

 

The reason I ask is my eglu is in one spot for winter (which is my patio slabs for the eglu and a patch of grass - soon to be mud). Then in Summer the eglu shifts to the other side of the garden whilst the winter area is reseeded and regrows. But then I am able to move mine and if your chooks are definately to stay on that patch it may be worth considering slabbing some or all of it. Just thought I would add that thought into the mix.