Single hen

[poppy33]

I am due to move my three girls from their eglu into a purpose built run and have a query regarding how often should I clear out the aubiose, at the moment the girls free range all day but I have had to buld them a run to enclose them whilst we re-turf the lawn, the girls have completly wrecked it over the winter I am new to hen keeping and whist they free ranged all of last summer, I did not keep them in in the winter at the peril of my lovely lawn. The new enclosure is about 15" x 8 " It is covered and I plan to cover the floor with aubiose, the girls are going to be confined for a few weeks whilst we lay the new turf, how often do you all change the aubiose and also is it ok to use as organic matter for my raised vegetable beds I am building. a farmer I know said I should sprinkle lime in the run to keep the ground sweet?, not sure what is meant by that. if any one knows the answers to my questions I would be very grateful.

 

Poppy

[Egluntyne]

I change it about every six week. I don't look forward to what I call Backbreak Saturday. I spead it around the borders, put some in a compost bin, and take some to a friend who runs a vegetable garden at a local school.

 

The lime ( Garden lime, not builders) will restore the PH to correct levels, and has mild worm egg zapping properties. Not to be relied upon totally for the latter though.

 

I don't add it as a top dressing to my veg beds, but do dig it in when I am preparing the ground.

 

Edited to correct typo.

Edited March 29, 2009 by Guest

[WitchHazel]

I rake up my Aubiose once a week or so, pick out any large bits of vegetable matter, sprinkle the floor with Stalosan, then rake the Aubiose back down.

 

I do a complete change every 10 weeks or so, but it depends on how the Aubiose is doing. Over winter I didn't empty it out completely at all between 1st December and 22nd March, but I did top it up with fresh in this time.

 

My girls are out free ranging a lot; if they were confined to their run then I'd probably need to do a complete change more often - but there would be less to take out as more of it would have biodegraded.

 

Not sure if that helps, really!

[poppy33]

Thank you everyone who replied, its always good to know what the experts are doing, I love my three girls to bits but I am looking forward to containing the little hooligans whilst I get the lawn re-turfed, I shall however let them out once its started to grow....only in the summer months this time though!!!!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I have just had a new turf lawn laid (3 weeks ago!) and am confining my grass munching monsters to the flowerbeds with Omlet netting. They are doing a grand job of mowing the lawn at the edges where they can reach through the netting .

 

I've also just moved them into a new walk in run but plan to follow the same regime as before - rake up the bedding every 6 weeks or so (& put in the compost bin or round the flowerbeds) sprinkle garden lime and Stalosan F down liberally, then new bedding (Hemcore or Easibed).

 

I'm nervous about ever letting the girls back onto the lawn . The eating of the grass is fine, it's their digging & scratching antics I worry about .

[Olly]

In theory I clean the run out about every six weeks, I have to say that reality is sometimes a lot longer than that! I do top it up with fresh aubiose/homemade wood chippings from the shredder in between.

 

It makes fantastic compost, I'd be wary of using it straight away unless you're putting it round established plants, as chicken manure is very 'hot' and could burn anything tender. I'm going to fill my raised beds with the compost from the '07 composter which I emptied last week.

[Hen Watch]

My girls do free range a lot but over winter spend more time in the run (as they will wreck my soggy clay based lawn if it rains hard). So more time in run = more poop. So I monitor it, but it is usually a complete change of Auboise in the run once a month or so.

 

Just posted some pics of my wrecked lawn from Winter '07. I did reseed and it did regrow. However, the girls are now back on the same patch for Winter'08/New Year '09 and they've not made anywhere near as much destruction. Not sure why. Maybe less rain this year? Or perhaps I just got wise this year and shut them away on heavy rainfall days so they didn't go digging for worms? Not sure, but even though the area is more scratched over and thin I don't think I will need to reseed this year at all.