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

[cluckynikki]

We have had our girls for nearly three weeks now and the third of the garden they are fenced in on is looking really in a really sorry state. Yellowy brown with lots of mud patches appearing. It doesn't help that it has rained quite heavily on and off and at times the ground has been waterlogged when they have been scratching.

 

We do a poo patrol twice a day but I am shocked at the havoc the two have wreaked on the lawn. Those idyllic pictures in the Omlet brochure should be taken with a pinch of salt!

 

Is there anything safe I can use to perk the grass up a bit. We move the eglu every couple of days, but there are only two positions it can go in because of the shape and size of the space.

 

Any ideas? Moving the eglu onto bark chippings is not going to be easy as hubby is not particularly talented in the DIY department.

 

Thanks in advance , Nikki

 

Tilly 16.4.09 19.4.09

Coffee 16.4.09 30.4.09

Edited May 3, 2009 by Guest

[Guest]

HI

if u could in anyway cover your fenced in area ie with corrugated roofing or if not clear tarpaulin..i think u will find the chickens do excavate so u wont have much grass anyway but if u could keep it dry that will help or slab most of it ??

 

Sorry I think if u cant move them around really every couple of days ie if u dont have the space i would try to perhaps cover the run area to at least stop it getting wet mud..they dont need grass to eat ..just that it may look a mess to u

 

Mine have excavated but are staying put but it is dry earth which they absolutely love

 

good luck indie

[surfer_chicken]

We are having a very similar problem.. we have a lot of different spaces for the eglu to go-- but we have a trampoline as well so after only a week our grass is certainly not thanking us!

Our grass is now yellow with a lot of bare patches were the girls have scratched it to pieces.. Solutions please?

[Redwing]

How about just filling it with wood chippings?

 

I put some cheap boards round mine held in place with tent pegs - no diy experience needed

 

[katieadams]

We have a permanent bark chippings area and it was really really easy, we got some log roll which has spiky ones at each end and in the middle, and literally just banged it into place and threw a few bags of bark into it. Our children spread it out and bingo, job done! No diy needed - I could have easily done it myself if I could have lifted the bark bags!! We do wish we'd got the straight log sections though because they'd be sturdier with the chickens jumping onto them all the time,didn't think of that ! I can't think of anything that would save the grass at all!

[Space Chick]

We have a permanent bark chippings area and it was really really easy, we got some log roll which has spiky ones at each end and in the middle, and literally just banged it into place and threw a few bags of bark into it. Our children spread it out and bingo, job done! No diy needed - I could have easily done it myself if I could have lifted the bark bags!! We do wish we'd got the straight log sections though because they'd be sturdier with the chickens jumping onto them all the time,didn't think of that ! I can't think of anything that would save the grass at all!

 

I also bought the log rolls with the pointy end and banged them into the ground. Really easy, but I filled mine with rubber chippings, identical concept though.

 

And I am completely useless at DIY!!

[Egluntyne]

I'd put it on a permanent site too. Mine are on paving slabs. There is little chance of the area recovering if the areas to which you can move them are limited.

 

The Link-a-Bord kit in the Omlet Shop is simplicity itself to put together ( I have several Link-a-Bord raised beds, so can confirm that). You could do it yourself and fill it with woodchip in a couple of hours.

 

The hens will love scratching aroun d in it.

[cluckynikki]

Do they really prefer bark chippings to grass? What about the vast volumes of poo? At the moment with moving the eglu between the two sites we can remove the poo every couple of days. I am worried about smells particulary as the hens areright next to the patio.

 

Nikki

Tilly 16.4.09 first 19.4.09

Coffee 16.4.09 first 30.4.09

[sgregson]

Do they really prefer bark chippings to grass? What about the vast volumes of poo? At the moment with moving the eglu between the two sites we can remove the poo every couple of days. I am worried about smells particulary as the hens areright next to the patio.

 

Now, I'm new to all of this but I think as long as they have something to scavenge about in they'll be happy. If they're doing smelly poos then get some garlic powder and add to their feed and it really does work - a useful tip picked up on this forum along with bokashi bran to firm up their poos

 

We only had our eglu and girls delivered a week ago and am about to move the eglu onto a permanent site today as the grass isn't holding out (though we had been warned about that!). We've gone for rubber chippings after reading all the threads on this forum. I think so long as you've got something to hold the chippings in, whether it be roll log or planks of wood it'll work.

 

Let us know what you decide and how you get on.

 

Sal

[katieadams]

Do they really prefer bark chippings to grass? What about the vast volumes of poo? At the moment with moving the eglu between the two sites we can remove the poo every couple of days. I am worried about smells particulary as the hens areright next to the patio.

 

I don't think they prefer it as such, but they certainly don't mind - and it doesn't sound like grass will be an option pretty soon!! I have 3 chickens in with run and converter for a bit more space, and they don't smell, the only smell we get from them is the smell of the bark when it's damp. They love scratching around in it and the poo doesn't seem to build up. We clean the out once a week, and we'll rake out the bark when it needs it and chuck a fresh bag or two in, but we've only had them 4 weeks and they've not needed it yet so I can't tell you how often that will be !

 

I have read that you can give garlic powder to neutralise the poo smell but I can't vouch for it personally as I've not used it - read lots of positive reviews though.

 

We let ours freerange and when we do I do a 'poo sweep' every few minutes and there's not a lot of poo to collect now, I notice there's not as much as when they first arrived, I think they settle in and produce less

 

Oh yeah, and if you're not freeranging them and they're on bark or similar, you need to give them greens every so often to make up for the plants they can't steal for themselves

 

I don't know where you are but maybe you could find someone near you to visit with a bark area so you could smell for yourself??

[Egluntyne]

They love scratching around in woodchip. I wouldn't recommend bark, it is very heavy to shift and takes forever to compost down.

 

There are also debates raging about whether or not it contains spores which are harmful to hens.

 

I use Aubiose in my Eglu runs, and cover the run with plastic sheeting to prevent it getting wet in the rain. It is super stuff, and composts very quickly.

 

Adding garlic powder(as sold for horses) or Bokashi Bran to the feed stops the poo smelling.

[katieadams]

I wouldn't recommend bark, it is very heavy to shift

 

I'll second that!!

 

We only got it because the people at Omlet said that's what you get - hadn't found this forum then!! Can't afford to change it all now

[Jules.]

I restrict the free ranging when the weather has been wet so the grass doesn't turn to mud!

I have a WIR with woodchip ( free from the neighbour's willow which got chopped down recently!) and an eglu which was on grass but of course is now earth

 

The poo is easy to get rid of on the grasss in the spring/summer- just mow it . In winter the rain washes it away

 

see pics here . I also use my omlet netting to keep the patio poo-free My eglu is now on the grass to the right of the run, but these pictures were taken before then.

 

http://www.omlet.co.uk/courses/courses.php?page=course_gallery&menu=courses&submenu=course_gallery&host_id=46252&refferer_id=524#/images/courses/large/dsc04049_66061073.jpg

[Redwing]

Bark does have harmful spores, woodchip is ok, Aubiose is fantastic but needs to be kept dry.

 

Any bedding will last longer and smell less if its not wetted all the time so covering the run with a cheap shower curtain, clear tarp (Tarpaflex are good for these) or corrugated plastic from Wickes/B&Q will keep things dry

 

Bokashi and Garlic powder (as already mentioned) are good for keeping the poo firm and less smelly

[tidygirlsuk]

I use rubber chippings with log roll for one of my flocks. Click on the link below my pics for a guide on the omlet site.

 

 

 

This page may help

http://www.omlet.co.uk/guide/guide.php?view=Chickens&cat=Eglu%20guide

[katieadams]

Bark does have harmful spores, woodchip is ok,

 

I'm slightly cross with Omlet now - I thought I was doing the right thing, I feel like I've been done !!

[poppy33]

Aubiose is fantastic, the poo just seems to disapear like magic. I think it is made from hemp, its very light ,clean and smells lovely. I buy a bale from an equine shop and it costs me £7.00. its very economic as a little goes a long way. Aubiose would I feel be a perfect solution to your problems regarding the grass. I can also confirm that the use of garlic powder eliminates any smells from the poo. again this is economical as you dont need to add much to the food for the effect to be evident. if you change to the Aubiose you will find that you will have to clean and maintain the run far less often than it sound like you are having to doo at the moment I use Aubiose in the house and nest box but i do empty that weekly as its more confined and i want to keep them all nice and fresh

[Mazzarina]

I think bark chip's fine - I've used it for a month or two without any problems. If it's laid out in the open in the run, I can't think that harmful spores are going to linger: my girls scratch around in all kinds of foul things they find in the garden, drink from mouldy puddles in preference to their nice clean glug water, etc.

If you can't face any DIY at all, just sling some chippings into the run. I was going to put the whole eglu and run on chippings and build a border around it with bricks (having decided log roll was too expensive), but when I started, I decided that was too much like hard work and just put chips in the run. They do flick it outside the run a bit but it doesn't look too bad, and I scoop up the bits they've thrown out every so often and put them in again, in a nice pile. Of course, the moment I do so the girls go back in and flick the nice pile in all directions, which is endless fun for them...

[Busybird]

Like you, I was a bit cross about falling for the Omlet marketing when I first got my chooks and they trashed my garden. I got them in January 2008. I netted them into an area approx 14ft x 40ft for free ranging, moved the run every week and by April the entire area was a mud bath (it had rained a lot).

 

OH was already making comments about our eggs being the most expensive ever so I couldn't ask him for more money (and his time) to buy the materials for a permanent base, bedding and so on. Instead I decided to just leave the run on one bit of lawn and let them trash it. Over the summer we reseeded and the rest of the grass recovered. However, the run got very smelly despite weekly poo removal.

 

This last winter I started digging over the run each month and adding garden lime. I also sprinkle Stalosan F when I do my weekly clean. This helps to keep the smells at bay. The chooks free range a bit less and have access to the whole garden (which is quite big) although this means that poo clearance takes longer. The only really trashed bit is now the bit of mud that their run sits on.

 

One advantage of a mud base though is that they make their own dust bath inside the run. A disadvantage - as we discovered a couple of months ago - is that rats can tunnel in.

 

I love my chooks, wouldn't be without them and want more but have found it is a challenge to find (and afford) the ideal way to keep them and the garden in good condition.

[katieadams]

I emailed Omlet again to ask why they are recommending bark if it may contain spores and he said that they used to recommend bark and now have changed it to woodchip - but the guide they sent me still says bark so that's what I got!

 

I have heard that the rubber chippings are on offer at B&Q now though