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

[Nu2chicks]

Greetings from a new hen keeper...2 weeks, 2 days old and 8 eggs!

 

My chickens have settled in very well and lots of things have been really easy, but the Eglu run is the bit I'm rethinking.

 

I decided I would try keeping it on grass and moving it around the lawn...medium sized. Moving it is easy...but I hadn't bargained for the quantity of poo from my three...and have ended up raking it out daily to avoid the grass becoming a matted smelly mess.

 

I now understand why you all go for permanent sites! I think I will go for the B&Q woodchip option and possibly a bit of Easibed mixed in, if I can get it round here. I read dozens of posts last night and have concluded you all seem to reckon on them staying in place for about 3 months. Is this right? In that case what does happen to all that poo...presumably raking it means it drops through onto the soil and sits underneath...doesn't that go smelly? Or are you in there every few days picking out poo...which seems a trickier job than raking grass!!

 

Woodchips presumably are better than soil for keeping the hens feet dry and giving them something to scratch? But I'm thinking that soil would be easier to rake and remove the droppings from? You mention adding lime and powdered disinfectant...more details about quantities and regularity would be great...I had thought that you could not keep them on the same site as the ground would be fouled and then pass diseases back to the hens.

 

I can see why you site the woodchips behind a logroll/raised bed etc...but I have found swinging the Eglu and run (inc converter) off the area each day to rake great...and that would stop me being able to do a one person job...anybody resolved that one??

 

If I go for woodchip can I still put corn out for them on it for them to search for as an evening treat?

 

Sorry for the detailed Qs...very useful to ask for experience before wasting time or money! Have appreciated reading all your useful tips on here..thanks.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I read dozens of posts last night and have concluded you all seem to reckon on them staying in place for about 3 months. Is this right?

You can generally leave it for a good few weeks before doing a big clean out. I usually do it every 6 weeks.

 

In that case what does happen to all that poo...presumably raking it means it drops through onto the soil and sits underneath...doesn't that go smelly?

If you use hemcore/easibed/aubiose the poo magically dries out and disappears (as long as you keep your run covered, that is). I never bothered raking the run (the chickens do it for you ).

 

Or are you in there every few days picking out poo...which seems a trickier job than raking grass!!

When I had an eglu run I only ever picked up large poos that I could see and reach easily from the door. I honestly never saw loads of poo lying around.

 

Woodchips presumably are better than soil for keeping the hens feet dry and giving them something to scratch? But I'm thinking that soil would be easier to rake and remove the droppings from?

Never used woodchips but swear by the beddings mentioned above. They are very easy to keep dry and the chickens love scratching about in it.

 

You mention adding lime and powdered disinfectant...more details about quantities and regularity would be great...I had thought that you could not keep them on the same site as the ground would be fouled and then pass diseases back to the hens.

Garden lime helps to regulate the acidity of the soil and Stalosan F keeps pongs down and prevents worms, parasites & bacteria. I sprinkle it (and the lime) generously around the run after I've raked off the top few inches of hemcore/soil (which goes in the compost bin) and before putting new bedding down .

 

I can see why you site the woodchips behind a logroll/raised bed etc...but I have found swinging the Eglu and run (inc converter) off the area each day to rake great...and that would stop me being able to do a one person job...anybody resolved that one??

I cable tied old whirlygig covers to the edges of the run to stop the bedding getting kicked out. It wasn't particularly pretty but did a good job. If you attach something (you could use log roll) to the actual run, it's still as easy to move for cleaning.

 

If I go for woodchip can I still put corn out for them on it for them to search for as an evening treat?

Yes, they will love hunting for it .

 

Hope that helps .

[Redwing]

Congratulations on your Eglu and chickens!

 

I use woodchip in my Eglu run and mix in handfuls of Aubiose when things get damp.

 

When I cleaned my run out thoroughly last weekend the Woodchip had been in there 7 months!

 

I never poo pick the run as the poo seems to vanish! I did rake it over when it got banked up or if I wanted to break up a damp patch, I left the run in situ and raked the door end over by reaching in, I only did the Eglu end now and again, I took the Eglu cover off and put the rake through the door in to the run - you will find that most activity takes place at the wider end of the run anyway and thats the easy bit to reach

 

You can still throw down scratch foods for the hens on woodchip, they will take great delight in trying to find it in the woodchip, if you do this though you cannot see what they have eaten so only throw down small quantities to avoid excess food sitting in the run

 

The B&Q hard wood chips are better than the softwood ones. Don't use bark.

 

There is a similar thread to this in the 'Chickens' section called soemthing like 'how to save my grass' with some more advice

 

Good luck!

[Guest]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned but may be worth putting a cover over eglu run to keep it dry as it will make it easier to rake over

 

good luck indie

[Nu2chicks]

Many thanks for all this experience...I do like the idea of the poo magically disappearing..off to B&Q this weekend I think!!

[The Dogmother]

The others are spot on with their advice. Do consider covering the run - wet litter in the run encourages bacteria to breed, notably coccidiosis.

[guildfordchick]

I'm having a similar problem... run becomes a big mucky mess (especially in this weather) and seems incredibly unhygeinic.

 

What I'm worried about is foxes. Is the run still fox-proof if kept on woodchips? It just seems to me like they could really easily dig through them to get to the chickens, and we just went through a fox trauma that I don't think I could repeat.

 

Have heard that they are lazy and will only dig right next to the run--so is that how it works? They won't dig because of the extra edging?

[The Dogmother]

Foxes will dig through any soft ground if your housing is on it; we usualy recommend slabbing under the house and along the run edges.

[emchook]

I dont know if you have seen this but here is a thread link to my eglu.

 

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=57599

 

 

I had it on bark chips for a few months uncovered and it was a shocker by the end of the year . Fine for summer ..but not winter !

 

 

I recently converted to aubiose and its much easier to clean ! The aubiose is on top of

old conservatory roof panels for the time being. I would convert to slabs .. but I am in the middle of WIR building.

I have bricks around inner sides to stop foxes digging ..but they have been having a go recently under the eglu itself [ I dont have mesh there but I know you can get it ! ]

 

The corrugated sheeting keeps it all dry and lets light in ! Wish I had done it sooner !!!

[jimnpaula]

Are we talking about putting the auboise/similar straight on top of grass? At the moment my poor girls are wrecking another patch of lawn and turning it into what I know isn't a mud layer.

 

I could put the run onto slabs, but I don't know whether to:

 

(1) keep the slabs near the house end of the garden where the house casts a permanent shadow and it always feels damp and cold, even in summer.

 

or

 

(2) move 21 very heavy slabs a long way to the sunny end of the garden where I can't see the chooks and foxes enjoy their strolls. And it isn't flat.

 

If the run dressing can go straight onto grass that might provide a compromise to our situation.

 

P

[jimnpaula]

Any thoughts on the above questions?

 

P

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Sorry, Paula, never saw your original questions .

 

I think it would be OK to put bedding straight down on grass. My only thought would be that it would then be a fairly hard compacted surface once all the grass had gone which wouldn't give them much to scratch about in. I don't suppose that's really a problem though as some runs just have slabs under the bedding and the hens are fine.

 

I have my run close to the house and love it. Easy to get to them, they are close enough to watch and any predators are easier to spot. I wouldn't worry too much about shade, in the summer that would be a bonus. I suppose you could try it there first and if it really is too damp, then consider an alternative location.

 

I'd worry a bit about moving the run somewhere that wasn't flat . A level run is much more secure from predators.

 

Hope that helps!

[guildfordchick]

I was having the same problem and recently started putting down straw... it's made a world of difference (as well as 3/4 covering the run with a tarp). There's no smell anymore, the chickens seem to love scratching in it much more than mud, and their little feet are lovely and (mostly) clean.

 

It's not a long term solution (dreaming of WIR) but has really helped get through the rough weather in the meantime.