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

[Yolky]

Do any of you sieve your auboise to poo picK? I am thinking of something like this....

 

 

 

Or would all the auboise get stuck into the sieve too?

[atsw]

I have a covered WIR and I find the Aubiose simply sucks all the moisture out of the poo. In a very short time the poo turns to dust and disappears. It's great!

 

Andrew

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Sorry Yolky, I'm hijacking your thread here

 

I have a covered WIR and I find the Aubiose simply sucks all the moisture out of the poo. In a very short time the poo turns to dust and disappears. It's great!

 

Andrew

 

 

Andrew, do you have a problem with rain blowing into your run & making the aubiose soggy?

 

I've got hemcore, so similar, the run has a roof & part of one side covered as a sun shade, the surrounding trees do the rest of the shading, but the rain has a tendency to arrive in a horizontal fashion in these parts on occasion, would I be better keeping the hemcore until the winter when at least one side of the run will be totally covered for wind/weather protection?

 

At the moment the chooks are on ex-grass with a liberal sprinkling of veg-patch soil from their 3 dustbath trugs/litter trays - spoilt little minxes that they are!

 

Your thoughts would be appreciated!

 

Sha x

[atsw]

Sorry Yolky, I'm hijacking your thread here

 

Andrew, do you have a problem with rain blowing into your run & making the aubiose soggy?

Your thoughts would be appreciated!

 

Sha x

I was worried I'd end up with soggy Aubiose, but in fact, it's not been a problem at all. The run is sheltered at the back by a thick, tall, thorn tree hedge. In the summer the leaves fill right out and it acts as a great wind/rain break. The run was only built in February, so it's not done a winter yet, but it was pretty rainy here in Feb and March and things were fine. The side nearest my neighbour is protected by a fence which stops any rain coming in from that direction.

 

Horizontal rain hitting the run from the front does sometimes make things a little damp, but it dries out again very quickly, and actually, the chooks quite like scratching about in slightly damp Aubiose.

 

Here's a picture of my run, which was taken in early May. The hedge behind has now filled right out.

 

 

So, basically, we've not had a problem with soggy Auboise to date. I was planning to change the Aubiose for a new bale at the end of this month, but the imminent arrival of chicks has put that back a few weeks. It's not going to be a problem, the mix of Auboise and bark chippings has worked really well and still looking really good. I hardly ever poo-pick, as I said earlier, it just seems to disappear on its own .

 

Andrew

[Cinnamon]

I never poo pick, just have a total clear out a few times a year.

 

I have used Aubiose in my covered WIR like this for a good couple of years now.

 

We have a high water table here, so when it rains heavily for a few days we get puddles come up in the run, but when they drain off the Aubiose dries really quickly.

 

Its brilliant stuff!

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Thanks for that Andrew & Cinnamon, I shall get another bale & have a sprinkling session. In one of my local feed suppliers there's an ad for hemp bedding, £7 a bale from one of the local farmers...I may just tootle off for a batch & see how it goes. I'm ready with my rolls of lawn edging to keep the hemp in the run (£2.50/9m roll from Mr Tesco a couple of weeks ago - bargain !!!)

 

Sha x

[Redwing]

Ys I do Yolky, I dont poo pick in the big runs but do the pekin hutch every couple of days as they have fluffy feet! I use a garden sieve but it has bigger holes than the one in your pic and it works a treat

[Yolky]

Cheers for that everyone. I shall go and look at a garden one Tasha. I know it isn't actually necessary but we did have auboise last summer and it lasted loads longer when poo picked, even on just a weekly basis, and also if it got wet from horizontal rain we didn't get any nasty niffs.

[Milly]

I use a large plastic slotted spoon for clearing out the nest box. We never used it in the kitchen, and now I use it every day outside. But it might be a different matter if your run was filled with Aubiose

 

Milly

[bluekarin]

I use an old cat litter pooper scooper to poo pick the girls nesting box and house. The run I just wash the poo through the wood chippings with a hose a couple of times a week. I use Hemcore and think its amazing stuff. I love the smell when you put a fresh layer down