Solitary chicken - need advice

[welshnik]

Hi forum

 

So Easter and Christmas had a good night but this morning Easter is dropping "ych a fi"'s like there is no tomorrow......... my query is that I've read a lot of forum posts about "going out to poo pick" and obviously you can empty the droppings tray easy enough (go Eglu!) but how do you get into the run to get all the rest? We will put bark down in a couple of days when the chooks have had enough of the grass, but until then...?

 

I have visions of all the Eglu owners across the world fashioning a poo picker on a long pole.......??!!

[Egluntyne]

I once fashioned an old spoon fixed to a garden cane. it was a bit unweildy, but it did the trick.

[Chucky Mama]

I have a cube and my girls don't spend much time in the run and so get very little poo. I move it regularly to fresh grass so get the poo up then. In between times if I can't reach with my normal scoop (cat litter scoop). I use a hoe and some skillful balancing.

[Redwing]

@ Egluntine with the spoon-stick thats brill I can visualise that

 

I don't poo pick my Eglu runs I just rake the woodchips over every now and again. When you fill yours with bedding don't use bark use woodchip as it will last longer and not go mushy and smelly

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I have an old wallpaper s"Ooops, word censored!"er fixed to a broom handle to flick poos off the path . I also keep a flowerpot with a plastic scoop in my walk in run which I use to poo pick daily.

[Space Chick]

Hi welshnik,

 

I have had my girls on rubber chippings in the cube run, so have followed the raking approach (hosing it down on a warm day every few weeks too) so haven't done poo picking. However, when my Walk in Run is finished I will be using Aubiose in the run and doing a daily poo pick.

 

Have you tried giving them Bokashi Bran or garlic powder to help with the droppings? It firms them up and makes them smell less.

[Nats]

I use auboise and rate it highly. I can then do a daily poo pick which is so easy as it sticks to the poo so you can just pick up the clump. It keeps nice and dry too. I think the girls are quite happy with it.

[poppycat]

Nats, I heard the aubiose was quite good

 

With the aubiose do you get through a lot of bedding that way?

 

Just wondering if it is any more expensive than using wood chip

 

Lou

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I use roughly half a bale of Easibed in my walk in run and that lasts about 3 months (or more in good weather). At about £7 a bale, it's pretty good value .

[poppycat]

Is easybed the same sort of thing as auboise?

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Yes .

[Hen Watch]

I never poo pick in their run as it has Auboise down and it soaks up poos nicely. I just change the whole lot of Auboise once a month.

 

However, my lot free range a good deal and I poo pick the lawn twice a day.

[simon_blackwell1]

Doesn't aubiouse blow away? It looks rather light in pictures. Presume I can buy this from horsey places?

 

Re the use of bark chippings, I asked Mrs B to get some wood chips while she was out and she brought back bark chippings. Is there any problem with using these apart from the nasty smell (although this is ogoing now the chips are drying the warm weather)?