How can I find my old pictures?

[teri]

I have four chucks in quite a large home built run. when they first entered they had a loverly area of grass to peck about in, within a week they had scratched it all up, so i re-turfed it. i even made a seperate area of dirt and sand so they could have a good roll around. again within a week all my labour was for nothing and i'm back to a load of mud. especialy after a good down pour. my girls are getting filthy and they are constantly wearing little mud boots!!! any ideas of a good alternative to grass??? my girls do free range for a couple of hours a day so do have access to my lawn, in small doses!!!!

also is there anything i can add to my run to make my girls happier, other than a cockrel ?

[Ain't Nobody Here]

You could use a horse bedding like Hemcore, Easibed or Aubiose. They stay nice and dry but you will need some sort of covering on your roof.

 

For hentertainment you can put in perches (use branches or an old garden bench or shoe racks) and large logs, hang up things like corn on the cob, cabbage or apple or give them a treat ball filled with something they like. Seed bells are good too (ones made with honey rather than fat).

[Olly]

I'm afraid grass will never last more than a few days in a permanent run. The best thing would be to put a roof of some sort on the run, both for protection from predators and to keep the rain off - that will stop it turning into a mud-bath.

 

If it's dry, then you can put down aubiose or hemcore, which they can scratch about in. They soak up poo and cut down smells in an absolutely remarkable way. Or you could go for bark chippings, or rubber chippings - if you search about on here there are people who use them.

 

If your girls have got little balls of mud stuck to their toes, soak them in warm water for a bit and they should come off. I used to have one particular chicken who always had little mud boots, until I discovered aubiose!

[Redwing]

Uf you are not able to cover your run and have soem of the bedings above perhaps try woodchip or rubber chippings.

 

I find woodchips very good

 

A few branches would be good in there but they may use those to launch themselves over the fence

[Guest]

Interesting I built a semi WIR (about 5 foot high) half I roofed with onduline(but you could use lighter material or wire the roof and use a tarpaulin really secured down as the wind will rip it off) This side stays bone dry and i have a thin layer of wood bark

 

The other half is wire roof and when it rains it smells and gets wet..however the chickens love this side and were out pecking away in the thunder storms ...

 

I am concerned in the winter of if we have prolonged rain that I am going to end up putting a tarpaulin just over this half as it smells very chickeny when it rains

 

So I have half covered and half uncovered...You can get lighter roof materials ..I wanted the sun to still get to the chickens as it does affect their egg production hence the wire section. But also wanted to provide shade in the onduline side

 

Good luck

indie

[teri]

thanks for all of your advice

i think i will put a roof on and try hemcore, because they can be a bit smelly. mainly because the poo is mixing with the mud making it impossible to clean up. where can i get it from?

[teri]

Interesting I built a semi WIR (about 5 foot high) half I roofed with onduline(but you could use lighter material or wire the roof and use a tarpaulin really secured down as the wind will rip it off) This side stays bone dry and i have a thin layer of wood bark

 

The other half is wire roof and when it rains it smells and gets wet..however the chickens love this side and were out pecking away in the thunder storms ...

 

I am concerned in the winter of if we have prolonged rain that I am going to end up putting a tarpaulin just over this half as it smells very chickeny when it rains

 

So I have half covered and half uncovered...You can get lighter roof materials ..I wanted the sun to still get to the chickens as it does affect their egg production hence the wire section. But also wanted to provide shade in the onduline side

 

Good luck

indie

 

thanks indie

i think i will cover half as half of the run is slabbed over so i'll just cover the boggy bit! as for sunbathing the girls get to run round the garden for a couple of hours each day and i usually find them lined up on the patio!

i am loving the ideas about keeping them happy with logs, perches and hanging food. do you have anything like this in your run?

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Most horsey suppliers sell the various types of bedding.

 

Check the Aubiose and Hemcore websites for distributors.

 

Hemcore have gone bust but you can still get it in some places.

[Redwing]

I have perches, hanging treats and a mezzanine in my run

 

[Yolky]

I am surprised you don't spend most of your day catching chooks who have made a bid for fredom. Mine would be out of something that low in a minute

[teri]

I have perches, hanging treats and a mezzanine in my run

 

your run definatley puts mine to shame however i am sorting the situation as i have already added a sand pit and i've hung an apple up for them. i pushed a load of seeds and nuts into the apple and they are loving it. thanks for your ideas i'll keep you posted

[teri]

I am surprised you don't spend most of your day catching chooks who have made a bid for fredom. Mine would be out of something that low in a minute

i've only ever had one escape she is now in a seperate pen because she went really broody and managed to hatch seven little darlings she is however older and wiser than the remaining 4 who are not yet 12 months. they have the free run of the garden most of the time the run is mainly used when theres no-one at home. the dog keeps away most predators, he's a huge staffie called chunk. the chickens don't mind him at all. in fact he can quite often be found in the run with them pinching thier water!