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[jimnpaula]

Sorry, it seems a dumb question but I'm wondering how/if you all poo pick? I have a cube + run + extension for 7 girls and I'm getting tired of seeing poopy feet! After we move the run James has raked at the patch to pick some of it up and scarify the grass, but I'm wondering if more frequent maintenance is required

 

P

[Plum]

Don't know if this will help but mine are on a permanent base and I just go in and rake every day which keeps it fine but guess its different on grass.

 

I think on grass you will probably need to put some garden lime down after them to sweeten the soil. I have not done it that way.

[Busybird]

My four girls currently free range for most of the day in a small, netted off area of the garden. I poo pick every day before I put them in their run. I empty the poo from the eglu tray at the same time. It amazes me how much poo four girls can produce in 24 hours I clear poo from the run about once a fortnight. I worry about the smell if I leave too much poo around.

[Redwing]

I dont bother poo picking I just drag a rake across as and when I remember

 

If your run is on grass you are fighting a tiny bit of a losing battle, something absorbant underfoot like wood chippings would be a good idea

 

Covering the run would help keep it dry though and feeding Bokashi bran in their food helps firm the poo making it easier to pick

[Sarahsausage]

I have my coop and run in a permanent place and use bark chippings in the run, it's really easy to poo pick every day and I just change the whole lot every 6 weeks to a couple of months. After they've finished free rangeing I just go round the garden with a pair of rubber gloves on a poo pick!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I agree, grass isn't a great option long term (despite the idyllic photos on the Omlet shop ).

 

A permanent site is really the only way to cut down on poo picking. If they are on soil with a horse bedding like Hemcore, Easibed, Aubiose etc, they rake it up daily for you themselves so you only have to change the whole lot every month or so and put down some powdered disinfectant and garden lime.

[chickenNutter]

ANH, i have jsut embarked on Hemcore for the first timetoday for my permanenantly sited eglu. How often do you add the powdered disinfectant and garen lime. Wont garden lime burn their little feet?

[chelsea]

I don't know why but part of my routine is to poo pick every day ( I even make my sister do it when we go away on hols )

 

We use aubiose in the run so it is much easier as it coats the poos and I just scoop them out in a bucket. I also give a squirt of my homemade "citronella/lavender air freshener" every day after the poo pick to freshen the run up.

[chickenNutter]

OK, you guys with WIRs are laughing, but what about we eglu owners? Short of employing a hobbit to go in there for me, poo picking is a little difficult!

[Plum]

You need to find a small child or buy a cube.

 

You sprinkling Stalosan after cleaning the run weekly. Not sure about the garden lime I think that is just a couple of times a year when you dig it over if on earth.

[Redwing]

Give Palmer07 a call, she can sit UPRIGHT in an Eglu run

 

Now thats the yoga classes really paying off

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Well I can get in there, and sit practically upright, it's just not something I like to do on a regular basis...and nor does Em (Palmer 07)

 

When I have my eglus on grass I move them about...a little job for the weekend I feel , last winter I had one on a base, filled the run with hemcore & changed that every so often, so much easier!!

 

Sha x

[jimnpaula]

Hmm, sounds like a rethink on our current arrangement would be a good idea. We've got plans for a 'rustic' patio that should be big enough

 

Thanks for everyone's input

 

p

[Ain't Nobody Here]

ANH, i have jsut embarked on Hemcore for the first timetoday for my permanenantly sited eglu. How often do you add the powdered disinfectant and garden lime. Wont garden lime burn their little feet?

 

When I clear out the bedding every 3 months or so I sprinkle Stalosan F and garden lime liberally onto the soil before putting fresh bedding down. Both are totally safe and you don't need to exclude the hens. Perhaps you're thinking of builders lime? Definitely don't use that .

[Falkor]

Give Palmer07 a call, she can sit UPRIGHT in an Eglu run

 

Now thats the yoga classes really paying off

 

Well I can get in there, and sit practically upright, it's just not something I like to do on a regular basis...and nor does Em (Palmer 07)

 

Sha x

 

If the money is right!

 

I perfected my "salutation to the sun"

[chickenNutter]

Thanks ANH, I think I will adpot a similar regime.

 

Sha and Em I am in awe of your flexibility. I went to yoga once with my mate but at the end it was politely inferred that we shouldn't come back. I think it was because we couldn't stop laughing the whole way through.

 

I do have a fairly small child I could send in there, but no doubt it will cost me though. (When did children get to be so mercenary?)

[Hen Watch]

OK, you guys with WIRs are laughing, but what about we eglu owners? Short of employing a hobbit to go in there for me, poo picking is a little difficult!

 

No Hobbit required here....... I have Auboise (rival brand of Hemcore) in the eglu run and I NEVER poo pick in the run. It all gets kicked about and mixed together and I completely change the Auboise once a month.

 

However, I do poo pick the lawn daily where they free range.

[eggregiousness]

I don't use a run, but if I did I would go for the hemcore as long as it could be kept dry. For the garden I use a long-handled horse poop-scoop available from all equestrian stockists. I don't use the rake that comes with it though - I use a bamboo cane to flick "things" into the scoop. The rake is too co"Ooops, word censored!" for chicken poo.

[rachick]

How firm are the poos??? Would it be possible to suck them up witha garden vac??? Or is that just disgusting??!!!!

[eggregiousness]

How firm are the poos??? Would it be possible to suck them up witha garden vac??? Or is that just disgusting??!!!!

 

Chicken poos vary! Most are fairly firm like erm....boiled egg yolk, or raw pastry? A few are always downright runny. I just s"Ooops, word censored!"e up what I can of those and hope the rain deals with the rest. I've never used a garden vac before so I have no idea whether it would pick them up.