Scoobs Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 I had a chicken with a kidney infection a while ago and that luckily seems to have cleared up except the anitbiotics have destroyed the good bacteria in her gut. She is on the road to recovery but still dripping small amounts of urine from her bum so she has had nappy rash! The vet has given us cream for it and I hope it clears up completely soon. The question I have is that I have moved the 2 chickens to the patio for ease and for recovery. They are currently separated so I will need to put them back together at some point. I have been laying sawdust down in their runs on the patio but how often do I clear it up. Even with a cover over the run the water still makes the sawdust wet. Is this ok for them, particularly the one recovering? The recovering chicken is brought in at night in a dog cage and cat basket as it's probably too cold outside in a cat basket. Hopefully this weekend they can be reunited. I've also had trouble with them spreading all their layers mash over the run, it getting wet and it sticking to their feet which they certainly don't like. I'm new to chickens so is the reason to use something like sawdust, hemcore or aubiose to keep it dry or so they can scratch around a bit? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiganchooks Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Hi Sawdust isn't the same as aubiose or hemcore and is pretty useless as a base as it goes all waterlogged and mushy like you describe. Aubiose and hemcore are chips of hemp stalks and are tougher than sawdust. They seems to let the water through much better and damp bits get locked into clumps, leaving the top layer dry. I'd kept various pets with woodshavings in their houses (but not a run), and only tried hemcore after reading lots on here about how to set up a chicken run on hard standing. I've been really, really impressed with it and it doesn't stick to their feet at all. I just pick the soiled clumps out each morning and throw a bit of new stuff in, plus some disinfectant power once a week. I've only totally emptied the run once in the month I've had them, when lots of rain washed in across the garden (we had localised flooding!!) yet it still smells fresh and is very clean. I think the benefit is both the fun of kicking it around and keeping the surface dry/soaking up.coating poo. There's lots on this in the section on the forum about eglus and runs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Sorry to hear that, give her some Avipro the water or a wet mash, and feed her on Bokashi Bran with live yoghurt to get her tummy back to normal. I'll echo the bit about Aubiose - the best beddignng and litter ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
