Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[jjmack]

Hi, well Mildred (Lohman brown) and Florence (Bluebell) have arrived and seem to have settled quite well. There is a bit of pecking but not too much.

 

OH was not and is still not keen but is resigned to the fact. However I need to keep him sweet and need to ensure the run doesn't get too smelly etc. I have read a few threads about poo picking but its not easy to reach into the eglu run, any ideas? I would like to poo pick as regularly as possible. They are currently on bark as I can't seem to get woodchip locally at the moment.

 

I know hemcore or similar is probably the best plan, but I don't want to completely cover the run (currently have a clear shower curtain over 1/2 length ways) as I can't see in from a distance and I like to keep an eye on them from the kitchen. But to use hemcore it needs to be kept dry. How do people do this with an eglu run? does the cover have to come all the way down to the ground? Has any one got pics of eglu run with cover and hemcore.

 

Also in one of the posts Chelsea (I think it was) mentioned a special freshner citronella / lavender ....... whats is the recipe?

 

One last stupid question, in the nest box in the eglu I am putting shreded paper, do I need to plug up the hole at the bottom of the nest box with anything, or are they happy with a draughty bum when laying?!

 

Thats all for now.

 

Thank you

Jane

[The Dogmother]

Hello Jane, and welcome to the forum.

 

You will find your run a lot fresher if you cover it totally in this weather, especially if you're using bark as it tends to get a tad whiffy when it's wet.

 

Most of us seem to have converted over to uisng Aubiose as the hemp bedding is so much drier and composts very well. You can use this in the nestbox too.

 

The 'freshener' that Chelsea mentioned was to keep flies away in the summer, but I guess you can use it any time.

 

Here's a photo of my girls in their cube run with the IKEA shower curtain covers and Aubiose on the ground

 

[jjmack]

Thanks for that claret. I was picturing 6 inch horse bedding like in a stable, so it only needs to be an inch or so thick? Is that right? It looks like it in the picture. I may have to spread out the showere curtain again and just go down and visit them more regularly and avoid the washing up!

[Falkor]

If you check out the pics in this thread:

 

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=55034

 

you will see that a clear glass tarp can be used too.....they are a tad more see through than the shower curtains.

 

But yes...the aubiose needs to be only an inch or so thick....you might want to attach some lawn egding to the edge of the run to keep the bedding in as the chooks will kick is all over the place

[cockadoodle1]

Stalosan F is a deodorant you can shake in the run. I got mine from an animal feeds place, about £15 for a massive tub

[The Dogmother]

Biodri is another similar product.

[chelsea]

As Claret said I do tend to use the "freshener" when we are swamped with flies in the summer but it is handy to have all year around.

 

I just get one of those garden spray bottles and fill with water - add some drops of citronella, lavender and eucalyptus oil into the water and shake, spray around the run (when chooks are free ranging)

 

I also use an old duster in the summer hanging from the rafters of my walk in run and spray the duster so the fresh smell wafts in the air.

[docsquid]

Hemcore actually comes impregnated with citronella so it smells lovely. I've been very impressed with how easy it is to keep clean. I guess mine is about 2 inches deep - it matches the height of the gravel round the outside of the run.

 

I have a Cube but the clear tarpaulin is easy to fit and doesn't flap (it has had a fair trial in recent days!). I guess you could get one that covers the Eglu run as well.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I used to put Hemcore in my eglu run and used corrugated plastic sheets. Not quite as see-through as glass clear tarp (although both get less see-through as they get wet and dirty!)

 

[jjmack]

Ok, have found a local supplier of auboise and have a bale sitting in my garage. What do i need to do to prepare the run, do i need to s"Ooops, word censored!"e out all the bark or can I just chuck it on top?

 

ANH, what is the stuff at the bottom of your run to stop them kicking the stuff out> Looks like some sort of fabric rather than board

 

Thanks

J

[The Dogmother]

I'd get rid fo the bark to stop it smelling, mix up a bit of garden lime and some powdered disinfectant such as Stalosan or BioDri. Sprinkle that on the soil, then pop the Aubiose on top. I use plastic corrugated lawn edging around the bottom of my run.

[docsquid]

I've had the Hemcore down since Sunday, so on its 5th day and I thought I'd do a bit of poo-picking. On grass there would have been mountains of gooey poo mixed with mud. I got out a rake and found only a little bit of poo - so much so that I wondered if I was doing it right and used my hands to go through it but could find very little - about half a bucket of Hemcore plus poo in total.

 

It really seems to make the poo disappear, and best of all it is still smelling lovely and fresh. I am very impressed! I thought after 5 days there would be quite a lot to clean out.

[kevtheplumber]

im using hemcore and love it