Sooo much pooping

[lorskimac]

HI

 

I keep my two hens on woodchip which I lift every few months and throw away. Has anyone got any good uses for this? Could it be composted or anything?

 

Thanks.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Welcome to the forum . Chicken poo is great for composting but I'm not so sure about woodchip. It would take ages to break down, I'd imagine.

 

Have you come across horse beddings like Hemcore, Aubiose or Easibed? They work really well with chickens and compost down really well .

[mabelandflosmum]

I put my old wood chip around my roses ( the girls help to spread it!)

It rots down eventually and I get amazing roses!

[lorskimac]

any funky smells when using it on the roses? I don't want to annoy the neighbours. I'll have to check out that horse stuff too. hope it's not too expensive.

 

my hens live on woodchip on landscape fabric on heavy clay soil that turns into a slippery mudbath when it rains. They pull up the fabric. Anyone got a better way to keep their outside area?

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Glad to hear the woodchips break down easily . I must admit, I spread my excess Easibed round the flowerbeds too .

 

A bale of any of the horse beddings should cost between £7 and £10. I use about half a bale in my 2 x 2.5m run every 3 months or so. It's pretty cost effective.

[mabelandflosmum]

No, no funky smells, just sweet smelling roses!

My bark is also on top of weed proof fabric, one piece, anchored outside the run so there are no loose edges to scratch up.

A waterproof cover over the run will help keep it all dry, lots of people use transparent ikea shower curtains.

[beulah59]

Is the woodchip from a tree surgeon? Or a supplier like B & *? Tree surgeon woodchip composts down much quicker as it it smaller and has all the small stuff in it, twigs and leaves etc. I too spread it round the flower beds ... no smell after the initial turning over ... and wonderful for the plants as a mulch and a manure all in one!

[emmab]

I gave mine to my Uncle Eric! x

 

(He has an allotment!)

[Gelbel]

When the covering to the floor of my run needed changing I just chucked the wood chip/hemcore/whatever and poo mix straight on to my borders.

 

The girls loved rummaging in it (and kicking it all over the grass), the weeds are suppressed and it looks like I will get a lovely show of daffs this year.

[Tara.F]

 

my hens live on woodchip on landscape fabric on heavy clay soil that turns into a slippery mudbath when it rains. They pull up the fabric. Anyone got a better way to keep their outside area?

 

We're on heavy London clay. The fabric and woodchip will make it sooo much worse

 

I use the horse bedding (Aubiose) in the run. It stops the girls feet from caking up in rock hard clay, it totally absorbs any smells, there is no mud! The girls scratch it into the surface where it acts as humus and after three to six months that area is clay no more....just a beautiful crumbly compost ready for planting.

I then move the run and have the little darlings 'garden' the next section for me

[stoice]

Those of you that put spent aubiose/hemcore/easibed on their borders - does it encourage cats? My front garden is south facing and the soil is very fine (A dust bowl in summer) Perfect for the neighbourhood cats to use as a toilet I'd like to put a mulch around the plants and help improve the soil but don't want to make it even more inviting to the moggies.

[ladyjulian]

I'm now using Aubiose in the run, but I used bark chips before & when they needed changing I put them straight into the bottom of a large planter, which will have a layer of topsoil on and then be used for tomatoes. I've also dug some into my raised beds ready for my first plants to go in next month.

 

The henhouse has a layer of newspaper, then straw, and the pooey straw & newspaper goes straight into the compost heap.

 

The Aubiose will probably also go into the compost heap when it's done although I might use some of it as extra fertiliser for the veg.

[Gelbel]

Those of you that put spent aubiose/hemcore/easibed on their borders - does it encourage cats? My front garden is south facing and the soil is very fine (A dust bowl in summer) Perfect for the neighbourhood cats to use as a toilet I'd like to put a mulch around the plants and help improve the soil but don't want to make it even more inviting to the moggies.

 

Now you mention it - the cat doings problem I had out in the back garden stopped. But that may be because my girls had a right go at a moggie that came to use her personal loo.

 

In fact I'd not thought of the cat reduction side before so I am going to pop the next lot out the front as the furry blighters think that's a loo too.