Wanted Please - Harrogate / York / Leeds area

[squidsin]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this chicken keeping malarkey (well, as an adult, we always had bantams when I was growing up) and have my Eglu Classic primed and ready for my three ex-bats, as soon as I get the collection date. However, I went to a hen party recently and now I am a little worried - it was a hot day and the coop/garden really smelt, and was also covered in hen poo! I live in London, so have an average sized garden with neighbours on three sides, and have assured them there won't be any nasty whiffs - I am going to put bark chippings down in the coop to catch the poo, and if I rake them out and give the house a good clean every weekend, will this be enough to keep smells to a minimum? Also, I am not going to let the hens out on the lawn as I want to be able to let my toddler son run around and play, and not amongst bird poo (plus I have a beautiful garden that I don't want pecked to bits, it contains some plants they definitely shouldn't eat as well). However, there's a space at the back of the Eglu they can free range in, but getting to it is a problem. I wouldn't be able to let them out of the door at the front of the run, which is a pain. Thinking about it, should probably have bought the Go with the door on the side - damn! But can I just leave the egg collection door on the side of the inside bit open for them to hop in and out of? Obviously once eggs are removed! And does anyone on here NOT free range their chooks? Any advice gratefully received!

 

Also if any fellow ex-bat owners can give me any info about what to expect, that would be great too. How big are they, for a start?

 

Thanks!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on deciding to get chickens, you won't regret it .

 

Now, smell - there's no need to have any smells at all . I've had my girls for nearly 3 years (in a small garden) and can honestly say there has never been any smell. A simple cleaning routine is all that's required - once a week is more than enough if you only have 3 girls. I would recommend a horse bedding like Easibed, Aubiose or Hemcore which, if kept dry, magically absorb the poos and can be composted afterwards. You have to keep your run covered though as it's very absorbant. There will be the occasional stinky poo (especially when they first arrive and are unsettled) but you can use various things to combat this - garlic powder in their food really works and Bokashi bran helps firm poos up and is good for their digestion too. Using a powdered disinfectant (Stalosan F is what I use) helps too.

 

Next, poo - you can contain your hens so you don't get poo in the places you walk/your kids play. I use Omlet netting to keep my girls in the flowerbeds and off the lawn (see the link in my signature). I can walk anywhere I like in my bare feet without watching where I'm going .

 

I suppose you could use the egg port - no reason why not! If you can post some photos of your intended location, we might be able to offer advice . Some people don't freerange their hens but to be honest an eglu run is a bit small if there's no freeranging at all.

 

I don't have ex-batts so can't advise on them but loads of people do so I'm sure they'll offer advice .

[Couperwife]

I read the title and thought "hmmmm, toddlers being smelly and poo'ey - go figure "

 

hi and welcome to the slightly crazy world of the omlet forum and chickens

*waves*

 

cathy

x

[squidsin]

Ah that's great advice, thanks. The netting is a good idea - I was thinking of constructing something with chicken wire but netting is far more practical. I'll take a pic tomorrow to show location, but basically, we've got a long thin garden with a shed about two thirds of the way down, on the right - my husband couldn't build it at the back of the garden as there's concrete there, which is a bit annoying as there's now 'dead space' behind it that I can't really do anything with. The Eglu is next to the shed, with the 'dead space' behind it that I thought would be perfect for chooks as it's completely contained and they can do their dust baths etc, and there's nothing they can destroy!

 

Where do I get the horse bedding stuff from - any recommended outlets?

[Egluntyne]

Sprinkle a bit of garden lime ( calcium carbonate) around the run if it gets smelly. Works like magic.

[squidsin]

Please could someone advise as to the best place to buy all these products - lime, bran, horse bedding etc. Is there a good online one-stop place - I don't suppose B&Q or my local garden centre would have any of it....?

This is all really useful stuff, thanks!

[Egluntyne]

Garden centre for the lime, online for the bran - Omlet sell it, so do wiggly wigglers.

 

Horse bedding - you can get it online, but the delivery charge is prohibitive. I'd look in yellow pages for an equestrian type shop near you and give then a call.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Google Hemcore, Easibed and Aubiose - they all used to have a list of stockists.

[squidsin]

Thanks. One more question - do you think it's worth buying the poles and netting from Omlet, they are pretty expensive. Could I improvise with canes and garden netting, or would that be less efficient?

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I know Knowles Netting is mentioned periodically when netting is asked about (I know nothing about it, I've just seen it mentioned ).

[Redwing]

You probably wont need 25m of it for a garden if its just a small free ranging area, keep an eye out on ebay, sometimes shorter lengths get sold off by people in a similar position

 

Knowles nets are supposed to be very good too

[Lavenders_Blue]

Knowles Nets are good, that's where I got my netting from. Just be aware that you will need to get your poles from somewhere too as they don't come supplied with the netting.

[squidsin]

I only need about three metres of netting and three poles to fence them in, so I don't really want to fork out £60 for 25 metres from Omlet. I'm going to see if my local garden centre can help, otherwise will order from Knowles - thanks for the tip off. Which type of net from there is best?

 

Re: the horse bedding (Hemcore), do I just cover the floor in the run with it instead of wood chippings? I'm going to order the winter run cover anyway due to our unpredictable weather and the fact that if we get any sun in April, it seems to mean that we get deluging rain throughout June and July!

 

Do I need straw for them as well?

 

I'm getting so impatient - can't wait to get my chickens now, and am very glad I'm adopting ex-batts...but I keep looking longingly at Light Sussex bantams for sale. So cute! Maybe next time.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

You just chuck a load of bedding into the run on top of the soil (you can use Stalosan F and garden lime before you do this but don't worry about that till you've had to clean the run out!) The girls will spread it out for you . A couple of inches thick is about right - I used to use half a bale for a run plus converter.

 

I used corrugated plastic sheeting (B&Q & Wickes sell it) held on with bungees - keeps the rain out but lets the light in!

 

Here is a list of all the bedding types and their pros and cons.

[ValerieR]

Ain't "Ooops, word censored!"ody Here - didnt you post a fab photo showing your run with the corrugated cover etc? I would post a link for Squidsin to see but can't find it!

|Would ex-batts be able to get over the netting do you think?

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Happy to oblige . Hens can't normally get over the netting unless they find a launch pad like an eglu or compost bin (or shrub they can climb on!). You always get some who can though .

 

[squidsin]

That looks very cool! Do you think it's a better idea (as well as cheaper) to do that instead of buying the Omlet winter run cover?

[Lavenders_Blue]

I only need about three metres of netting and three poles to fence them in, so I don't really want to fork out £60 for 25 metres from Omlet. I'm going to see if my local garden centre can help, otherwise will order from Knowles - thanks for the tip off. Which type of net from there is best?

 

I bought the 50p/sq m netting for chickens and ducks. There will be a postage charge as well but for a small amount I doubt it would be very much. My ex batts have never flown over it, in fact they don't really seem to realise they have wings at all!