New hens not going into Eglu Go Up

[tinaduffyjames]

Hi, I am stressing so much about the chickens and they are not even here yet. Right , here goes. We have dedicated the bottom of the garden to the chickens and in a space about 20 feet by 12 feet we have covered in bark chips. The eglu and run will sit on this but I have bought Aubiose to actually use in the run and have bought the corrugated sheets to cover the run with. So my first predicament is this - I could not find Wood Chips anywhere near me. One wood firm said they would bring a lorry load as long as they could just tip it on a drive. a) they wanted £95 pound to do this and b) I dont have a drive ( house is terrace with front door directly on the path) so they wouldnt come anyway. So will it matter so much that I have used Bark? Will I have a problem with smells moreso now? Will my chickens be okay on it bearing in mind Aubiose is in the run? Would I have been better just leaving the area as grass? Wanted something i could just rake away really as smells are a concern. It is my intention to let the chickens out to FR on the bark in the afternoons which brings me to my second dilemma. We have a lot of cats in the area, if the cats should decide to 'visit' my chickens will they be able to hold their own or are they going to be in grave danger? I will be here when the chickens are out but I wont be able to just sit and watch them for hours at a time due to nursery run followed by school run and housework in general. So they will be unsupervised at times for a short period. 3rd Dilemma - The fencing I rigged up this afternoon, my garden has 6 foot fencing all round so it was only the front of the chicken area that I needed to do something about. I have used 1 metre high mesh and bamboo canes to support it. Now I know this may not contain the chickens for long as they can jump quite high from what I have read but I am hoping it may deter them!! What are my chances? lol Just dont fancy chicken poo everywhere. If they did get over the garden is still secure I would just prefer they didnt. Obviously a WIR would be ideal but my poor husband got cajoled into having the chickens and is already having a fit at how much I have spent on just setting them up ( fencing, eglu and run, 8 bags of bark, Aubiose, corragted sheets, edging to contain the bark etc) and I really dont think he or the bank balance will stand for the cost of a walk in run. Thats it i think. Phew! Sorry for such a long post, though I am sure it wont be the last.

[alex_m]

Wow that was a long one

the corrugated plastic is ideal in the winter as it keeps the snow off took mine off now as it will turn into a greenhouse. They are fine with cats. I have a cat and he was stalking them at first so would step in but had to let them sort it out and the chickens chased him up the garden numerous times. I'd be tempted to keep an eye on them when they range a few people have lost some to foxes and mine escape every now and again. Would shut them in at night I got complacent as I'd never seen a fox and left the run open at night and to my horror a fox had got in and killed one. They can jump high as well.

It sounds like your very well prepared and I wouldn't worry and enjoy keeping chickens. I've been doing it for 9 months and they are great

[sjp]

I've got bark down in a couple of areas of the garden both get turned over/dug up by my lot every time there out.the one area has been down about 2 years only had the girls 14 months the other went down last year and has got as much spent potting compost as bark. when i top the older area up I add easibed through bales are bigger for the same price as barks not recommended

you should be able to get it from Countrywide on the A5 if you need any or the pet shop at Dordon was listed on the Easibed web site

cats shouldn't be a problem but it's best to keep an eye on them in the early days a blast with the hose will put any trouble makers in order foxes are more of a problem saw one not far from me last week just after mid-day on a busy main road strolling around like it owned the place. if i'm not there mine stay in the run.

the fence might keep them in if it's there from day one and it's not got a rail at the top for the to jump on to

chickhens are a grate time waster so you might just need to stock up on the house work Tuesday as no will get done after they arrive Wednesday