Sooo much pooping

[gjgilly]

HI,

 

Am still in the about to take the plunge senario and have some questions on the garden and seasons etc.

 

Am hoping someone can help, sorry if questions may sound a bit mental, but need to know so we site the eglu in the right place so we don't have to keep moving and cause distress. So here goes - all advice welcome :

 

1/. If you have lawn treatment every 1/4 will chickens be allowed on grass after? The treatment is safe for children and dogs, so would that be the same for chickens, not sure because children and dogs don't peck at the soil, but chickens would?

 

2/. With the run etc, how does it work in winter, as in after the last grass cutting,when the grass shouldn't grow but does because we have a burst of late sunshine, is it ok for chickens to be on growing grass or must it be always short?

 

3/. For winter, when our soil can be water logged depending on how wet winter is, can you resite an eglu on a patio (just for winter) so it and the run would be on dry ground -they would still be allowed out in the day to roam. Therefore - does the anti fox run still work if on a patio or does it need weighing down with rockery stones etc?

 

4/.Last question, sounds daft I know, but when you want your chickens to go to bed,is there a way of counting them when they are inside - am thinking, how do you know how many have gone inside if you didn't see them go in.Ideally you would count them in, but what if you miss one hopping in when you weren't looking, then you go looking for it and can't find it, so assume it must be in the eglu - but how can you tell, is there a spy hole anywhere, or is it a case of getting them all out again and counting one by one. I wouldn't want to be shining a torch in their faces hoping I could count them inside the eglu that would be pretty rotten if they are ready for a nap - BUT I would need to know all are safe.

 

Any suggestions welcome.

Gj

[scarlettohara]

To answer your grass questions - they pretty much wreck the grass after about 2 weeks which is why most people keep their eglu in one place on either woodchip of horse bedding (bedmax, easibed or aubiose), you could put it on the patio and weigh the skirt down but wouldn't be much fun for the chooks (depends how much fring they would have). It is only really long grass they can't eat as could get stuck in crop, most people move the eglu around if they don't have a permanent site - the chickens won't mind . The back of the eglu opens in the Go so you can look in and check your chickens before they go to bed - I don't have a classic but imagine you can see through the eggport

 

It is a good idea to go to an eglu party so you know what's what

[Jools]

I keep my bantams on chickens on grass for most of the year, but from around November to February or March I move them to woodchipped areas to give the grass a chance of recovery. It also gives the ground a chance to rest, which is pretty important for parasite control.

 

I don't use any lawn treatment but I do mow the grass in their runs during the summer to keep it short and to encourage its growth.

 

I always do a bum count at night to make sure everyone has returned home.

[Pharaoh]

You can take off the door to the egg port of the Eglu and count who has gone in. This may result in them coming out for another look round! I have had 2 escapes so like to get them in the run early on so as not to have to count in the eglu.