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[happycat15]

We have two chickens in an Eglu Go and its run. We let the chickens out for part of the day to have a ramble but living in a development and also having two cats and a dog, the chickens will spend more time in their run. They dont seem to mind this though and during the warmer months would make dust baths and happily sun themselves. We also put a sheet of corrugated plastic over the top of the run to stop a lot of the rain. However, the ground in the run is ruined. After they ate the grass, we tried cut grass, straw and also wood chippings. but none seem to last long. They are regularly cleaned out, but now Winter and the rain has arrived, its just ending up as one big smelly mud bath. I'm also finding it very hard to clean out the run as it is so long and low.

 

Any tips will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[bucklamp]

This is indeed quite a problem. We started off with exactly the same set up as you have, 2 chickens an eglu GO and its run. We found the same problems with mud and cleaning out. Since we had enough space we moved the run every other day which allowed the grass to recover a bit and allowed us to clear the poo etc without having to creep inside.

 

Our ultimate solution was to discard the run and build a WIR (still use the Go) but I would be very interested to hear what other people have done to overcome this problem.

[C&T]

Horse bedding!

 

We have an Eglu and extended run, and it stays in the same place. It is covered (sheets of clear corrugated plastic from Wickes - very cheap and durable) and in the run we use Hemcore, a type of horse bedding. It has truly magical properties! Poo's are soaked up without a trace, and Hemcore also has Citronella in, so helps in the summer months. We use between 1/2 to 3/4 of a bale in the run, and it gets changed about every 6-8 weeks, and one bale costs around £10, so not too expensive. We also use it in the nest box. It also rots down really well, so great for the compost heap!

 

Other brands are also available - Auboise to name one. But any horse bedding seems to work, so just whatever you can source locally.

 

The only thing you have to ensure is that the run is covered - as it is very absorbant stuff and would be a mess if it was in the rain!

[westie mum]

We had our girls on the grass in the Go with an extended run and also had the same problem. Even though we had the winter shade on and corrugated sheeting the ground was still wet. We have moved our girls onto the patio now (which they are not happy about!) and put a thick layer of Nedz Bedz on the floor. I have also bought a clear tarpaulin and put that over the run. It covers the run completely when it is raining and the ground stays dry. I put some Stalosan down if I do find it getting whiffy though.

[lillybettybabs]

I move my Cube every couple of days whilst the grass is growing,

This time of year i am looking for a patch of grass to sacrifice for a few of months (Nov-end of Jan) and put a bale of Bed max down. I then clear away when the weather picks up and start moving again, I put down grass seed mixed with compost (chicken poo compost of course) on the bare patch after the frost has passed.

This year they have the luxury of elec fencing when i am at home to stretch there legs, Cube is fully covered with

clear tarpaulin and clear plastic around the bottom so the ground stays dry.

[MarkBevBen]

It's great hearing everyone's ideas, thanks guys what a useful thread!

 

We've got the Eglu Classic and at the moment I've been moving it around every day or two to a new patch of grass. In the heavy rain we had last week I got a shower curtain (cheap one from Wilkinsons) and fixed that over the run which has really helped!

 

Maybe when winter really sets in, we'll put the Eglu and run in one position for the season, we'll see

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I agree with the above . Horse bedding (Easibed/Hemcore/Aubiose etc) with Stalosan F and garden lime sprinkled down before a new lot of bedding is put down.

 

I used to lift the eglu plus run (with help obviously!) just a few feet to the side, remove some of the old bedding, dig over the ground, add the Stalosan and garden lime, a new layer of bedding, move the eglu/run back and Bob's your uncle .

[Angie]

As much as i love my ckicks and they are almost 16wks now ,they started on grass.

In cube and run, soon the grass disappeared and mud began to show up as the rain came down.

They have now had new paving laid by cheerful friend at reasonable cost, with wood chips down

as base,the run has a skirt of plastic garden edging around the base to keep chips in and the run and

cube has a glass clear tarp over it. 2.3m x 2m..i haven't cut it as i will need it later for WIR when

i have saved my pennies.

Being careful to keep lower and upper vents free of obstruction on

back panel of cube for air circulation ( don't want to suffocate my girls.)

The sun came out today and the chips are still dry nearly 4 wks on.

Cube, Chips and ground much easier to keep clean . Girls are happy .

Life is good

[Clairey_Fairy]

We put woodchip down last weekend onto the mud. It's quite deep, around 5 inches, so that it doesn't get all muddy, and the girls love to dig in it!!! Unfortunately they were digging under the Eglu and almost out of the run, under the foxproof edges. So today we have put bricks around the edges so they can dig down, but not out, of the run. Hopefully this will work! It is a continual learning curve!

[happycat15]

Thank you so much. We have been moving the Eglu around the garden the past few days and letting the Chickens out when home. But we really do need to find one place to put the hens for the next few months. Both Hemcore/Aubiose I have been unable to source over her in the Republic of Ireland. What other products can I use on the floor of the run? As the Eglu will be static the grass in the one place will just get eaten and the ground will become very muddy.

Very confused.

[C&T]

Hemcore/Auboise are just 2 types of horse bedding, so ring around your local equine supply places and see which they stock. There are loads of them - Easybed is another I think I have seen on here??? They all in essence do the same thing - and if they can deal with horses manure, they can deal with chickens!!

 

Oh - and don't forget to cover the run if you use horse bedding - be it a plastic shower curtain (clear) or clear plastic corrugated sheets or something! Will stop the muddy mess.

[Ailie]

We had the same issue with the Go's run, so moved the chooks around as much as we could, but ended up with this trench-riddled disaster, where flat grass used to be:

 

 

And that's only a little taster. They've dug up so much of the garden that it's really quite astonishing.

We've now opted for a walk-in run. It's the best thing we could ever have done! You can get at the Eglu to clean it from all angles, the girls are cleaner, the ground can recover and it's possible to clean out the run, which previously, it wasn't.

 

If you have any space, I'd definitely recommend a WIR.

[Egluntyne]

I'd put the run on slabs and then Aubiose on top of the slabs.

[chicken bark]

My original plan (back in March) was to get 3 hens have them in a house and run and move them around every few days. Then when Winter came I would put them on the patio in a fully covered run with horse bedding in it.

 

Well that was the original plan and hopefully you can do something similar, however I now have 9 hens and 3 ducks so I'd need a bigger patio.

[MarkBevBen]

Hey guys, I got some Aubiose today and have put some in the run and another wodge in their droppings tray of the Eglu.

 

The girls are currently having a field day scratching around in it!!

 

Hopefully it'll be better than grass that's turned to mud for them

 

I got a big 'bale' and it was only £8.99 - I can see it lasting a good while