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Cinnamon

No more Aubiose :-(

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Hi, and welcome to the forum. :D

 

Straw isn't generally a good idea - the hollow stalks harbour bacteria and mites, plus it gets very soggy in the lower layers. The various hemp and rapeseed beddings seem to be the driest; they dry up and deodorise the poo and compost wonderfully too - try some and you'll never go back!

 

I'm in Banbury, so if you're passing through, let me know and I can pop a load in a bag for you to try.

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Straw is fine, it provides a hiding place for mites which is why many people dont use it but if you keep the coop mite free and check it regularly then you'll be fine

 

Straw does have a habit of going quite flat and damp too but again a regular check and a fluff up helps

 

Aubiose is a horse bedding people use it in poo trays and in nest boxes - it is very good - any of the baled horse beddings - shavings, chopped straw, hemp based etc.. are pretty good and much easier to handle and clean out than traditional straw

 

just dont use hay!

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The citronella we will use is

Gold Label

Citronella Emulsion

from

StocKcare Ltd

01964 543924

 

Our supplier states that citronella cannot be labelled as a fly deterrent anymore, but this company calls it an "equine deodorant".

 

The addition of essential oils is a good idea, and I expect quite cheap, too!

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Not dim at all :D I just use the scientific measure known as 'a few drops' :lol: it isn't crucial, but just enough to make it whiff, probably 3-4 drops.

 

Thank you very much, I'm sure I have a measuring jug somewhere that has "a few drops" marked on the side of it!!! :lol: (Technical stuff this chicken keeping lark, isn't it!!!)

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Thanks Claret for your kind offer :D ! I will be in Wallingford on Saturday though and will try Charles Hunt, the feed merchants. We do change the straw every few days, more often if its pooey, so hope thats safe :whistle: ! I usually then wipe out the 'tray' with a specific cleaner and we dismantle and clean out the Eglu every fortnight or so.

 

However, its always really helpful to hear from more experienced owners - I just love this forum; its been really great for us as new owners :P ! Still looking for advice tho, on what to plant that the girls can't poison themselves with/wont eat or scratch up; stupidley posted it on the Egg site rather than Chickens!! Doh! :doh:

 

Thanks again for help and advice, everyone!

(white chicken) Korma

(white chicken) Kiev

(white chicken) Casserole

(green eglu)

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I was talking to the farm where I get my Hemcore the other day. They said there have been big problems in the supply of all hemp-based bedding. Something to do with regulation of hemp growing getting tighter (because the regulations don't differentiate between hemp grown for straw and hemp grown to produce cannabis) thanks to EU regulations. This means that fewer people are growing it, and it is harder to grow and more expensive to produce. This may be why both Hemcore and Aubiose are getting much less available.

 

I have gone over to using Bliss which is based on rape straw and which is much cheaper and widely available. It comes in two scents (citronella and eucalyptus) and I use it in the poo trays, nest box and WIR floor. The manufacturers of Hemcore also make a rape-straw based product, but I haven't tried it.

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I popped into Seeneys in Garsington near Oxford this morning and they have loads of Aubiose and no supply problems :dance: ! Apparently they have several branches in and around the area (I found them via Google) and have good stocks in all of them. Price is £9.95 a bale (not sure if thats around normal? but the bale is HUGE :shock: ) They were rather puzzled as to why there should be a problem getting hold of Aubiose but wondered if it was a case of the suppliers choosing their stockists!?

 

Anyway, there you have it (if, of course, you happen to live in Oxfordshire! :doh: )

(white chicken) Korma

(white chicken) Kiev

(white chicken) Casserole

(green eglu)

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Hi

I live in Laindon Essex, and the stockist where we normally buy our chicken stuff from is quite frankly rubbish!! He has also stopped stocking Hemcore and Auboise which is fine as I'm willing to try something new, but I'd rather give my hard earned cash to someone who gives more than a one word answer,a grunt and will leave his chair to show me the products that I want to buy!!! :notalk: Can anyone suggest a decent stockist of food and bedding in the essex area?

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Hi

I live in Laindon Essex, and the stockist where we normally buy our chicken stuff from is quite frankly rubbish!! He has also stopped stocking Hemcore and Auboise which is fine as I'm willing to try something new, but I'd rather give my hard earned cash to someone who gives more than a one word answer,a grunt and will leave his chair to show me the products that I want to buy!!! :notalk: Can anyone suggest a decent stockist of food and bedding in the essex area?

Sorry just read this properly. The garden centre in Battlesbridge is great and is next door to a horse suppliers who stock Aubiose - definitely worth a trip.

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I go to this farm shop.

 

Manor Farm Shop

Manor Farm, Ockendon Rd, Upminster RM14 2TZ

 

01708 224666 ‎

 

They can't get Aubiose or Hemcore but I got a huge bag of some other stuff and used it yesterday. It is a little courser but seems ok. They also stock Garvo 731 and other Garvo food which is great. The man there will even put the stuff in the car for you if you want. :clap: They are not open Sundays. :(

 

Where did you go in Essex?

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I still can't seem to get hold of aubiose locally, I have tried my normal supplier and Countrywide. I've tried several other products but find aubiose the best for my set up. Just wondered if others were still having problems getting hold of it. :(

 

I'm not far from you jess1merlin; my local stockist is waiting for their supplier to get it back in (it seems That Aubiose don't trade directly) but Crofts feed store in Banbury had plenty in when I bought a bale yesterday. :D

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We ordered aubiose to collect this week. They rang to say they were having severe problems getting aubiose but had got Hemcore. When we went to pick it up they found they had ONE last bale of Aubiose in the warehouse so gave us that :D:D

 

Tried Easibed recently as we couldn't get Aubiose. Sorry, this was rubbish compared with Aubiose. Went soggy much more quickly and doesn't seem to stay dry on the top like Aubiose does.

 

We're glad we got a bale of Aubiose. We know that there is difficulty at present but if we have to buy something else it won't be Easibed. We'd rather buy Hemcore.

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