Installing Indoor Cat Tree

[Luddan]

Hello everyone,

 

Our two new ones arrived Friday and all seems to be going well

 

No noise yet .. I'm sure they are finding their voices! The dog is still fascinated and thinks the bark chips are food

 

Expected problems first night but they went to bed as good as gold (they had a solar light in the eglu). Last night no problems and no light needed

 

Any advice on the best cleaning methods and timing for the run? I have bark chips and Aubiose, now mixed together of course by the scratching!

 

Very happy with them

[xScrunchee]

Hi Luddan,

My girls aren't coming until Tuesday so I'm not in a position to advise you I'm afraid.

Just wanted to say Hi and welcome to the forum.

[AnnieP]

Hello Luddan! Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new girls!

I haven't got your set up, as I just use the Eglu and run on grass, but as regards the Eglu part, I just take mine apart once a week, empty the droppings tray (which is lined with Aubiose) and hose down the tray and wooden rungs. Every few months I get the pressure washer on it all to really get rid of all the dirt.

Its so easy!

I do have a spare set of wooden rungs, so I can dry off the washed ones properly before they go back in the following week. I also sprinkle Diatom on the wooden rung ends. This is supposed to prevent nasty mites and lice, and touch wood, mine have never had them.

 

Do tell us more about your girls and Eglu! Any pictures??

[Christian]

Hi Luddan!

 

Congratulations on getting your chickens!

 

With regard to cleaning them out, I tend to do a 'poo pick up' every couple of days, by pulling out the tray and picking up the 'lumps'. Marigolds at the ready!

 

Every week I take the lid off the eglu and remove everything, give it a good clean out with ecover washing up liquid and pet disinfectant. I use a wall paper s"Ooops, word censored!"er to get the bits off the roosting bars, then swap with clean ones. I ordered a couple of extra sets from Omlet a while ago. Every so often i blast the bars with a power washer and they come up like new!

 

I have 3 girls in the run + convertor, but they do free range most of the time. You could sprinkle some garden lime in the run if it gets a bit smelly as this sweetens the ground.

 

Hope this helps.

[Egluntyne]

Pretty much ditto to the above posts. I give them a mini clean every week...ecover, old washing up brush and a rinse with a watering can of warm water. Swap the bars for some clean ones, let the mucky ones soak for a while and then scrub and rinse, then leave in the sun to dry. Aubiose in the nest box and a thin layer in the poo tray. All gets composted.

 

Every so often I blast everything with the power washer and feel very virtuous afterwards as it all comes up like new.

 

Welcome to the forum. Enjoy your hens.

[Laura & CTB]

I have aubiose in the run which is on concrete and usually do a complete change every 6 weeks or so. The eglu gets a thorough clean once a month and the roosting bars get changed once a week.

 

Welcome to the forum - good eglu colour choice

[Luddan]

Thanks for the advice, all very welcome.

 

Will get some pictures online in the next couple of days!

[chelsea]

Congratulations on your chickens..

 

You will soon fall into a "pattern"

 

We dismantle and clean the eglu twice a week and hose everything down. It really is easy peasy and I like to keep mine clean because it was my birthday present and I always want it looking its best

 

We have spare roosting bars too.

 

We have hemcore/aubiose in the run - I couldnt manage without it - the poo and wet just disappears. We change the top layer of hemcore/aubiose weekly and once a month the whole run is s"Ooops, word censored!"ed out and replaced.