MissPug+Chooks Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Our 2 Ginger Nut rangers, Ginger and Pickle have been with us for a year now and they live in a lovely purple eglu classic on wood chip. Since we've had the chickens, they are have free ranged all day every day (except at night when they are locked in) around out little garden with no problems with foxes or cats etc ( we are very fortunate in that respect - probably helped by my allowing the OH to occasionally 'mark his territory' on the fence along with the dog!) HOWEVER.....we have very little grass left, there is always hen poo on the path and frankly its getting very old having to go round every day brushing up the path and raking the lawn (whats left of it) to get rid of all of the poo! I am considering leaving them in the run all day now and only letting them out on weekends but I feel so mean doing so! When they are locked up early they spend the rest of the evening running up and down the run waiting to be let out again...I was considering a WIR which is 12ftx6ft and having the eglu on a 'table' to allow them more room than the standard run they are in at the moment - but they are expensive and I don't know if this will be any better for them? Trying to weigh up the pros and cons such as - nice green poo free grass vs poor chickens stuck in a run! How does everyone else tackle this problem or am I going to have to give into the fact that chickens =no grass? Any advise would be appreciated xxxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollyripkim Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 My girls are lucky enough to FR all day as well and following advice on the forum because we had no grass left we laid green netting down, then reseeded and its beautiful now, nice and green and they can scratch around without making holes. It cost around £120 for our grass which is about 12 x 7 metres so cheaper than a walk in run. Of course I still have to pick up the poo every day but it just seems easier now the garden isn't trashed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I am only able to let mine out on evenings or at weekends when I'm around, because of the fox risk - so they spend most of their time in the run. They will be fine, of course they like to free range and we like to see them, but there's a balance between keeping hens and having a garden. I'd either restrict the hours that they free range, or fence off a bit of garden so they don't go everywhere - either way, they will be ok. A WIR is worth it, in my view, not only for the hens but for you - it makes everything a hundred times easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKMARCH Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 No I don't think so different set ups suit different people and lots of hens live happily in runs. We have a similar set up with the eglu on a table outside the run which is big enough for them and has a soil area as well as paved. To start with they used to get agitated when they saw someone at the window or in the garden but after a while they got used to it and now are perfectly happy to stay in the run and get less stressed when they see anyone (one in particular used to act like a caged lion rubbing up the mesh all the time and s"Ooops, word censored!"ing her beak against it as I couldn't let them safely freerange all the time) I provide then with additional greens and things to do, make pecking blocks and additional dustbaths and give them my patio plant pots to eat when they've gone over and they are happy enough. A walk in run also allows you give them raised areas to use and is much easier to clean and no bending Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Mine freerange most days but are quite happy in their WIR (which is small but has the eglu on a table as you suggest). I also contain them in the flowerbeds so my lawn remains intact . You'll see my setup in my signature link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissPug+Chooks Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 Thanks guys....I guess we all see our chickens as part of the family and the point of getting them was so that they were all free range at some point! That WIR is unbelievable - Ain't "Ooops, word censored!"ody Here! Did you buy that or did you make it? I know a local chippy that makes hutches etc and have asked for a quote. So keeping them in will be ok then?! I think eventually I would love a WIR and make a feature of it are they easy to maintain? x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Thanks . I bought it from Aviaries4u and a friend assembled it for me. Dead easy to maintain, we've put preservative on it once and it still looks pretty good 2 years on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaLayla Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 If you don't go down the route of a WIR at present you could always section an area of your garden off to allow them to FR in. I used to let the girls in the whole garden too, but they did make quite a bit of mess so I bought some Omlet netting which I have found to be great. It is easy to move around and allows the girls a lot of freedom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissPug+Chooks Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 Brilliant! I'll see if my friend can build one .... just have to convince OH that its a good idea to get more chooks now! x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Ours still pace in the wir because they want to be let out to free range, although its 12m squared for 4 chickens! If they can't see me they are perfectly happy. I love my wir though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Mine have theri own area of the garden fenced off. It is like a monscape, but at least I have a lawn. Could you not do similar, MissPug+chooks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercedes55 Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 When we got our ex batts in July last year we started with this Obviously wasn't big enough for 4 girls to be in 24/7 so we did let them out onto the garden as much as we could. However we know we have foxes around here, so we couldn't let them FR as often as would have liked to. So we then had this built when we got our pure breeds We also have an extra run that goes from the back of that across the back border so that they have some soil to dig around in. It was full of herbaceous plants before, but has now been trashed We do still let them out onto the lawn if we are out there, but for most of the time they are in the WIR and they seem very happy in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaKiw1 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Gosh Mercedes your WIR looks fantastic! I love the soft green colour of the trellis especially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Wow! It is beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Thats lovely! The slates are a good idea as well - my run has a flower bed next to it but I have to net it off as they just dig it up when they do come out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercedes55 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 We thought the slate would be too big and rough for them to dig up, but noooooo they still manage to flick it all over, but it is easy to put it all back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
