Part 0800.0005

[Fur 'n' Feathers]

Well, it's less than 2 weeks till I have to hand in my dissertation which completes my Masters..... and Fur says we can get a n Omlet walk-in run to celebrate!!!

 

We're going to have a little holiday first and will revamp the end of the garden. I've worked out that we could get the run, plus a 1m run extension and attach the cube with original run to it. We'll then get 2 newbies to add - these will go in the eglu &run first and then we'll move the eglu alone into the WIR and separate the cube/run with the old end piece to start integrating them.

 

Thinking of a Bluebell and a Redcos (like our little Miso was).

 

It's worked out well in the end as Koukoula started feather pulling in March and we've only just reintegrated her back with the others after 4 months !

 

When it's all finished it will mean we have 2 cube run extensions to sell as these will be surplus.

 

As we intend to put the WIR in a permanent place directly onto the earth, any suggestions as to what to put down. At present they're on slabs and aubiose but this will not be practical. We have the offer of woodchip from our tree surgeon (as much as we like free!), but we're concerned about transfer of parasites from wild birds with this . We've fortunately never had mites/lice and have been careful with what we've introduced to minimise the risks.

 

What advice can folks give who already have earth floors? We've a very heavy clay soil in the garden - yukky in winter!!

 

Feathers

[LunaKiw1]

Congratulations on ordering your Omlet WIR - we have one and it's fab! We only got the basic size one for our 3 chooks and also because we couldn't fit in one with an extension. Ours is just on bare earth/gravel basically and although we do sprinkle hardwood chips (not bark which isn't good for them) on top to be honest they love scratching on the ground and in one corner have created a lovely dust bath area. The key to having a 'natural' base is keeping the rain out so the ground doesn't tun to mud. We've got Tarpaflex transparent covers for ours. The 2m width is perfect for the width of the WIR and a 6m length will go down both sides. It means there's no gaps to allow drips through! We've got a smaller one over the door side too. They're easier to fold up/to the side using bungies so give flexibility whether you want rain out or sun and fresh air in!

[Tweety]

My bantams are on bare earth, and we have heavy clay soil too. I have tried all sorts for the flooring, and without a doubt the best has been hardwood chips. They are easy to rake over and disinfect, and have lasted ages. I got mine from Flytesofancy but, if you have a local free source for them, I would definitely give them a try. Just make sure that there is no bark included with the chips, as this is not suitable.

Good luck - it all sounds very exciting!

[Olly]

I have slabs around the perimeter of the WIR (not an Omlet one) and earth in the middle. I use a mixture of woodchip, which I'm lucky enough to get free from a friend, sawdust which I sweep up after cutting logs for my woodburner, and occasionally aubiose. It will all disappear eventually into a sort of solid crust, I spend an hour or so every three months digging it out and filling a compost bin, and then start again!

 

I do recommend covering the run if you can, it will stop it turning into a mud-bath.

[jasperaliceuk]

Thanks for all these posts - just answered all my questions should I get an Omlet WIR and put it on bare soil! The taking of this big step could be getting closer, especially as hubby has not thrown any spanners in to dispel the idea!

 

Sue

[Fur 'n' Feathers]

Thanks folks.

 

This is all very helpful. Haven't actually ordered theWIR yet as we need to set a few things up first. Expect to late September.