Poorly chicken

[Banus]

We have an Eglu Go with a 3m run and use woodchip in the run. The problem is the chickens soon scratch it up and my nice clean woodchip soon mixes with the earth underneath and turns into a muddy mush. So, what do you use under your woodchip to stop it mixing with the ground underneath? It's been suggested to use plant weed control fabric but I'm thinking that the chickens would soon scratch their way through it and tear it to shreads defeating the object. So, what do you use to keep your wood chipppings clean?

[mollyripkim]

Last winter I used matting from a caravan shop, they are 18" square and lock together and are porous. I covered with a deep layer of hardwood chips which worked really well. I think someone else uses rubber stable matting. Hope that helps.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

When I had an eglu run on soil, I used horse bedding (Easibed or Hemcore) which got mixed up with the soil quite nicely and stayed dry as long as I had a waterproof covering on the run (I used corrugated plastic sheets held on with bungee cords).

 

A sprinkle of garden lime and powdered disinfectant each time you clean out the run keeps things nice and fresh and free of nasties . I only did that every few months.

[redcharlie43]

Try stable mats. They are a bit expensive but are porous to let through horse wee and are easy to clean. It means that when you want to clean the run you can just rake out the wood chips etc, clean the mats if they are needed with a brush and some chicken friendly cleaner and then put new bark/chippings on top. It has really helped with the mudbath situation I used to have before I got them. It is also easy then to move the eglu every now and then and give everything a good cleanup without worrying about it all turning into a mudbath. because they are designed for animals i also think they are softer option for the chickens to run around on.

[Plum]

Paving slabs work well

[Banus]

Some great suggestions there.......thanks.

 

All sorted.....for a while at least. The mud bath situation was unbearable to look at and couldn't have been very pleasant for our girls to spend time in. So I lifted the Eglu Go with its 3m run off its base and intended riddling / washing the wood chips to re-use them. However after only 10 mins I decided that It would have taken hours and I'd spend more in water than to replace the woodchips. So I decided to bin them, lay a heavy duty weather proof tarpaulin in the base which I have new covered in nice new clean woodchips. So now I have a barrier between the chips and the soil underneath which will keep them clean.

 

I'll see how it goes but at the time are hopeful. At this time I didn't have the time / funds to start laying slabs but this is a massive improvement. However I now know that laying woodchips on the ground is a big no no!

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Banus, have you tried putting out a plea on Freecycle for unwanted slabs? That's how I got some of mine

[redcharlie43]

I agree. Freecycle is fab. I had some spare slabs and gave them away to someone for their chicken coop before I got my own. Well worth a try.

[Banus]

Yep - I considered slabs which willl be the next and final solution if the membrane doesn't work. So far so good.

[Minty_76]

My classic has a full clear cover and they are on bare earth. The earth stays dry and its easy to just give it a rake now and then. I may put some easibed or aubiose down at some point as it pretty dry to be honest.

[Banus]

Minty - Yep - that WAS my set up. If you look at my avatar you'll see that I too have a clear plastic cover for the first 2m but the sun shade covering the last metre isn't waterproof and the rain water pours through it like a culinder which used to soak the earth / woodchips turning it into a mud bath. I've now modified the last metre and covered the sunshade with a piece of plastic sheeting. Now totally waterproof and a little more windproof for the months ahead.