All 3 chickens stopped laying today

[NouveauChick]

Hello,

 

We have recently purchased four chickens (all Light Sussex & Rhode Island Red crosses), who live on our allotment plot, currently in a large(ish) coop and a small run that came with the coop. We are desperate to get a walk in run sorted for them, and have purchased some second hand panels with a view to getting it constructed this weekend.

 

The panels need a little work, just staining and adding some stronger wire, (as currently it is only chicken wire with quite large holes; that I am not confident would keep much out, especially being on an allotment). We are going to make the run 4ft wide, by 16ft long to fit at the end of the plot, with the coop on the outside.

 

Currently we have large paving slabs under the coop and small run to stop anything getting in, and would like to know what to use for the larger run. I obviously would like the base as secure as possible, but also want to ensure the chickens are happy and have something to stratch around in, and that I can clean it down easily.

 

I would like to lay slabs around the edge of the run, both on the inside and out, and hopefully leave a little bare in the centre for the chickens to dig in. Is this safe to leave a bit bare in the middle? Another thought was to lay something under the entire run, like a weed membrane, then put hardwood chips (or something similar) in the entire run, still with the slabs around the edge.

 

I am also concerned about cleaning, how do people clean the run out? I will pick poo etc. but I'm sure it will still need a lot of cleaning from food and poo etc.

 

I can't wait to get it all completed and put some perches etc in for them

 

Any ideas/suggestions would be much appreciated!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I have a walk in run which rests on slabs and has bare earth in the middle which I fill up with Easibed horse bedding. It works really well and the girls enjoy having somewhere to scratch about and dustbathe. I don't put anything down under the soil.

 

I poo pick regularly then shovel out the top layer every few months and put down garden lime and Stalosan powdered disinfectant under a new layer of bedding.

 

You'll see my setup in my signature link .

[NouveauChick]

That's great thank you ANH It's excellent when someone else can offer advice- I have questions for every single thing I do with them

 

I haven't seen the Easibed bedding before, but will have a look for it on here. Does it matter if it gets muddy? We will be putting a roof on it, hopefully corrugated plastic, so most of the rain should be kept out. It is quite exposed on the allotment so I may try to put something on one of the sides for more protection?

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Yes, you do need to keep it dry . I have acrylic panels round the sides of my run and corrugated plastic on the roof but you could use any type of tarp or shower curtain (I just have a very windy garden!)

[Cinnamon]

My run has a roof, and my flooring is bare earth topped with Aubiose,nice & deep.

My run is built onto a low brick wall with concrete foundations,so nothing can dig in, & the soil means it is nice & free draining,even though we do have a high water table here.

When it gets VERY wet,it can flood around the edges,but to be honest,the hens seem to enjoy this.

 

About 4 times a year it is all dug out & spread onto the garden,then the soil is treated with Stalosan F to kill any bugs,then new Aubiose is put down.

 

We also have added a car tyre dust bath for them this time,but they spent 3 days diligently kicking all the soil out of it

[NouveauChick]

I like the idea of the car tyre dust bath- although I know they will kick the contents everywhere, because this is exactly what they have done with the current cat litter tray filled with soil/sand

 

So you only have to change the Aubroise every few months? Does it take much to fill the run?

 

The run panels don't currently have anything as kickboards- is there anything that is easy to install? I'm not too good at diy!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Any type of board will do as a kickboard- any excess laminate or planks knocking about in the garage? You could even use bits of shower curtain. Cable ties or bungee cords are useful for holding stuff in place if you're no good at DIY (like me!)

 

I probably use about half a bale of Easibed in my run, every 3-4 months.

 

Don't go out of your way to get a tyre - my girls were so terrified of the one I put in, I had to remove it .

[patsylabrador]

I've been using miscanthus, elephant grass, for well over a year now and I think it is brilliant. It's tough, smells nice, doesn't matter if its wet or dry. It's slow to compost but that's ok as it helps break up clay soil.