KateG Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Good evening everyone, I hope you've had a lovely Easter so far. We've got 4 girls in a WIR at the moment. We have a paved floor which we put aubiose or shavings on to. Unfortunately, due to my increasing mobility problems we're giving up the WIR in favour of a cube (that probably doesn't make much sense but our WIR is a funny shape inside due to a mezzanine/ramps so cleaning out is impossible without bending down- something I can't really do any more. I figure the cube can be moved for me to clean out, which will make it easier). Can anyone suggest the best flooring to put down? I don't want to have a garden of shavings where they've all blown through the run and quite like the idea of woodchip directly on to soil. Is that a good or a bad idea? Where do you buy woodchip from anyway? Any advice would be hugely appreciated. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NannyOgg Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 During a search for something completely different, I stumbled across what seems like a practical and long term flooring solution...have a look and see what you think: HOOK FARM MUD MANAGEMENT You could attach something around the bottom of the cube run to contain the flooring, e.g. tough waterproof material or linkabord. Hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KateG Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 ooh thank you NannyOgg, I like that idea a lot. I'm not sure how I'd clean it in light of the hosepipe ban though but I guess that is an issue with any reuseable bedding, isn't it? It certainly seems economical and easy to do. Thank you so much for that link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubababe Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 That is a brilliant idea. I used to use bark chippings which eventually sank into the mud or just disintegrated. You probably wouldn't have to worry too much about cleaning as Mother Nature will give a hand with that Good luck. I hope you find a viable solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margaret Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Sorry to say, but I had this when I first had my WIR...Spent over £200 putting it on the floor, lovely purple but after 6 months was a smelly stinking mess, worst thing I ever used. Was lots of talk about rubber chippings a few years ago on the forum. Also was terrible to get rid of and still find bits of it now in the garden 2 years on Sorry, but some times it is useful to hear both sides of a product. Use Auboise now and love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KateG Posted April 10, 2012 Author Share Posted April 10, 2012 Margaret it's always good to hear both sides I love aubiose (apart from the fact it is hard to get hold of here) but don't fancy having it all over the garden any more. And I'm not sure how good it would be in a cube with the rain(how good are the covers for the runs?) Such a quandry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffy chick Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 The omlet covers are rubbish (too small) I use glass clear tarp long enough to cover the sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharLeila Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Im having a similar flooring dilema too. At my last house, I tried wood chippings which just sank into the mud and was a backbreaking task to get rid of, in the end, I just had them on the soil with the majority covered over by a camo tarp at my waist height. This kept enough of the pen dry for the girls in wet weather. Just before I moved, I put my cube on the paving slabs that the shed used to be on while I laid turf where the girls had been. The paving slabs worked well for a while but had to use a spade to s"Ooops, word censored!"e the mess off. Now at my new house, I dont know what to use for the flooring. I've even thought about inventing a chicken nappy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Paving slabs and hemcore (or whatever I can get). Change it every few weeks - take it all down the allotment - win win! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 I've even thought about inventing a chicken nappy! Sorry to say it's already been done . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubababe Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 OMG Please tell me that was an April fools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharLeila Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Paving slabs and hemcore (or whatever I can get). Change it every few weeks - take it all down the allotment - win win! Does hemcore need to be kept covered and dry? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Does hemcore need to be kept covered and dry? Definitely. It's really absorbant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharLeila Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Thanks for the advice, now on the lookout for some cheap paving slabs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I got mine from Freecycle . Also, if you know a gardener, might be worth asking them to keep an eye open for someone changing their driveway and you could snaffle their slabs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KateG Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 I still don't know what to do. What would you do? We've got the paving slabs down already- would it be easy enough to move the cube out of the way and then shovel the aubiose etc up? I really liked the idea of reusable stuff but can't do any smells due to an autistic child with over sensitive smell and very close neighbours. I just can't decide. We're buying the cube next month and will then have a homemade WIR and Eglu spare. What should I do with those?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharLeila Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I've managed to get 10 600mm x 600mm slabs off ebay for £25. Only need to buy a few more and will have full paved area for £45ish. My cube is against a fence with it's back to decking which is about 1 metre off the floor. I intend to take the back wire panel off the cube and then give the girls access to the area under the decking. Netted off in certain areas, they will be able to use this part for dust bathing and scratching around. Inside the cube run, I'm going to make a frame with planks of wood to fit around the base which will create a sort of trough. I'm going to fill that with hemcore/easibed, obviously making sure the cube is covered. Hope this might help you a bit KateG, I'll try to put pics on when its finished (hopeully next weekend). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 For ease of cleaning, I'd stick with your slabs and use Easibed/Hemcore/etc. That way you only have bedding to remove during a cleanup rather than having to dig up soil as well. It would probably make smells less likely too, even if it did get damp round the edges of the run. Did you know about the Louis Theroux documentary about autism next week? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KateG Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 Thank you for your opinions again. I like the idea of just one big clean up every little while as I could rope my husband in to help, it just depends how often that is and how big the job is. I like the look of the lovely clean horse bedding though, I must admit. The other thing that worries me is that they don't get a huge amount of free range time so having a soil base would allow for more natural behaviour, particularly in what may feel like a smaller space. I'm so flipping indecisive. Its just a huge amount of money and 4 little ladies who deserve a good quality of life. ANH- I just saw an ad for the Louis documentary (got apprentice on, recordered from the othe rnight ) I bet I'll forget to watch it though. It looks interesting, I'm sure if i do remember to watch it I'll spend most of it nodding along in agreement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 I know what you mean about "natural behaviour" (that's why I went for a soil base) but to be honest your health and well-being are more important so I wouldn't feel bad about putting slabs down. Plenty of people do and their hens are perfectly happy and healthy. The beauty of horse bedding is that it won't need cleaning out very often at all (especially if you can manage to pick up a few of the poos each day or so). I do mine every 3 months or even longer if it's not looking too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeky Chooky Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 I have Hardwood Wood Chips from Flyte so Fancy on the floor of my WIR; they've been down for 6 months now and are still ok. I've got bare soil underneath the wood chips but have clear tarpaulins covering the whole area and it's all worked brilliantly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharLeila Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Well, I've sorted my girls out. Went with the Au natural instead of the slabs. coverd the run too to try and keep it all as dry as possible. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3376050034652&l=23aa97768e Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
