What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[chateau eglu]

Hi all, has anyone used pea shingle in the run. If so, what did you think?

[patsylabrador]

I use it and I like it. It has worked well for us especially as we have clay soil. Normally with the pea shingle it drains well, this week is an exception. Even so over time it has built

up so the chickens are slightly higher than surrounding ground. It's also good for filling in any rat tunnels, I think it rolls down when they dig and makes it hard. We have to top it up every year, not sure where it goes though.

[Egluntyne]

A friend of mine spent a fortune on pea shingle for her run, and got rid of it after a few months as she ended up with a stinking mass underneath it, comprising poo that was just sitting there, and not draining away.

[chateau eglu]

Thank you for your replies. I use wood chip at the moment but after all the rain we have had recently it's been a bit whiffy,(I have an eglu go with the rain cover) and I thought shingle might be an alternative. My run is on top of slabs so I thought it might be less smelly if I can hose it down every week.

[The Dogmother]

If it smells then clear it away and treat the soil with any of the powder livestock disinfectants before putting down new litter.

 

Aubiose keeps very dry and a covered run helps no end.

[chateau eglu]

My eglu is on slabs with a good covering of wood chip so it's fairly easy keep to clean, but I thought shingle might be that bit easier to wash down more frequently. I'm sure someone else will offer some more info, but for the moment I will give it some thought.

 

Thank you all.

[The Dogmother]

I know of folks who have used pea shingle and also rubber chippings, their feedback was almost identical and the same as reported by Egluntyne.

[Luvachicken]

I must admit we have pea shingle in the outside area that they play in. The top layer looks nice when it has just been raked and tidied, but underneath lurks muck.

I gave it a good wash last year and it took forever to get all the muck off.

Now that we are threatened with a hose pipe ban that will not be so easy this year.

I am really thinking about revamping the whole area and just putting down paving stones which I can then just sweep and wash with a watering can.

Not sure if this helps ......

[chateau eglu]

Hi luvva chicken, I have my run on paving slabs with a good layer of wood chip, I'm a bit paranoid about it being smelly so I thought single might be a better option as it could possibly be hosed down. But after reading the replies I'm not so sure. My husband did suggest not putting down any wood chip and leaving the slabs bare so we can wash them down, the only thing I was concerned about was the fact that they like to have a scratch around and this wouldn't be possible on slabs.(they do free range for a couple of hours a day). It's somthing to consider, I think once my wood chip supply has run out I will give it a go and leave the slabs bare. If I feel the chickens aren't happy I will have a think about other options.

[The Dogmother]

I think you'll find that they will be looking for something to rummage around in - scratching is a natural behaviour for them and not something that they should be denied. Slabs with a layer of Aubiose or similar would be good, then you just clear it out onto the compost heap, sprinkle with powdered disinfectant and replace the litter. Job done!