Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[Nature Chick]

Hi

I have taken delivery of some of my WIR (I won't start ranting about the missing box, broken boxes, rusted poles etc.)

and will be putting it up tomorrow as long as the rest of it arrives that is!!!

We are going to have to build it now and then make it better with proper flooring, roofing and branches etc in a few weeks when we can take some time off to take delivery of materials etc. as our new bantams are fliers and we are struggling to keep them safe!

I am hesitating to order paving slabs as we can't buy them to fit within the run without trying to cut them and they are quite pricey (considering I have spent all our savings on the WIR itself!)

My OH has suggested exterior OSB (stirling board) as it will be a bit cheaper - nice and flat, easy to clean etc. etc.. I panic any time I think of putting wood in the run because of mites but this should be easy to wash down (it is waterproof) and would be easy to get delivered and install.

Has anyone tried this or have any thoughts on using this as a flooring? I doubt they will spend much time on it anyway as they prefer to be off the ground in the trees

Thanks

S

[Nature Chick]

My husband and I have built the WIR!!!! We timed ourselves and finally attached the Eglu after 3 hours and 5 mins!!!

Really glad we got the extension as otherwise it would be very small. The girls love it and have used the branch perches already! Looking forward to next month for roof installation and flooring so any suggestions for an alternative to concrete or slabs would be most appreciated!!!!

Thanks

S

[LottyJ1]

I have no idea about OSB but we have weld mesh dug into the ground and tacked onto the run covered by earth and then wood chip.

 

Let us know who you get on.

[Hayleybug]

i wouldnt know about OSB but we have floored our WIR using reclaimed bricks (reclaimed from mods to our new house). we put the WIR in an area of the garden which was set up as a rockery and had a lot of gravel lined with weed suppressant fabric. we leveled out the gravel and then built the flooring on top just by laying the bricks in a herringbone pattern, and edged it with stone and garden edging wood pieces. we filled the gaps between the bricks (small gaps) by brushing soil/sand/gravel mix across the flooring. you can see pics if you search for my posts on here. you could do something similar as you have more of a choice on size if you use something smaller than slabs.

[Lewis]

I wouldn't think about using OSB, maybe see if you can get some slabs from Freecycle or Freegle?

 

If not, Weldmesh underneath is a good idea