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

[Luvachicken]

Last week I took one of the chickens to the vet because she had Bumblefoot but I actually took photos of the other chickens' feet too because 2 more also had it and Gemma had pink soles.

 

She gave them all Baytril in their water.

 

We have spent the last week emptying out all of the soil in their Omlet run, sieving it through a big sieve and then through a fine one.

We then put in a liner and put all the soil back in and hope that none of the stones get back in.

Some of them are extremely sharp and one cut my finger.

We are hoping this should keep them safe.

 

The problem is their kind of sand pit filled with earth too.

We have sifted some to top up what we have lost in the Omlet run and then levelled the pit.

Now is where I get stuck.

 

I don't know whether to carry on sifting or fill the pit with something else.

The good thing with the soil is I can dampen it and then sprinkle on the sanitiser

We can't decide whether to do that or put in another liner and fill the pit with aubiose or something else that is good for chickens

What do you think is the best way to deal with it and how do I keep a foot layer of aubiose or similar fresh and clean and sanitised ?

 

Should we concrete the base of the pit and then fill it ?

 

I really hate stones now and the thought of sieving the soil was a good idea to start with but it really was just never ending

[mollyripkim]

Oh dear that sounds like really hard work. My girls have whatever cheap compost I can buy in their dust bath.

[Luvachicken]

It was very hard work and took ages.

We're off to get patio slabs today and then fill it in on top of that.

These home grown eggs get more expensive every day

[Cat tails]

Haha I know exactly how you feel!

 

I need to put in slabs as well, because they are digging themselves out. The skirting might keep foxes out, but it definitely also keeps my hens in!

[The Dogmother]

I would advise to slab or concrete the run base, and have them on Aubiose; you won't need a thick layer (mine have about 2") but you will need a kickboard around the edges of the run to stop them kicking all the bedding out.

 

With regards to sanitising it; I rake it over weekly with a sprinkle of Ground Sanitising Powder, which keep sit fresh. It is emptied out every 6-8 weeks, or when it starts to look a bit manky. Then I sprinkle more GSP on the slabs and bung a bale of Aubiose in.

[Luvachicken]

Thanks for that Dogmother

 

We finally finished all the work yesterday when I got home after lunch. All that needed doing was popping in the bedding. I used chick bedding as that hadn't had a use before ( it was free with my little eglu ) and they seem to quite like it.

They also seem to love the sieved soil in the other half of their run

Now I just have to hope that all hard work will pay off and the bumblefoot doesn't ever come back.