Chicken Memorials

[AlexB]

Hi all,

I have just put down a thick weed proof membrane in the run, in anticipation of winter. I now need to find the right run bedding and I’m going back and forth over what to choose. 

I have a friend who is a tree surgeon and have just filled a tonne bag for free but the stuff is already quite rotted and mulchy. It does look to be wood / twigs as opposed to bark. I’m feeling anxious about using it in case it contains any mould / toxins / nasties! But it’s full of awesome bugs. 

I don’t know whether to go for something ‘sterile’ like aubiose or bedmax instead? 

Am I being a control / clean freak? 

I’ll try and attach some pics... excuse it being flash / in the dark. 

Thanks  

[Cat tails]

I would rather use that in the flower beds than in my chicken run. It looks a very damp and it will be a nightmare to poo pick. I wouldn’t chance it and go for something else.

[AlexB]

It is very damp, yes, although we did have torrential rain about an hour before I collected it... it might have looked different last week. But it is certainly already well rotted. It’s on its way to being mulch / compost. 

[Patricia W]

I agree with Cattails.  I buy hardwood chips which are sold specifically for chickens.  The others harbour spores which can give the chickens respiratory disease. Not worth the risk. 

[AlexB]

That’s my worry. I can’t seem to find any hardwood chips for sensible money though  

I might go for aubiose...

[Cat tails]

Aubiose only works if your run is completely dry, so no rain can get in.

[AlexB]

It’s covered and stays mostly dry, unless rain is blowing in from the side. 

I’m really struggling to find the best solution. 

[Cat tails]

Well to add to the choice: mine are on bare earth.

According to people on here hardwood chips will last you quite a long time. Ordinary wood chips are cheaper, but will need replacing more often. But if you are convinced your run will keep dry enough, you could definitely go for aubiose.

[AlexB]

I guess aubiose would be a cheapish experiment to see how it goes. I like the idea of being able to rake it out and replace it regularly. 

[Patricia W]

The place I get it from is about £90 for 10sacks, but it lasts about a year or slightly more.   I use the hardwood chips outside in the uncovered part of the run which is quite large.   In the covered 2m square Omlet WIR run I use aubiouse.  It is useless if it’s uncovered.   You’d waste your money unless you cover  the run.   Covered I find I only need to change it about twice a year. 

[AlexB]

I’m never sure how covered is covered? I’ve put some bedmax down for now - any wind will surely blow some of it through the bars though. 

Our run is covered by the Omlet tarps (it’s the extended omlet 3m run). It always seems to stay pretty dry under there even after heavy rain but would blow in sideways in a strong wind. Although it also has a dense hedge along one side. 

I’m kind of treating the bedmax as an experiment - see how that works out in there. I’ve seen a lot of reports of it working for people but just depends if our run is sheltered enough. 

£9 a sack doesn’t sound too bad - our run isn’t huge. 

[mullethunter]

My 3 x 2m run plus the 2m Cube run takes 5 flytesofancy bags of hardwood chip at £10 and it lasts roughly a year. Although having said that when I change it I usually leave a bit in so only replace 4 bags. It does seem expensive as an outlay but over time it works out ok. My run is covered top and pretty much 3 sides but still gets damp quite far in in windy rain - I wouldn’t want to use anything finer.

[Patricia W]

I’ve bought clear tarpaulins from Tarpaflex.  Much better than the Omlet covers. Tied down with bungees.  I’ve also used clear shower curtains.  

The top and some of the sides of the WIR are covered but you need to leave space for the air to get through. Also depends which direction the run is facing for the prevailing wind and rain.  I keep the aubiouse in with log rolls round the bottom.  I’ve used  plastic lawn edging too.   It might get a bit wet round the edges if the rain is in a particular direction but it soon dries out.  

You can get other horse bedding which is a bit cheaper than aubiouse but my stockist doesn’t have it.  

[mullethunter]

I have tarpaflex tarpaulins too. I’ve found they last about 18 months.

[AlexB]

Okay, thanks... I’ll have a look at those! 

Long term, wood chip is going to be the way to go. I’ll just let my boyfriend recover from the £90 I’ve just spent on allotment necessities before another outlay 

[The Dogmother]

On 8/14/2018 at 12:58 PM, AlexB said:

I guess aubiose would be a cheapish experiment to see how it goes. I like the idea of being able to rake it out and replace it regularly. 

My runs have Aubiose in them, they are covered with clears tarps which reach down the sides, and they all have kick boards. I sprinkle the litter in the run with Ground Sanitising Powder every week and  clear it all out roughly every 6 weeks (depending on how much time they spend in the run). Once cleared out, I sprinkle GSP on the slabs and pop new Aubiose in.

Job done... they never smell or look manky

[AlexB]

Sounds great! I need to put some kickboards of some sort on but I think we will try this system and see how we go  

[Luvachicken]

Like mullethunter, I also get woodchips from Flyte so fancy - she recommended them - and they have been great.

Mine have been down since Feb '17 and they still look pretty good.

We found it was cheaper to drive to Dorset than have them delivered.

[Grandmashazzie]

My local council have hens,etc in large pens at local park. They use a small pea sized shingle. I don’t know how they manage it but you seldom see pooh. I was thinking of switching from wood chips to shingle for the winter, does any one else use this?

[Luvachicken]

1 hour ago, Grandmashazzie said:

 They use a small pea sized shingle. I don’t know how they manage it but you seldom see pooh. I was thinking of switching from wood chips to shingle for the winter, does any one else use this?

We had pea shingle when I first got chickens 9 years ago.

It looked good to start with but a layer of poop soon began to gather underneath.

It was impossible to wash and just turned to a yucky mess.

Mine then had just patio slabs for a while but now I will always use the woodchip.