a question about feeding different foods to hens

[SeramaSilly]

I have a WIR on a concrete base, it has a roof but the water still seems to seep in underneath the run base and creates a soggy mess when it rains..... so I'm thinking of changing to wood chips.  Those of you who have wood chips can I ask what you do when you poo pick.....you obviously pick up some wood chips too (stuck to the poo!) - what do you do with them?  I don't have a compost bin but even if I did surely it would take years to compost down and also fill up the bin really quickly??  Do you just spread around the garden (as a mulch?) or do you put them in a bag and take to the tip when it fills up??  Also how often would I need to renew the wood chips?  I have tiny seramas so they are in their WIR all the time apart from maybe half an hour a day when I can closely supervise them.  I do love the aubiose when it's dry but it's a pain when it gets wet and obviously a health hazard to my chicks!  On a side note I'm also getting a bit fed up of the mess it makes in my paved garden and the tracking of it all over my house! 

 

  

Edited September 20, 2018 by SeramaSilly
Thought of something else.

[SeramaSilly]

Anyone?

 

[Grandmashazzie]

We use wood chips or at least we did until we went to B and Q and they no longer do them. We pooh picked and as you say picked up chips at same time. It went in compost bin.Every 4 months we cleat completely out and put around shrubs in garden. Which is what we did a week ago and now have to try and source some. OH put down wood shavings which is now a soggy mess.

[AyeAyeMagpie]

I'm super new at this do I'm not sure how useful my experience will be for you. My wir is on bare earth with a thick layer of woodchip which my chickens already love to scratch, dig and dustbathe in. I haven't poo picked in it yet, I've not felt the need to. My intention is to rake it over and hose it down occasionally, and replace the woodchip annually. This seems to be the advice of Flyte So Fancy's 'Ask Phil' YouTube videos. Perhaps the care is different for woodchip on hard landscaping?

I found hardwood woodchip to be extortionate when supplied by retailers and found a local tree surgeon who does a big dumpy bag for £45 inc delivery. It's worth checking out local tree surgeons. 

[mullethunter]

My run is on paving slabs which are on weed membrane and sand. The gaps between the slabs had sand brushed in when I laid them so that provides drainage for any water that blows in the sides of the run (it’s covered by clear tarpaulins).

I use hardwood chips. I poo pick a few times a week and take out very few wood chips along with the poo (I use a child’s plastic play spade) - I do have a small compost heap that everything goes on. Then similar to Grandmashazzie I clear the whole lot out roughly once a year and use the chips as mulch on the garden.

This system works brilliantly for me - the run gets damp around the edges but is never muddy or anything and always is mostly dry - good for my pekins 😊

[SeramaSilly]

Thanks everyone for your replies - I think wood chips are the way to go then.  

Does this look suitable to you?

http://www.fountaintimber.co.uk/timber-chips.html

 

 

[AyeAyeMagpie]

1 hour ago, SeramaSilly said:

Thanks everyone for your replies - I think wood chips are the way to go then.  

Does this look suitable to you?

http://www.fountaintimber.co.uk/timber-chips.html

 

 

Do they do a version without bark? I've read that bark mulches down quickly so it won't last long. Can you get woodchip only?

[mullethunter]

Yes you’re better off with hardwood chip without bark. Flytesofancy do them. Expensive initial outlay but last for ages.

[Natspringy]

Love my woodchips. I don't lose too many poo picking. I weekly sanitise with a powder and rake over. 

I've read that bark can create spores so I'd go for wood. We found a huge delivery from flyte so fancy the most economical. I'm hoping that the ones being stored last a year in their bags; we shall see!

Edited September 22, 2018 by Natspringy

[SeramaSilly]

Oh, I'll go and take a look at Flytesofancy's website.  Thanks so much!

[Patricia W]

I’m not a fan of woodchip. It’s much more difficult to clean I find than a hemp based product. So  I have aubiouse on earth in a covered run.  Lasts 4-6 months. Then I compost it for a year and use it in the garden,  

[SeramaSilly]

I have a covered run Patricia but the rain still seems to seep in under the gap between the bottom of the run and the concrete - so I'm kind of stuck!

[Grandmashazzie]

AyeAyemagpie just keep check around edges of WIR,ours used to be on bare earth until we saw signs of a rat burrowing under and in. We put an edging of paving slabs around edge of one WIR and completely covered other one.

[The Dogmother]

My runs are on slabs, covered with clear tarps and have Aubiose as litter. The tarps don't quite reach right down on the sides, so I angle them slightly outwards with bungee hooks.

[AyeAyeMagpie]

1 hour ago, Grandmashazzie said:

AyeAyemagpie just keep check around edges of WIR,ours used to be on bare earth until we saw signs of a rat burrowing under and in. We put an edging of paving slabs around edge of one WIR and completely covered other one.

Thank you, I think I'm more concerned about the risk of rats than foxes. My plan is to roll out a width of wire mesh an inch below ground level on the outside perimeter of the run before  covering with weed suppressing membrane topped with pea shingle and stepping stone slabs. It's a work in progress but you're definitely motivating me to get it completed sooner rather than later. 

Edited September 22, 2018 by AyeAyeMagpie