Elderly cat breathing difficulties when purring

[ajm200]

Please can I have your opinions/advice on walk-in run flooring/bedding?  What are you using or would you use next time?

The new 8x6 run will have a roof, guttering, an open weldmesh & chickenwire 8ft side and a couple of weldmesh/wire openings on the other side for airflow.  Solid end walls.  I plan to make cllear tarp drop-down curtains for bad weather/overnight in winter

I’m thinking of using one of 3 options

woodchip on slabs

weldmesh on bare soil with deep woodchip

weldmesh on soil, covered with weed control fabric on top then deep wood chip. 

I know that there have been lots of ideas regarding the best base/bedding for a WIR over the years.

We didn’t like slabs with pea shingle (smelly, hard to wash/dispose of);  Hemcore on slabs (got too wet in the cube run; Bare earth (craters in sticky clay mud) 

Thanks. Info will help me plan/price my project 😊

 

 

[AndyRoo]

I would definitely recommend laying some paving slabs first, regardless of what you then put on top of it.

[Patricia W]

I’ve got mine on bare earth.  I use aubiose on it.  Three sides and the top are covered so the clay soil has completely dried out until it’s as hard as slabs. I’ve had to put some half slabs round the edge to deter tunnelling in by Mr Rat however, so if that’s a problem, I’d slab it. 

Edited January 12, 2019 by Patricia W

[AyeAyeMagpie]

If you go for bare earth don't use a weed suppressing membrane on top, apparently it creates a smelly film of sludge, whereas woodchip straight onto bare earth allows poo etc to drain through. I got this tip from the Flyte So Fancy Ask Phil video when researching the same question before setting up my run. I have woodchip onto bare earth. 

[ajm200]

1 hour ago, AyeAyeMagpie said:

If you go for bare earth don't use a weed suppressing membrane on top, apparently it creates a smelly film of sludge, whereas woodchip straight onto bare earth allows poo etc to drain through. I got this tip from the Flyte So Fancy Ask Phil video when researching the same question before setting up my run. I have woodchip onto bare earth. 

Thanks.  I’ll have to check out their website.  I bought our woodchip from them but didn’t spot the videos 😊

[Luvachicken]

Mine have bare earth in the Omlet part of their run and they have a wooden run attached to that.

The wooden run is on a base of slabs that has woodchip on top.

I also got mine from Flytes of Fancy - it made a nice day out and was cheaper in petrol than to get it delivered.

[The Dogmother]

Slabs!

[mullethunter]

Definitely slabs and woodchip. Have had this for 3 years (previously had bare leaf littery earth) and would do the same again and would (and have) recommend it to others.

 I skip out most of the poo every few days and change the woodchip every 12 - 18 months.