Gandrews Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 I have 3 girls and the Eglu classic with 3m run-this has a bark substrate. The girls also have approx 12m2 fenced off area which was grass. It’s now a big mud bath. Surely this isn’t good for the chickens to walk about on constantly, they rarely go in the run except to it! what alternatives can I put on the ground, I’m not able to move the chickens around the garden and I can’t see much grass growing back in spring before they peck it away!! Need suggestions please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 4m2 each probably isn't going to give you sustainable grass in my experience. You need to aim towards 15m2 each. The other problem is chicken poo kills grass, so unless you clear it up daily you will lose your grass anyway. Yes, they can get serious foot problems and I've seen a chicken kept on poo soaked mud lose all the skin off its feet and bleed to death; not one of ours I will add. The only thing I can suggest is confining them to their run until the ground dries. Can you extend the run with a bark covered area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 Agreed, and I would use woodchips in an uncovered run - bark can harbour mould spores which causes its own problems. Chickens don't fare well in muddy and wet conditions - they cane get bacterial and fungal foot problems and the mud will create an ideal breeding ground for coccidiosis and intestinal worm eggs. I would confine to their dry and covered run whilst the weather and ground is at its worst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamrhind Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 The area for my two chickens is, per chicken, similar (perhaps slightly larger) to yours, but my experience is not the same as Beantree's. It turns into the Somme every winter, but by spring it is always full of grass and other plants which the ladies can't destroy, however hard they try. I also don't poo pick and haven't noticed that causing any issues at all. Though obviously you don't want the hens knee deep in mud all the time, I think within a few weeks this issue will have resolved itself. Let us know what happens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gandrews Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 I daily poo pick but to be honest it’s starting to just get squashed into the mud and I can’t work out what’s poo or mud! I have an unused area of my garden with gravel on it-I was thinking of placing the eglu & run onto this and then putting aubiose on top of that. The run will be covered to keep the aubiose dry and off the wet ground as it’ll be on the gravel. I was then going to give them another fenced off area which is partial gravel and partial bedding/grass (not many plants for them to destroy) I am then hoping that with spring around the corner and a sprinkle of grass seed, the mud bath will be fit for Wimbledon by Summer!! I’ve heard gravel is not ideal however but with a good thick layer of aubiose they won’t actually be walking on a great deal of it. I can’t easily lay slabs so this was an alternative thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 I would advise against gravel - as anyone who has tried it will testify... it will become a poo-ey mud bath! Compacted soil with litter on top is better than that. If you can get hold of some slabs (mine are from Freecycle) then all the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 If the gravel drains then it may be less wet. But the trouble is that they’ll mix the aubiose (and poo) in with the gravel - you’ll never be able to clean it, and so the only option will be to dig the whole lot up and find some way to dispose of it. Can you just shove a few slabs on top of the gravel for the time being and put the run on that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallot Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 I'm in agreement with The Dogmother - wood chip is the way to go! I use one bag of Flyte So Fancy's woodchip per metre squared and it works a treat - a bit on the pricey side but it lasts around 3-6 months in my experience, if you take good care of it. I think dealing with mud is one of the only things I really don't enjoy about having chickens, so I hope you find a solution that works for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 If you keep the run covered, then you shouldn't have a problem with mud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...