Warm boot recommendations please

[lotlot]

I still live with my parents, and my mum in particular is very house proud. I am really considering getting 3 hens and the eglu, but i need to know of a way i can keep the garden tidy and protect the lawn etc. I would place it on the lawn, where it will stay but i was wondering if there was a way i could modify it so i could put bark on the floor, but keep it inside the run and not spread all over the garden. Have you made any modifications to the run itself to enable this? I can't do anything to the garden though

[BeckyBoo]

Hi there, a lot of people (including me) have that log roll stuff round the outside of the run which keeps the bedding more or less within the run area. Hens are messy though and they will eat anything they find in the garden. So if you ere planning on free ranging them you'd have to either fence them off an area to trash or protect any soft or precious plants your mum might want to keep.

Once you've got them though they're great for pest control, slugs, flies, snails etc, they're great at eating weeds (all plants are weeds if you're a hen ) and they're so lovely you kind of forget the houseproud bit.

 

Hope you get your hens, you won't regret it, they're the best thing we've done in years!

 

Mrs Bertie

[Tessa the Duchess]

lotlot

 

i need to know of a way i can keep the garden tidy and protect the lawn etc. I would place it on the lawn, where it will stay but i was wondering if there was a way i could modify it so i could put bark on the floor, but keep it inside the run and not spread all over the garden

 

I use a log roll round my Eglu, they still chuck bark/hemcore all over the garden I have recently covered the whole run with a see through polythene covering for winter protection and the DEFRA rules. This works perfectly as a way of keeping the flooring inside the run I think you should dicuss with your mum which bit of the garden you could fence off and will be the chickens very own messy bit. Also tell your mum how she will be getting a regular supply of fresh eggs Hope it works out, you won't regret it

 

Tessa

[lotlot]

lotlot

 

i need to know of a way i can keep the garden tidy and protect the lawn etc. I would place it on the lawn, where it will stay but i was wondering if there was a way i could modify it so i could put bark on the floor, but keep it inside the run and not spread all over the garden

 

I use a log roll round my Eglu, they still chuck bark/hemcore all over the garden I have recently covered the whole run with a see through polythene covering for winter protection and the DEFRA rules. This works perfectly as a way of keeping the flooring inside the run I think you should dicuss with your mum which bit of the garden you could fence off and will be the chickens very own messy bit. Also tell your mum how she will be getting a regular supply of fresh eggs Hope it works out, you won't regret it

 

Tessa

 

Won't covering the whole run in polythene affect ventilation?

 

The thing is our lawn isn't huge as he have a large decked area at the bottom, so she is unlikely to give up a portion of it Do chickens really damage grass to the point that they have to moved about regularly?

[Cinnamon]

The thing is our lawn isn't huge as he have a large decked area at the bottom, so she is unlikely to give up a portion of it Do chickens really damage grass to the point that they have to moved about regularly?

 

Errrrrrr, yes

Just give them a week & you will see

 

A permenant area with wood chips really is the best solution for keeping your lawn looking goo.

[CatsCube]

I have only a small garden, and my other half was put off the idea of having chooks cause we had reacently spend a lot of money doing our gerden up. I have the cube and run sitting on an area of crazy paving by the garage (you dont have to put them on grass so long as you fill the base with some sort of material they can forage in like woodchip) I have a stirt round mine made up of planks of exterior grade pine, which keeps everything contained as you cansee from teh pics in my blog. And I let them out in the arfternoons to free range, and will watch to see what damage they do (so far none) Be aware that some breeds do more damage then others, hybrids tend to do the worst, they love foraging. A lot of the bantams or feathered ledded verieties do very little damage as they cant dig around as much, the only sacrifice here is less eggs from these verieties, but it depends what your priorities are.

[Tessa the Duchess]

lotlot wrote

 

Won't covering the whole run in polythene affect ventilation?

 

Do chickens really damage grass to the point that they have to moved about regularly?

 

As to the ventilation question, the polythene is a bit flappy in places also I haven't covered the very front where the door is so it is fine As to the lawn question, I agree with Cinnamon a permanent spot with woodchip or Hemcore would be the way to go. If you are going to free range them for a period each day, and it is very hard not to, they love free ranging so much, you are seriously going to have to protect your mum's precious flower beds or whatever, manicured gardens and free ranging chickens are not a happy mix

 

Tessa

[Egluntyne]

They are fantastic for weeding and reconditioning a veg patch or border before planting.

[jomaxsmith]

I'm planning on getting a roll of that plastic garden mesh that I can put round key areas when they're free ranging.

 

I've had my hens for 3 weeks and so far they've pretty much left the flower border alone. They love the mulch under the raspberrry patch and keep trying to eat my garlic crop (which I've tried to protect with some fold up trellis) but they mainly like to wander round the patio, pooping and peering in through the windows Mind you, only one of them is laying so they are not yet voraciously hungry and scratching everything up.

 

I really don't think you're going to be able to avoid some damage to your mum's garden but I suspect it won't be as much as if you got a dog (which you could threaten as the alternative!)

 

Jo

[CatsCube]

Jo, mine are the same, they have grass and a border yet they spend all their time on the decking by the patio door having a nose in the house.

[Olly]

It does depend on the size of the garden, but I firmly believe it is possible to have a garden AND chickens! Unless your lawn area is big enough and unless you are really committed enough to move the Eglu every two or three days, they will need a permanent area.

 

I know they show you the lovely picture on the Omlet website but it isn't that easy to do! and besides most people just don't have time, especially in winter. The Eglu and run really isn't huge, though - find a bit at the back of the garden and mark it out to show her. Then at least you won't be worrying about your mum's lawn all the time.

 

After that, it's just free-ranging time that you need to worry about. They don't HAVE to free-range, but you will definitely want to let them out! Invest in the Omlet fencing, it isn't cheap but it really does the job, and that way you can give them a free-range area and move it every day, or just keep them off tender plants/vegetables. It's the scratching, more than actually eating things, although they will launch into juicy leaves.

 

Above all, stress to your mum what a fantastic source of compost she is going to get, how good chickens are at eating up slugs and snails (shh - mine won't touch slugs but don't mention that!) and how marvellous her organic, free-range new-laid eggs will taste!

 

And chickens do decorate a garden marvellously - mine would look bare without them now