elpolloloco! Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 my chickens are currently on bark, but are in the process of being moved onto the vegetable plot for the winter! what do people recommend to do with them???? as now people are saying DONT put them on bark cos of fungus and stuff. do most people have them static i.e. a permanent run in a permanent place, or do people move them around, as when we tried this, our garden was left with NO grass at all!!!!!!!!! also what do people do in extremenly wet weather, when our poor little chooks are knee deep in mud??? thanks tap back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 My run is permanent on soil with hemcore on top. With all the recent rain it turned quite muddy and the hemcore has all but disappeared but I did have winter & summer covers on so it wasn't too wet. I spent today cleaning out the eglu and sorting the run - digging it over with garden lime then a deep layer of hemcore. I've got a new raincover now that covers the whole run so I'm hoping it won't get wet at all now. I have (rubbish) grass which is still intact as when they freerange they tend to stay in the flowerbeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilly Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 Good evening, love the name!!. my girls are on bark, granted they are not in a run as such, but confined to a section of the garden, the bark does get worked into the ground, by me digging it in or the girls i find that it do"snt seem to get to " muddy" in there with it, and i do top it up at times. At the mo theres more leaves than anything else in there from the huge beech trees over the road.You may smile to know that theres a hen in our pubs flock called pollo!!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 I had mine on bark to begin with, and wasn't keen. I made the log-roll area as prescribed by Omlet, but grass grew through the bark outside the Eglu and it just didn't work for me. I switched to aubiose, took away the log-roll surround and laid it directly round the outside of the run instead as extra security/kickboard, and that was much better As winter approached (and I acquired three more and another Eglu!) I moved them onto the lawn nearer the house. I only did this because the lawn was absolutely rubbish - bare patches, uneven and really needing a lot of work. I wouldn't have done this if the grass was any good! They have trashed the areas that the Eglu is on, but the rest of it is fine, and in the spring I will move them back up the garden and do the restoration work that the lawn needed anyway. I find aubiose - even though it gets trodden in - stops the inside of the run from becoming a quagmire, and I top it up every so often. Also I have a plastic shower-curtain over the run, so it doesn't get too wet inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 ours are in permanent spots (see photo's in signature) and they graze on the grass, my lot funnily enough dont destroy it though - they are really good in my garden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 Mine are on a very deep layer of aubiose, topped with a very deep layer of leaves (courtesy of my neighbour) in a covered run. Takes a lot to keep it dry though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol U Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 We have hemcore in the run, which is on a permanent site and in winter keep it covered with a clear plastic shower curtain (Ikea 85p), so it stays clean and dry. When they freerange, the lawn is about the only thing they don't destroy! Consequently, from time to time we fence them into a smaller bit of garden to give the rest some time to recover. Seems to work quite well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooner.girl Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 No grass left what-so-ever in the back garden... OH is not best impressed.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyBoo Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 Our cube is in a permanent position, it was on grass but that's obviously all gone, they're now on mud with Aubioise over the top (which I must rake out tomorrow if it's not too awful!) the rest of the garden still has grass but it's quality seems to have suffered. In fact the dog weeing seems to have caused more damage (some re-turfing will be required in the spring!) Of course I have only shrubs left, nothing like fuschias, forget me nots anything like that. This time of year it doesn't matter, it'll be interesting to see how I get on next year with veggies..... Mrs Bertie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 I was really shocked in the first winter we had our girls. Everything was absolutely fine all through December and they were out for several hours a day. But in January we looked out and there was NO GRASS AT ALL! I think grass stops growing in the winter and they had eaten it all. It grew back again in March without my assistance and the following winter I was more careful and only let them out for short periods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatsCube Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 My run is on brickweave with a wooden 'skirt' round it and woodchip as the base, its working very well for me so far and has stayed pretty contained. My girls free range all afternoon, but dont spend that long on the grass, prefering to cover my deck with poo instead still will make it wasy to hose off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 My eglu, run and converter is on a permanent site, with a clear cover over the run, Hemcore inside and the grass is fab... but then they're little banties, so don't do much damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickybaby Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Mine free range all day and the grass is the same as when we first got them.......must have chicken-resistant grass. I have that bark stuff all over my flower beds though and they seem to spend most of their time digging and kicking it around so maybe that's why I have lovely grass. I move my eglu round the garden once a month when it gets a thorough scrub down but as they hardly spend any time in the eglu they aren't messing up the grass. I do get loads of food drop from the grub though, but the small birds go in and have a nibble so it does eventually go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...