permanent home for chooks

[mew]

Hi
Just been reading some of the livestock threads.

My OH and I are getting our first rescue chooks (3) this Sat. He has made the coop and the run. Unfortunately our back garden doesnt have a lawn, its made up of a patio and slate with flower borders and veg beds. The coop sits on the edge of the patio and the outside/run is stepped down onto the slate. We are going to dig out the slate area for the run and put plenty of woodchip down.

Because we have a small garden and one side of the fence is only 3ft. Until we get that side replaced we wont really be in a position to let them out completely as I dont think our neighbour would appreciate chooks in his garden, so for the next few months they will be confined to the coop and run most of the time.

Because of the smallish dimensions of the garden we wont be in a position to move the coop and run at any stage. I noticed on some of the threads Ive read that you should really move the home/run around. Because I cant do that and thankfully my other nextdoor neighbour has an endless supply of woodchip as he's a tree surgeon, I was planning to just replace the woodchip in the run as and when needed.

I just wondered if anyone else has a similar situation where they cant move their coop and run and how they go about keeping the ground clean and suitable for the chooks.

Thanks

MEW x

[DominicJ]

Regarding the fence, you might be able to get a beach wind breaker type thingy to make a bigger fence when the chickens are out.

[marshlander]

Some friends keep their chucks very sucessfully in a large run but dig out all the soil every few months and swap it for some from a new area of their veggie patch. I don't see why you couldn't do the same with bark chippings.

[Thomzo]

I do as Marshlander suggests. We have too many foxes here to let the chooks out when I'm at work so they spend most of their time in the run. Originally I had 6 girls in a 10x10 shed and an outside run of similar size. It was plenty big enough for them. A lot of people I know keep their birds in a much smaller space.

I bed the girls on a mix of shredded paper and the grass cuttings/hedge trimmings/fallen leaves. I clear out the bedding from inside the run about once a month and pop it in the outside run. Every six months or so I dig out a spade's depth of "soil" from the outside run and put it on the veg garden. Then I let it all build up again. I reckon if you have a concrete base for the run it'll be even easier.

They really do need something to dust bathe in. The love woodchip but don't use woodchips containing cedar as the fumes are poisonous to chooks.

Adding greens such as cabbage leaves to their diet will help to compensate for lack of grass (and they love em).

Happy chooking
Zoe

[mew]

They everyone for that.

I'll check with my neighbour to see if he knows what trees consist of the woodchip just to be on the safe side.

What do peeps use for a dust bath in an enclosed run? Would sawdust or sand be suitable?

thanks

MEW

[marshlander]

What do peeps use for a dust bath in an enclosed run? Would sawdust or sand be suitable?

Mine use where-ever they've spotted in the veggie garden that is newly sown with seed or under the potting bench in the small greenhouse as it's dry friable soil under there.
If I had to provide something in their run I'd give them soil somewhere it will stay dry. My mum used to put cold ashes from the wood fire in the run for them to scratch through.

[Thomzo]

If you use sawdust then you should use the stuff with dust extracted as the dust can irritate their lungs. I've used small amounts of normal sawdust from a friendly furniture maker outside though with no ill effects.

Zoe

[JamesnKate]

i keep mine on a bed of straw i compost it after a few months and replace