Chicken run spring clean...

[Aileen]

I have a static run so have to give it a good scrub out every 2-3 months and replace bark etc etc... I did it yesterday and oh my god what a stench! Pure sloppy chicken poop, rain and snow obviously don't mix well, this was my first winter muck out... Does anyone else have a static run, what do you put on the ground for the girls?
Also, my coop is wooden and it's starting to show signs of wear and tear... does anyone have a plastic coop I am looking for reviews before I commit to saving up for one this year as they are much more expensive than the wooden ones but I am guessing this would eliminate my constant red mite phobia..

Cheers m'dears!

 

[Tim]

Many people use bark on the floor of runs - but - there are some worries about doing this as I think there can be mould spores in the bark - I can't remember exactly now and it's not something I've done myself.

For the chicken coop - Personally I have always gone for wood - and I think the Omlet houses are rather expensive and too small for my needs. I have however seen some coops from Green Frog Designs that I thought were very reasonable on price for the size and quality. They 'bolt' together securely yet come apart for cleaning. They also looked fox proof when I tried to bend a corner of the plastic - it's pretty thick and doesn't bend much.

I also believe they are made from recycled food grade plastic.

Green Frog Website

Tim

 

[bantiekeeper]

Hi There,
Is there any possibility that you can put a roof over the run? My coop which is about a 3' cube sits in a 8' x 8' x 6'6" high run which has a chicken wire wooden framed roof covered in clear pvc corrugated sheets. This together with the bottom of the side panels being wood up to 2' keeps the run nice and dry. I have woodchip on the floor (not bark for reason stated above). I sprinkle Aubiose on top of the woodchip to help the poo clump together. I can poo pick in a matter of 2-3 minutes every day. While the 6 bantams are out on the allotment I leave the coop and nest box lids open to keep them aired. Only use newspaper on the floor of the coop which I remove and burn each day and replace with new. As I am retired although I spend a lot of time on the plot the regime outlined above takes no more than 5-10 minutes

 

[Anonymous]

i would recommend this website.it has a great plastic coop that i would recommend.

http://www.empirefarm.co.uk/chicken-house-large-1722-0.html

 

[ncotb]

A sprinkling of Stalosan F in the run helps keep the smell at bay 17

 

[Aileen]

Hey folks,
Many thanks for your replies.
I have found Stalosan F on the Flyte so fancy site along with woodchip for the run. M run is approx 3' 8" wide by 16' long
Silly question but how often would you sprinkle it and how long does it last? - Trying to work out whether to buy the small 2kg tub or the larger 8kg one

Bantiekeeper - what is Auboise? Good idea about the newpaper tho - very simple yet effective! I have been using sawdust and poop scooping daily until now... may well copy you on that one!

Lastly! I like the plastic coops suggested so watch this space.... a funky blue one is my fave so far......

 

[bantiekeeper]

Hi Aileen,
Aubiose is a shredded hemp product. It is also available under the Hemcore name. About £9 a bale.
I can also recommend Stalosan 'F'. When I change the run floor material I scrape all old material out, sprinkle a dusting of Stalosan on the dirt floor and put the woodchip on top (about 3-4"deep). Only a sprinkling of aubiose is needed on top of the chippings to hold the poo. Stalosan can also be sprinkled around the run and on perches etc. It works well in damp areas. Although expensive I buy the 8kg size but with targeted use it goes a long way and lasts a long time. Hope this helps. please mail me if I can be of any further assistance. Brian 17

 

[karlooben]

my run is about 33ft by 33 ft so its pretty large , i did put down wood bark as i know a very good tree surgeon but it wasnt until last summer that foxy mentioned to me about the mould an spores that can grow under it and omgggggggggggggggggg when i dug it over it was really bad so i spent a good few weks digging out the whole run { didnt notice how deep i had gone about 12 inches in places } now my girls just have bare soil which gets soaked with jeyes fluid every month but only until i can afford to buy the stalosan f in the large bag very expensive for me :lol: i poo pick every day unless its frozen and under snow and i would adore to put a solid roof on but the run is to large and i would be looking at about £500 plus so i just grin an bare the whole load of mud but this year it doesnt seem to smell as bad 05 .

the stuff i dug out worried me as i could not get rid of it and i had bag loads in the end it went in to help fill the raised beds and it rotted down to really good stuff

 

[Lucylou]

Just catching up with this post,

I was led to understand that as long as it was hard wood chippings & not bark chippings it was OK & wouldn't harbour mould growth. Is this not true?

Karlooben - I have the same problem with a large run turning to mud (which is why I've got hard wood chippings down so hope my info was correct) but this winter I have also covered a third of the run with a cheap plastic tarpaulin anchored down with stretch bungee cords. I did a smaller version last winter but only after it snowed (& we were trying to do it in a snow storm too :roll: )

This year I did it early & I've also put a plastic border, about 2'6" high, around the outside of this section too to stop any driving rain or snow. It has worked well & keeps a good section completely dry. Poor little chooks though, they don't seem to realise the whole section is dry, when it rains they still go & hide under the house!

 

[karlooben]

i am keeping my run as bare soil as long as i have the slabs to walk on i dont mind the mud got used to it now , but when it warms up a bit i am going to look at making part of my run sheltered but i would like to use ethier corraguted pvc sheets or the black ones { cant remember what they are called } and do it so i can slide them into groved wood so they can be taken down when not needed dont really know if its going to work or not 05 i may just end up using tarpaulin as well knowing me as i have silly ideas that dont always work .

 

[Aileen]

Hey gang,
Can I come back to this run cleaning carry on again......
The hardwood chips - I am just being paranoid but would someone mind having a look at them on Flyte so fancy before I buy them.....
Also, karlooben, Jeyes fluid..... I am assuming you mega dilute it... I just keep picturing choking chickens, does it not bother them with their pecking , foraging etc.... as it's pretty potent stuff....

Anyways, I have lifted the bark for now and the girls are running up and down a concrete path which I have rinsed over, once a week for the past couple of weeks.

Sorry for banging on about it, I just want to get it right, cheers chaps!

 

[karlooben]

i use pretty well diluted jeyes as you really dont need to use much of it anywhere no matter what your using it for and i always do it early evening or afternoon which means that the girls do have to go to bed early but they dont mind so then it gets all night to soak in and dry if its on the houses etc its never bother my girls in the past .
over the next few weeks my money will re balance out after a shock from car insurance renewal { never drive and crash its not worth it especailly into over moving cars :lol: } and thats when i will be ordering stalosan f in the large bag as that will last me for some time appartently .

 

[dorinda]

Little by little I'm paving slab all my runs - taking a while with 29 of them - then I use a covering of bedmax - all I can get here. and stalosan - I clean them by a quick brush out (dead easy on slabs) stalosan and then bedmax.. it's imperative though that the runs are covered - otherwise it's a mess (and an expensive one at that) although it's tempting don't use the bark chips - the spores are really deadly for a chook..

 

[elmwood]

Hi Aileen,

You do make me smile. It is a carry on- but how keen are we to do right by our feathered friends.

Just looked at Flyte so Fancy, (where I have bought many a product from) QUOTE-

A large bag of hardwood Woodchips (made for playgrounds) for use as a surface in poultry runs (or on the flowerbeds too!).
The chickens love it; it keeps them clean, gives them something to scratch in all day long, washes through with the rain and only needs changing perhaps once or twice a year. Much better than bark, which is not advised because of the mould spores, and it does become slushy after the rain; softwood would degrade very quickly and just work its way into the mud; hardwood will just sit on top of the ground and can eaily withstand all weathers. The birds love it ...Its the BARK that seems to be the issue, and proper hardwood woodchips, like the above are fine.

On a personal note, I recently tried the "hempbed-E" bedding from them. Like Dorinda, scattered it over the slabs in our metal shed when the girls were holed up in there during that snowy spell. BUT they don't actually like the hempbed bedding in their house or nest area. I picked up some "Bliss" bedding yesterday, to see if the ladies like that! I have yet to purchase Stalosan-F which I am keen to use.

I currently use poultry shield for the house, and diluted dettol on the concrete, patio/slabs. Like Karlooben I have also tried Jeyes Fluid which I bought in a trigger spray ready diluted from Sainsbury's. So when the girls have say a nasty sloppy poop on the patio area, I spot spray it with the trigger gun of Jeyes Fluid and then wash it away with a watering can.

The dettol tip was picked up from here on the forum, and the girls don't seem to mind it. I even wash down their "bench" that they perch and poop on! :lol:

 

[karlooben]

if it stays dry here then i plan to do mine tonight although what i might do is split my girls of from the extensions within the main run for a few days an give each area a good clean , my run is big enough to break down into 3 areas ones is a holding pen in case i need to keep the main door open for any reason then the girls wont get out and the other one with the rabbit hutch in i leave as quantine area which can be closed of but normally they have the run of the whole area so to do each area really well at any one time is pretty easy .