Just wondering how safe garden lime is for chooks? I want to sprinkle it lightly on the floor of a covered run. It is a rather damp run in spit of the roof, I have improved it by putting down hardwood chips. They helped a lot but have now sunk into the mud. These birds freerange a few hours each day, but have to be confined the rest, as I live in a very foxy area. I only have 4 birds in the run, so not too many, but it is starting to pong a little, and I think garden lime would help. Question - if I sprinkle it lightly, then cover with a layer of sand, then another layer of hardwood chips, would that be safe for the chooks? Am reluctant to water it in as run already too wet.... and I am not able to house them elsewhere in the meantime.
Garden Lime
- Thread starter Roisin
- Start date
An alternative to lime would be Stalosan, which is a disinfectant powder for use in poultry runs which would do much the same job as lime but would be safer. I haven't used it myself, perhaps someone else can give you more details, but it would be worth researching I expect.
This is just the first link I came to when I searched for Stalosan
http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Stalosan-F-Disinfectant.html
This is just the first link I came to when I searched for Stalosan
http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Stalosan-F-Disinfectant.html
I already use Stalosan - it is good, kills bacteria etc. I don't think it does the same job as garden lime, though,which should make the soil less acid, and therefore sweeten the soil and reduce odour. Anybody out there used garden lime with chooks?
chrismahon
Well-known member
We've used lime but never with the chickens on it. Sprinkled it over an area where the run had been and made sure they didn't go anywhere near it until the rain had washed it in thoroughly. Of course they will dig it up Roisin if it is in their run. If they get the stuff in their eyes I can see it being a big problem. I wore thick rubber gloves when handling it.
Hi Roisin.
The other thing that will keep your run more fragrant is to poo pick it regularly. I wear disposable gloves for this; I poo pick the coop each day (not possible at this time of year for those who leave for work before their hens get up, & come home after the hens have gone to bed again) & then do the ground in the run, chucking it all into the same bucket before emptying contents of said bucket onto the compost heap.
You could get away with poo picking your run less often than this; I just tend to do it each day so that there's less to pick up & it doesn't take very long. It certainly keeps the smell to a minimum, reduces the risk of worms & minimises the risk of fly strike in warmer weather.
The other thing that will keep your run more fragrant is to poo pick it regularly. I wear disposable gloves for this; I poo pick the coop each day (not possible at this time of year for those who leave for work before their hens get up, & come home after the hens have gone to bed again) & then do the ground in the run, chucking it all into the same bucket before emptying contents of said bucket onto the compost heap.
You could get away with poo picking your run less often than this; I just tend to do it each day so that there's less to pick up & it doesn't take very long. It certainly keeps the smell to a minimum, reduces the risk of worms & minimises the risk of fly strike in warmer weather.
I do poo pick the coops. (I have two). Not practical to poo pick the run - it is only 4 ft high with a perch also impeding access. But Ihave put a good layer of sand, on top of a good sprinkling of stalosan. The sand in particular has really dried up the run, and I find a dryer run doesn't smell. Chooks look cleaner too! No longer covered in mud!
Margaid
Well-known member
Chris is right, from what I remember reading somewhere. If you lime an area where there have been chickens you must keep them off until it's well washed into the soil. In the back of my mind I have a time of 6-8 weeks absolute minimum before putting birds back on it. It was something that was done when poultry keepers could rotate between 2 or 3 areas of ground so allowing one area to recover before the birds went back.
