Getting Ready for Winter

[Anonymous]

My girls's have a coop and run all in one, their run door is open most of the time so they can explor the garden but if i know I'm not going to be home till late i shut them in (they have plently of room in the run) I'm wanting to move the coop and run to a new place in the garden so the spot they have been on can recover. The place i want them is currently just mud (my hubby's empty veg patch). Obviously the girls cant just have mud to walk on, so i was thinking about laying paving slabs down then bark on top so they can still have a scratch around... I had thought about stones but could make a mess..

Anyone got any suggestions?

Tori

 

[Anonymous]

If they have time out in your garden, as well as the coop i dont think i would bother putting anything down, they will still scratch dirt , their feet will be dirtier and so will your eggs, but its not for ever, then they will be moved again, believe me a lot of chickens are kept in worse situation.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Tori,
I think they would prefer bark to mud,also,insects will hide in the bark so your chooks have something to forage for and if you've got any feathered legged chooks will help to keep their feathers drier.I personally wouldn't put slabs down first,just use the wood bark.If the wire mesh on your run is wide enough for the bark to go through with their scratching,maybe put boards or finer mesh around the outside of the run high enough to keep the bark in.

 

[Tim]

I find even my gravel ends up muddy after 6 months...

Lots of people use wood chippings and they are easier to change when they get messy.

Ideally, perhaps you could move them around every now and again, it will help to give the ground a rest from a worming point of view, even if the grass doesn't last long in the new location.