In this wet & damp weather....

[Lucylou]

Wasn't sure which section to post this in, its a general health question!

All this rain is creating havoc with the living conditions for my chooks (I'm sure I'm not alone ). Just wondered if anyone can suggest any precautions I should take with regards to their health as I know damp & wet underfoot is not good. They live in an enclosed run which is partly covered but the rain is getting everywhere & although I'm doing everything I can, I'm just fighting a losing battle & their feet are always muddy although they seem to keep their feathers dry (most of the time!) I've read that bumble foot is something to be aware of.

Any suggestions anyone?

 

[Anonymous]

Keeping the ground dry is a complete nightmare at the moment,apart from putting wood chippings(minus bark)in their runs I can't think of anything else.That will still be damp though.
The other thing you can do,but is time consuming is to wash their feet,especially feathered foot birds and dry them.
When I took my 8yr old R.I.R. to the vet with bumblefoot,the vet told me that birds that are not very energetic are more prone to it,I think that is why birds are more prone to it when it is very cold,as they tend to stay in more.My R.I.R. did recover from her bumblefoot.

 

[Anonymous]

We put straw down for them in the snow which they loved - may work with damp too but you need to replace it regularly.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi There,

Yes, totally sympathise with you there. Some of my pens are just like a mud bath at the moment. I have put down some straw in the run to keep them clean and dry. I will rake it up again when it gets too wet and replace. Whan the weather improves, I'll clear it away completely and hope the ground recovers. We don't always have a choice!!

Hope things get better soon.

 

[Lucylou]

Thanks everyone, I too have been putting straw down to 'soak' up the worst of the wetness, which does seem to work for a short time!! Luckily its very cheap & a bale lasts a couple of weeks, they love scratching around in it too!

Lydia, from what your vet said about the bumble foot, keeping them active will help too.

Thank goodness we've got a couple of days of beautiful sunshine!!

 

[Tim]

It's the worst I've seen it in my field. I'm on clay - which of course is great for holding the water. I'm adding sand to the muddy areas and that seems to be working...

The gravel that was in my enclosed garden run is now turned over into the mud... I'm going to take the gravel up and put sand and patio 'bricks' down so they have hard standing that I can wash down next winter. On wet days I can keep the ducks and geese in to stop the field getting so muddy.

Mud is not good for worms either.

 

[Lucylou]

I'm thinking of putting some hard standing in part of the run for next winter too, Tim. Are they alright on this or would it need something ontop of it, like straw or gravel etc? Not sure whats best for their feet.

 

[Tim]

They should be fine on hardstanding but you could cover with something so they can have a scrath around.

IMO It's better to have them on hardstanding than wet mud that they won't scratch anyway... I'm doing this because they can still go out most of the time into the field and scratch but when we get really wet weather I can keep them in.