Re: Chickens on the run!

"a_l_p" <hay_hell_pea@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:47a8c3b3@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Jill wrote:
keith kent wrote:

Hi , I have just finished their new home & in the process of making
the enclosure, then i will start to think what to do will the barren
soil about 4 m square in front of house/run?


The best option is to cover it with permeable ground cover membrane to
prevent the soil coming up and mixing.
Then cover this with 4-6 inches of the coarsest bark you can find.
You can then use this area to create a "play pen" for them with logs,
branches, hanging veggies etc.

Never leave veggies or any quickly decomposable material on the ground
for more than a day --its one of the surest ways to attract vermin and
can cause botulism in the birds.

*So far* - fingers crossed - that hasn't happened here because they
scratch it around too much.

I would not say its frequent or common but in our mild wet and warm climate
its not as rare as I would like.
I am fortunate? enough to have the experience of so many others over the
years to draw on.
Unfortunately some of them have not been so lucky :( hence my warning.

Any part that looks like it's got trodden-down material I turn
with the garden fork or a stick to loosen. Will have to see how things go
in winter of course, could be different. I'd probably do well to buy in a
trailer of coarse bark too, it's certainly great for keeping them amused.
Easily scratched aside to see what's underneath, and good drainage.

Remember the membrane to keep the soil from mixing with the bark - keeps the
nasty bugs away and means the "cultivated" bark is the most superb mulch
once composted for a while.


Anyway with your warning I'll be keeping a careful eye on left-overs in
the run and adjust feeding practice to deal with what happens as the
season progresses.

You seem to have a much lower density of vermin to most locations in the UK.
There is such a mix of housing and smallholding that its a lurking problem
here without care.



Bare soil and chickens is a BAD idea, except in desert like conditions.
Bare soil and chickens in the winter is a very bad idea. Its the recipe
for bacterial soup. YUCK


Bare soil packs SO hard! #

Definately different climate and conditions to most of the UK -- <very big
grin>
We get mud in most parts [ not just my seriously soggy part of the
countryside]

When my parents first built their covered deep-litter
hen house with a big wire-netting window across the front, I think some of
the locals thought it was a poor deal for the chooks. Theirs had houses
for roosting and a big netting run "out in the fresh air" where it was
bare and hard as concrete, apart from the times it was bare and muddy!
Ours always had great dust-baths in the straw and dried greens that got
gradually scratched to dust.

dust -- dust -- DUST ???? !!!!!! Dust in winter --- ITS DOES NOT COMPUTE
!! ahhhhhhhhh
#
<grin>

Yup -- different conditions to many of us mere mortals !
;D


--
regards
Jill Bowis

Pure bred utility chickens and ducks
Housing; Equipment, Books, Videos, Gifts
Herbaceous; Herb and Alpine nursery
Working Holidays in Scotland
http://www.kintaline.co.uk


.

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