Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: Lorie on January 16, 2011, 14:36
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Fighting the elements regarding the girls run..24'x24'..wood bark,wood chippings ,still a muddy mess and whiffy smell,despite raking and disenfecting. Have been advised that an alternative to use is 20mm peashingle. Has anyone else used this method ? Would love to know how you got on. Many thanks..Lorie..x.
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Once apon a time i had pea shingle in the flower borders.
It is pretty much everywhere now as they can hoof it a looong way. :)
That is pea sized pea shingle, they could probably get the 20mm shingle into orbit.
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i am also intrested in this as we have our run on the patio area but we currently put straw down and have been advised wood chip instead as the straw blows about and when it gets wet it doesnt last. where did you get your wood chip and what do you use to disinfectent it ? or if anyone has any better ideas
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Have tried this but found it gets stuck to your boots and gets everywhere.Looks good though when it first goes down,but unless you put a proper base down it will soon disapear into the soil below.
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Hi Lorie, I have pea shingle in my run which is about 10ft x 15ft under that I have a polythene barrier, the hens love the pea shingle and at the end of the day I just brush it back into place at the end of the week wash it down. Pol
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Could be total wrong information, but the reason we currently have straw down on the patio area our run ison is i was told that the girls need to have it soft under foot. wouldnt the pea shingle be the sameas the patio slabs ? The straw goes nasty once it has got went sowe need to do something too, probably wood chip unless anyone can suggest different. (sorry to take over thrad a bit)
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i agree with members who use pea shingle unless wood chippings are cleaned up regularly it is a ideal breeding ground for fungus spores which are harmful to birds causing breathing problems, there is a product on the market that is made from recycled rubber which is animal friendly
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We have (or had) pea gravel in the run but there's not much of it left now. It's easy to top up and feet stay reasonably clean. There are also several areas around the garden with pea gravel and pebbles. It's amazing how far the chooks can back kick it but they are having fun and only takes a few minutes brush it back in place.
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We have 20mm gravel (not pea shingle) and it's great. You can rake it, clean with a hose or bucket etc. They will dig into it and have a sort of dust/rock bath despite the particle sizes. Here it's about £30 tonne - seems a lot, but lasts forever. As said it's good for clean feet - theirs and yours. Well worth while IMHO.
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We have 20mm gravel (not pea shingle) and it's great. You can rake it, clean with a hose or bucket etc. They will dig into it and have a sort of dust/rock bath despite the particle sizes. Here it's about £30 tonne - seems a lot, but lasts forever. As said it's good for clean feet - theirs and yours. Well worth while IMHO.
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sorry to try and hijack but should i just leave nothing on the slabs then or should i get some 20mm stones put over the slabs?
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My garden is mostly slabbed apart from 5 peagravel/pebble bits and borders. The girls haven't had any foot problems from them and easy to poo-pick and get hose out for a weekly scoosh.
Ehs284 - I meant my feet though the girls' stay clean. It's just their heads that get dirty. ::) ::) ::)
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Pea gravel sounds good but do you have to put that weed fabric down as well tostop it disappearing into the earth eventually?
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I would not put the weed fabric down it can be ripped, I put my pea shingle on polythene and put holes into it for the water to drain away
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Think the black stuff would not be as much fun for them as digging through to the dirt and getting bugs and worms. :D Any weeds wont stand a chance anyway and it might stop drainage.
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Ive been thinking of doing pea shingle/gravel as i live on a housing estate really need to keep a grip of witht the smell and also the ground is likely to get muddy. But if i shingled it all they then would have any grass to eat. (Due to cats and Kids i dont think my girls will be able to get out much maybe once a week) Is it possible to grow trays of grass for them ( was thinking those big trays you put under grow bags) and keep swapping for a new tray?
Also keep reading about putting lime down, how often so you need to do this? My thinking being maybe raking all the shingle into a pile and hosing it through and limeing the soil before raking the cleaned shingle back over. Any good as an idea??
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I stay in an estate too and as long as you keep on top of it, there is no problem. Mine free range round the garden every day and I poo pick every day (it only takes a few minutes) with big dustpan and brush. In spring I will have to curtail their roaming as granddaughters will be round more and I dont want them playing in chick poop :nowink: I can already hear the squauks of protest. :ohmy:
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I would not put the weed fabric down it can be ripped, I put my pea shingle on polythene and put holes into it for the water to drain away
I let my girls out of their run for the first time since way before winter - they immediately found my newly covered gooseberry beds with stones/weed fabric and by the time I got back they had shifted all the stones from the corners, pulled the fabric back and were busy digging for insects...