[benson_moomoo]

Hi I'm new to her and to chicken keeping.  I have 4 hens in a fixed run.  I had intended to move it around the garden, but have now decide to keep it in one place.  I have 2 under 5's and am just worried about them playing in chicken poo.  I've read about gravel, bark and wood chips.  All seem good ideas, but I'm just confused about all the different opinions.  Could anyone advise which would be best?  I've tried searching for wood chips and it seems quite hard to get hold of.  How often would wood/bark need changing, I've read somewhere monthly, this seems expensive.  I am worried gravel would be a bit hard for them.  Any advice is greatly appreciated, I think I might've bitten off more than I can chew.  I did loads of reading before getting them, but this stupidly never occured to me.  Thanks

[flowerpot]

I've just had my chickens a month now, with a fixed run I've covered with play ground bark from homebase. It works brilliantly. Still seems as fresh as when I put it down. I do pick up poo daily - helps keep it fresh and its good for the compost heap ! I have no idea how long it will last, I did read somewhere up to a year.  Best of luck.

[3Bluebelles]

We too have a fixed run, so we use bags of bark/wood chippings (can get from B&Q quite cheaply). It last about 4-5 months, then gradually breaks down into dust. We then shovel it up and put it on the compost heap, then just replace with new stuff. The chickens love the new stuff, and spend hours scratching in it looking for grubs and worms (they haven't read the label that says it's sterile!)

We also ocasionally dust some Calcium Carbonate (available from Garden Supply Stores) which neutralizes the acid from the chicken poo, and makes it smell a bit fresher.

Cheers,
Jacky.

[grumpydad]

we use wood chippings from a tree surgeon, a lot cheaper than a diy store, nice and thick, then turn them over every few days and treat with stanoslan f every week or so to keep them as fresh as possible