[chooksbury]

   Ok this is one I need some help with.  We have 3 lovely girls, who are just full of pooh !  When we clean out or poo pick, we have a small compost heap to put it on, but are very worried that as the days go by, the proportion of pooh will overwhelm the little heap (no room for another) and rats will be attracted to the garden by it.  I have thought of offering it free to local allotment keepers in exchange for veggies ... do you think this would be welcomed ??  Even if there's shavings in with it ? 

My three lasses STILL insist after a couple of months, on going to sleep on top of the lenham.  After all the expense ! Ingrates !  We just lift em off once they're dozy and pop them inside ... but meanwhile, all that pooh isn't going to do the roof any good !

I notice most of the keepers pics I've seen on here feature big tracts of land with free rangers on rather than little council house gardens.  There must be LOTS of people keeping chooks in small spaces.  Any hints for noise pollution .... not cocks ... just very gobby hens !

[lucylou]

hi there! when i poo pick i put it all in a plastic dustbin and then when its full empty into my compost bin (this is on my allotment) - in my opinion, the hen poo doesnt attract rats any more so than your usual peelings etc, however i HAVE got rats in my compost bin as do most of the other allotmenteers.  i dont think there are any rules about just putting it in your usual rubbish as long as its tied up in bags?  In answer to your other query - i keep my girls at home in my small garden with close neighbours and have had a few noisy girls egg laying at unearthly hours of the morning - i kept them in their house until about 7 when i thought it was a reasonable time for a bit of noise, and by then there is already background noise fom traffic etc. this time of year no problems as NO EGGS! ive got one at the moment, Brenda, who just complains all the time - got her beak half open moaning non stop! neighbours havent complained yet (I think they may be a bit deaf)

[Denno17]

I have two compost bins one i use for peeling and grass cuttings etc etc and i bought another one to put all the chichen poo and soiled straw/ wood shavings in. I have mine on an allotment though and am very fortunate to have space for quite a few compo bins at the back of the plot.

[dizzylizzie]

Well i live in the middle of a council estate, we have 13 chickens, a cockerel and a turkey. We  have a few very vocal hens, i very vocal rooster....so far no complaints.....
However, the neighbours hae some very yappy dogs, very vocal cats, and some very noisey arguments at stupid-o-clock....along with very loud music/motorbikes/cars and parties .......so ...even stevens really!
as regards the poop, compost it, then use it on your garden, if you have too much offer it free to anyone who wants it, you will find what goes around comes around, and they will probably give you a bit of veg without you having to ask

[karlooben]

i have offered mine to other allotment holders and not had much success on them taking it consider there are at least 40 of them on the site so mine at the mo is being used to fill up my rasied beds that i am making until i get another compost bin in the spring , there is one guy whos meant to have taken plot on behind me that i wanted and he reckons he'll take as much poo as he can handle and that sounds like all of it .

[Sassy]

I would be concerned that you may have red mite in your Lenham and that is why they do not go in. Might be worth checking. However, they may, as you say, just be ingrates!!

[chooksbury]

   Instead of saying no, no it's brand new there can't be red mite .. I'm going to bow to your experience and presume there IS.  So, what's the best remedy ?  Is there a best spray/solution to paint onto the surfaces to kill it off and repel further ?  What do you use ?  I'm so grateful for having experienced people on here to ask ! 

I'm going to chill out about the noise.  I'm sure if nobody has complained about my tawny owl at night, nobody will whinge about three operatic hens   

My next subject to tackle is run flooring.  It's gotten very muddy in there and straw just makes a big pooey cake which sticks to everything.  Any suggestions ? It's about 15 foot long by 6foot wide by 7 foot high (half roofed so rain does come directly onto the front half of it, but the henhouse is under the back bit under the cover and in summer it will be partially shaded.)

[Foxy]

You could try type 1 builders aggregate first, tamp it down until hard, (using one of those hammering thingybobs) then place a really thick layer of wood chip 9 about 3 inches topped off with mulch -or chippings free from a tree surgeon. Scrape the top layer off when you need too - it will have mixed with the mulch to make a better  quality compost. I have this in one of my winter runs and it works a treat, saves me from getting my boots muddy too as this run is not covered.

[Debz]

I also have 3 girls in a small garden.  I poo pick and keep it in a bin for about 6 months and then I use it on the garden.  The onions and leeks grow really well in it.  My girls make  a bit of noise but I had my girls for 2 days before I told my downstairs neighbour they had arrived.  She had never heard them.

[Flowerpower136]

My compost bays happen to be within the hen pen, and the girls love digging and sorting through stuff.  Don't want them knee deep in poo, so for that reason, and to reduce smells and flies in summer, I put the chicken debris in 'darlek' plastic compost bins.  When its rotted down 6-12 months - then mix it with the normal compost and use as thick mulch on garden.  Lovely stuff.
If you haven't got room for all of that, then double bag it and bin it.
You might find a compost enthusiast willing to take a regular supply from you, but they'd need to fairly keen!  And the fact that its mixed with straw or woodchips is a plus actually, it will all rot down together.

Re the pen floor, I use soft wood chips, big bales from b*Q, but if very wet, also think about decking tiles as stepping stones, or even old pallets, just to give you and the girls some dry footing above the mud.

[ehs284]

Have used a home made wooden compost box for last year without any problems of odour or flies. Hard top with letter box for poo. Put in vegetable waste, nesting box shavings etc. Needs to be quite large. 60cmx40cmx70cm lasted 6 months for average 6 hens. If flies become a problem, you could use a trapped funnel just as with tropical toilets.
Agree with comments on bark. Best of luck.

[Chookiechook]

I had the same problem..... I have around 200 quail and there is always four or five binbags full each week..... two extra when I do the hens as well!!!
 

I put an ad on freecycle and nearly had my arm ripped off!!!  There were around 12 people after it and I have not had any trouble getting rid of it so far!!

Well worth joining,... I have had a few bits off of there as well!!!  Including two massive two tier rabbit hutches which I can keep the quail in

[Elcie]

I agree with chookiechook, join Freecycle and you will get rid of it all very easily.

[francais]

I only have three birds, so I put mine into the brown council provided bin, that gets emptied by them every two weeks. It said on the booklet that came with the bin, we could put in bedding off pets (eg rabbits, guniepigs, hampsters, parrotts etc) along with card, peelings, egg shells etc.

[SUTTY1]

i agree any plot holder should be very happy to get it all, and ive just joined freecycle too,thanks.

amazed u cant get rid of it Karlooben(must all be mad on your site except the new neighbour), well rotted contents of chicken enclosure fantastic stuff especially for all the brassicas!!!!! just make sure the wood shavings well decomposed before you add to the soil as it will steal the nitrogen while rotting down

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