[woodsmoke]

So many questions now I have actually got the chooks, that I did not think of before.  Please - rather horrified by size of ark when actually delivered as my lawn will take it roughly four times and they have already made a real mess of one section.  So have moved the whole thing to a new patch of lawn but it is not going to recover that quickly espec as in East Kent we have had so little rain for August.  What do others do?  Just move it a bit each day, buy turf. ?  Hints, advice, tips please, and what about treats (like when they escaped yesterday) rather than chasing them round the garden? 
The sales lady said don't give them brassicas as it will deplete their protein, lead to pecking and less eggs.  But might it help the lawn?
I am not a lawn nut, just don't want the chooks to run out of grass within a few days!  And everything seemed to say you can do chooks in small gardens.
Now I am wondering if I have made a big big mistake...
Thinking of laying more garden to lawn.

[Chookiechook]

Any amount of lawn will be ruined by chooks in a very short amount of time..... Why not let them have a fixed position with wood chips in, and let them out as often as possible??

[karlooben]

hi there woodsmoke , unless you have a very very large lawn the grass will get gutted within days an yes as you are aware it will take time to recover . if you dont want to lose all your lawn i suggest you build a solid permanent run you can then still mow your lawn an give the girls the cuttings. as for feeding them veg you'll find that they will eat pretty much anything but make sure that most of the veg is boiled an cooled first especailly potatoe peelings . cabbages , marrows stuff like that can be hung up raw the girls will love it an it will help to stop boredom .

if you did decide to build a permanent run you can get away with using wood bark as the base of the run it will help keep the ground dry when it rains an also the smell will be kept to a minium .

[bee]

I'm new to chicken keeping too (11 weeks) and have already stopped using the ark we started with, as we found we needed to move it every few days and like you had about 4 positions we could use. Moving it every few days did allow the lawn to recover but it was heavy and a right palaver. We've now gone for a permanent coop with run attached, surrounded by concrete slabs, laid on sand, as we think that will make life easier in winter. Inside we have hard wood chips and softwood chips on top of those, as advised on here. This is working well - no smells 3 weeks in, they turn it over regularly, and as the run is covered they have fun all day digging. They also enjoy raw cabbage hung up and jump to peck at it. We do have a couple of slabs at one end of the run, on which I have 3 level of bricks and the water perched on top. It keeps up mostly out of the way of the bark chips when they send them flying in the air and into the water! Their food is also hung, to give them more room underneath and stop them filling it with bark chips. First eggs just under two weeks ago, and they seem to enjoy life! Hope that helps, but you'll get a lot more advice from the much more experienced chicken-keepers on here.

[adi]

i was surprised to read you didn't get much rain for august, i think the north west must have got your share as well as the rest of the country's share as well. good job my chickens don't mind getting wet. i let them out on the lawn for about an hour each night after work and in that time they've managed to scratch several bald patches. keeps them happy though.

[grumpydad]

no rain !!!!!!!!!
you can have my share....
we have a fixed run, about 8" deep with wood chips from a tree surgeon, free as well, gives them something to dig in, the run is covered so during the winter they will not get wet, and can be out all day, the coop is raised about 2' with sand underneath to bath in, well that was the idea.
water and food hung from the roof, to lift up at night, keeps it away from vermin,
then just let them out into the garden when we are at home, that way the lawn is not permanently under their feet, and has time to recover. when they are out, they do tend to stay around the edges to root and scratch, dont spend too much time in the middle.

martyn

[Flowerpower136]

It's been bucketing down here since June?!

My poor girls were almost having to bog snorkle till we put a roof over the coop last week.

Poor Tilly with very sad feathers to start with (ex batt), looks like she's been buried for a week and dug up.  She's filthy.

Anyway, we're considering where to retire to............so look out for us we might be moving in next door

[beulah59]

I started my ark and extended run (partially covered) on a veg patch, so they didn't have much grass to start with - just one end where it overlapped the grass. I put down straw and they are starting to scratch through it now to the soil ... it will get muddy in a day or two, but I plan to move them once a week, again to bare soil and straw. Like you, I have perhaps three or four pitches I can use.

I'm sure I'll get fed up with moving it around before long ... we've already planned to get a netting cage to use as a fixed run (although I may be able to resite that perhaps annually), and I'm wondering about using sand? With straw on top? What do you all think?

[karlooben]

i would anyone not to   use straw it stinks to high heaven once wet an it will only turn to pure mush  the best flooring to use is natarul soil an wood bark on top .

[woodsmoke]

Brilliantly helpful as always.       
We have had four eggs a day since the chooks arrived so are pleased.  And the taste!    Considering the options that you have mentioned.  There is a big difference between wood chips and bark right?  Bark I can get in Homebase.  But there are different grades?  Any drawbacks I should know about? 
Hung up broccoli and parsley (Katie Thear said they love parsley) but there was not much interest!  Thought of letting them out when I come in from work each day  after they have been here a couple of weeks - so they know where they live.  But as the nights draw in they will roost earlier won't they? 
Looking forward to clean out day which has to be Saturday as it is all a bit whiffy downwind now.  I am not moving the ark completely now, just a bit each day.  When the lawn is gone I shall have to clear space for a permanent site!
This is just the best site ever.  Wonder what I did before the internet!

[Flowerpower136]

I'm trying them out with varous herbs and veg before I start sowing seeds in pots.

Fresh pot of supermarket flat leaf parsey was planted in the run.  Not interest to start with, but down to bare earth the next day, they were even fighting over the stalks. It might just be that they're not used to 'hanging' veg yet.  So that ones added to the seed list.

If you can cover the run, bare earth seems fine. It's easy to poo pick, they just love digging it up and dust bathing, and its easy for fork over to disturb worms etc, they go mad for it.  If not covered, then soft wood chips are best, though wil need renewing from time to time as they get muddy and pooy, can get bails at DIY stores.  A bit cheaper than hardwood.

[beulah59]

What about sand?

[karlooben]

if your looking for wood chip or wood bark for a base to put on top of the soil then call a tree  surgeon  u can get loads ethier for free or for a very small price .

[grumpydad]

try giving them pots of chives, they wont last long.

wood chippings from a tree surgeon are what i will use from now on, i have used bark but they dont last as long

martyn

[matilda duck]

i would anyone not to   use straw it stinks to high heaven once wet an it will only turn to pure mush  the best flooring to use is natarul soil an wood bark on top .

Unfortunatly that equates to a boggy smelly mess when wet.
Slabs with wood chip on top is great, as it can be easily cleaned and disinfected, and also with the woodchip on they can still scrat around.