[orchardlady]

In a previous post about keeping/getting eggs clean there was mention of using a door mat, so the birds are not entering the hen house with muddy/poopy feet. I keep my hens in a large field and this winter has been particularly bad. The grass is now very short from their grazing and getting quite patchy. What would you suggest as a movable, durable washable doormat?

Look forward to hearing from you.

OL

[hillfooter]

The key requirement is to keep the entrance to the house dry by having a covered entrance "porch" run.  The floor of this should be covered with woodchips or forest mulch (composted wood/ hedge shreddings, avoid yew).  On top of this put duckboards of slatted batons or old lattice trellis can be used.  The floor of the house should have a deep clean bed of wood shavings and/ or a slatted walkway to the nestboxes which must also be kept clean.

A well designed house helps and those with a central trough walkway you can fill with shavings which have rising slatted roosts upto the nestboxes are best (See Forshams Lenhams).

You are on a loser if conditions are so bad the hens feathers become heavily soiled and wet the only thing you can do is provide dry walk ways made from sawing pallets in half.









Best of luck
HF