[chasechicken]

Hi all

After a week or so of bad weather, the run has gone from fairly good grass to pure mud.  The hens' feet are mucky and it looks horrible for them.

We recently moved the run to allow the previous patch of grass to recover, but this hasn't quite happened yet.

As the garden is not flat, there are only a few places suitable for the hen house and run, which we've now exhausted (this was bound to happen...)

Anyway - do you think a mixture of sand and shavings would be suitable for the surface of the run?  They do get to come out into the garden so will still have grass and mud to dig and scratch, but just wondering if they're likely to get on okay with it in the run?

Any other suggestions also appreciated.......

Thank you!

[Roughlee Handled]

How many chickens do you have and how big is the run?

[chasechicken]

Good point - three hens and around 12' x 8' ish...

[Roughlee Handled]

There are a couple of things that could help. Put a clear plastic roof on the run.  You could have an area of bark chippings and put the run on that. 
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=29574.0

[chasechicken]

Yes - roof is a must from now on, although wish I'd have done that beforehand

And, wood chippings a great idea - think that'll look good too!

One other thing - they're currently on corn (with grit, spice and a selection of fruit and veg) but this too is messy and goes everywhere... are pellets generally better in your experience?

[Roughlee Handled]

It is normal to feed layers mash or pellets and only a hand full of corn a day. Corn makes them fat. A fat chicken seldom lays.  Fruit and veg is good for them even though it is messy.

[chasechicken]

Thanks Stuart - they're ex-bats so have been trying to get some weight back on them, although also give layers mash at times (this is very messy though ) - will get pellets too...

[Roughlee Handled]

Its Pellets or Mash.  They will be a bit messy. What are you them feeding in?

[chasechicken]

A combination of bowls and auto-feeder... both of which they are good at tipping over and scratching into the ground......

I am in the process of building a feeder for them which will be fixed to prevent this - is that a good idea?

[Roughlee Handled]

I have one of these

But you could make one of these.

You should always keep your feed dry. As feed can go mouldy and cause problems with the birds. 

Are you using one of these?

It has the anti scratch bits in it. Chickens want to scratch while they eat, its in there nature. 
You can get the rain cover for them as well

[Blarney]

Back to the floor in the run.  We moved our run about several times in a bid to have a back garden rather than something resembling a rugby pitch.  We gave up in the end and built the bigger run so it can't be moved.  We've now put bark on the floor.  We don't spread it, we just put it in a pile and they spread it around.  It gives them something to do on a day when they can't free range as we're at work.

It took about a month or so for the chips to settle in the mud and now the ground is quite hard, even when it rains.

I've heard people saying that a layer of stones beneath bark is good as it helps with drainage but we didn't bother with that.

[chasechicken]

The shettler feeder looks good - that's the sort of thing I had in mind, although with some attachment to the run itself - they try to destroy everything bless em!

I'm definately considering the bark option... probably not a bad idea to put stones down too....... thanks!!

[Caralou]

My entire lawn is now a muddy pitch - they free range all day, but have still destroyed the place  I've started using wood chippings - as much to stop me falling on my bottom in the mud as anything. They love digging in them. I've also found that the dust baths are helping to stop the digging so much as they dig in there instead. I've just decided lawns are just so over rated  I'll stick with the messy back garden and lovely yummy eggs anyday 

[andreadon]

Thanks Stuart - they're ex-bats so have been trying to get some weight back on them, although also give layers mash at times (this is very messy though ) - will get pellets too...

even ex-batts should be eating the proper formula - they will become unhealthy if you feed them up too quickly.
make sure you give them layers' mash (it's what's they're used to - and ours couldn't pick up anything bigger than the mash when we first got them) in a deep WEIGHTED bowl (weighted because they WILL tip it over  )

and, yes, a roof on your run is essential - you'll find that when it's got a roof, you won't need to worry so much about the flooring - ours was uncovered originally and stank to high heaven! but as soon as we put a roof on it was fine and now it's rather dry and dusty (perfect for dustbathing).  but when we first put the roof on, we scooped out the top 6 inches (it was soil) and put in new soil. you could use sand, soil, wood chippings, leaves, anything you like! (gravel mixed in too).  also, they like different textures for their feet, so if you've got any slabs, you could dot those around too.
 

[Rozlynmac]

Hi, re chickens liking different textures....

I'm currently sorting out an area of my garden for when I finally get my chickens. It was just dirt. It's now a combination of slabbed area - which I hope to put the house on, with grass around. The whole area is about 9" x 10". I have sheepdogs, so sadly can't let the chickens have free run of the garden. I'm only planning on 3 chickens max as I want them to have as much space as possible. I was thinking about putting rubber or bark down on the slabs, but I was also working on some creative fencing that would let them have access to more grass and some dirt areas once the dogs are used to them and don't try to chase them. Would this be ok or should I still be looking at providing something over the slabs like the bark or rubber chips? The slabs total approximately 16 sq st of the total area.

Hmmm, those measurements sound wrong when I think about how it looks, the slabbed area looks much larger than the grass..... Ok so now I've confused myself, my question still stands - should I be looking at additional ground cover or does the mix of slab/grass sound ok with the dirt/grass added in once they're settled?