Have I wasted my money?

Timbo47 · « **on:** June 05, 2009, 11:36 »

The other week after asking what do I use as a "floor material" in my Hen run, I was advised to use "Rubber Chippings" as a hygenic alternative. Now I read in the latest "Poultry Mag", that they are not recommended!!...and to be avoided at all costs. They cost me £85 to purchase. Maybe I should just have used bark chippings or keep the soil I had already?. Seems there are a lot of different opinions, but hard to choose the best advice. Being a novice easy to make expensive mistakes too.
So what now? Remove the Chippings? or continue?.

Tim

bubs · « **Reply #1 on:** June 05, 2009, 12:18 »

stick to the basics either dirt or concrete , i tried bark in the old budgie flight that i have converted for the chickens to get cover from the sun {concrete base} and the smell was mortifying when i cleaned it out it made me sick , now i don't put anything on the concrete and it does'nt bother the chickens and its easy to clean and disinfect . the other area the chickens have got is dirt and they love rolling and scratching amongst it , if you listen to all the nonsense some people will tell you to provide for the birds it will cost you a fortune and don't benefit the birds at all .

8doubles · « **Reply #2 on:** June 05, 2009, 12:29 »

What Bubs said seconded.

LittleRedHen · « **Reply #3 on:** June 05, 2009, 12:52 »

I used wood chips the first month of keeping hens and I had the same reaction cleaning it up in a month's time. Mind you, I cleaned it every day but there was still the horrid smell at the end of the month.

I use Hemcore now and am very pleased with it. I like the fact that it breaks down in the composter quickly too. Something to think about.

Bruced · « **Reply #4 on:** June 05, 2009, 21:09 »

You used Hemcore in the run? Does that work well? I use it in the coop, with bark chips in the run, which get de-pooed on a daily basis and no problems yet with any whiff. A hemcore deep litter sounds $$$

Timbo47 · « **Reply #5 on:** June 06, 2009, 11:08 »

I have now removed ALL the Rubber Chippings and replaced it with just Compost from my compost heap.......which is nice and fresh. Much better than Just stale soil I think.
So the Rubber Chippings were a total waste of £85!
They never got used either, as I don't get my Ex-Batts till next weekend.
So I bagged the chippings up, hoping they'll be used in some way soon, on the garden.
Just shows not all advice by "so called" experts is correct.
oh well...some you win.......

bubs · « **Reply #6 on:** June 06, 2009, 13:37 »

timbo the more chickens rough it the better they like it . when i got my hens about a year ago i was reading up on the subject to get a good set up and wasted money , i built a 6 box 2 tier laying cabinet thing but would have got better results with just 2 shelves and 6 old fruit boxes from the green grocer . i have spent loads on aluminium drinkers and feeders of various designs but seen others get the same results from old pots n pans

.

Timbo47 · « **Reply #7 on:** June 06, 2009, 14:42 »

Thanks Bubs. You're right. In the old days they did'nt have such luxury equiptment did they? and they were still laying ok. I think you can also scare yourself to death worrying about all the mites & bugs too. I'll just clean them once a week properly and turn over the run compost each week too. I'm sure they be fine. Ta.

richyrich7 · « **Reply #8 on:** June 06, 2009, 14:53 »

Can you not try to resell them ??
Must admit there's a lot of hype with hens at the mo, but more people are interested in keeping them so more products come out for them and more money is made from people

You could try straw I get good results from that both in the coop and run.

Like Bubs good advice they really don't need a lot to keep them healthy. If you've ever read my blog there's a bit in there about my homemade feeder, cost a total of zip to make

Jane-M · « **Reply #9 on:** June 06, 2009, 15:50 »

Hope I'm not jijacking the thread - but I have been wondering about wasted money too. I got a 30l tripod drinker that fills from the top. The idea was that I could leave the birds all day in the hot weather secure in the knowledge that they had water. But I can't make the b*****ing thing work. Either it runs too fast over flows the bowl and pours into the ground in no time flat. I sort of thought that you would have it dripping and then when the water covered the nozzle the water would stop, recommencing when the nozzle emerged again. Or of course it stops running altogether the minute my back is turned.

Is there a knack with adjusting the little nozzle job? Is it not working properly. Have I thrown away £30+

richyrich7 · « **Reply #10 on:** June 06, 2009, 18:47 »

Hi Jane I'm not familiar with them to be honest is it one of these?
If so then I'd check how tight a seal the cap is, it would have to be airtight for it to work correctly, also I think changes in temperature would also affect it a little.

Jane-M · « **Reply #11 on:** June 06, 2009, 19:48 »

Hi Rich - that is the very banana. The cap has a nice long thread so I don't "think" the seal would be a problem but I will try again tomorrow. I hate to be defeated

richyrich7 · « **Reply #12 on:** June 07, 2009, 10:58 »

The only other suggestion I have is if the gap between tray and spout is adjustable would be to bring them a little closer, I had something similar I bought from the pound shop you had to fit an empty 2l pop bottle to it, that was very temperamental to say the least. I changed to these and its very good sometimes it emptys itself if it gets a bit of straw in it , but very rarely.

Have I wasted my money?

Timbo47

Have I wasted my money?

bubs

Re: Have I wasted my money?

8doubles

Re: Have I wasted my money?

LittleRedHen

Re: Have I wasted my money?

Bruced

Re: Have I wasted my money?

Timbo47

Re: Have I wasted my money?

bubs

Re: Have I wasted my money?

Timbo47

Re: Have I wasted my money?

richyrich7

Re: Have I wasted my money?

Jane-M

Re: Have I wasted my money?

richyrich7

Re: Have I wasted my money?

Jane-M

Re: Have I wasted my money?

richyrich7

Re: Have I wasted my money?

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