[MRS PEPPER POT]

i am needing a bit of advice i am sure i have read some where that limeing the ground is good to get rid of bacteria.  as my chooks or on an allotment althugh they have a large area to roam in they do not get on to fresh ground.  so i am sure i have read to lime the ground? how long do i need to keep the chooks off the limed area once it has been rotivated in ??

[ehs284]

Just the opposite. This idea may come from a time when infectious bodies(people and animals) were buried in quicklime (CaO) because it is caustic (alkaline), but this encases the body in the lime for a short time whilst putrefaction destroys the bacteria. You couldn't use this as a ground bacteriacide in normal circumstances. It quickly takes in carbon dioxide from the air changing back to limestone/chalk. You can get quicklime for use in restoration of buildings, but it is dangerous stuff and best avoided as it is not only caustic but gives off a lot of heat when water is added (some handwarmers and self-heating cans use it).

Agricultural lime as used today and which you can buy for use on fields or in gardens is varied in composition depending on the area of use, but is a mixture of various calcium and magnesium compounds used to neutralise land which tends to become acidic. This 'sweetening' allows better uptake of nutrients, better utilization of fertilizers and encourages bacterial activity.

Maybe the use of agricultural lime would help your situation as it would prevent acidification of your plot by the bird's poo and encourage the growth of natural soil bacteria which will breakdown the said poo quickly and without lots of odour.  The time for leaving without birds will depend on the actual 'lime' that you buy. The supplier will have a guide, but generally, once in the soil there is no need to keep animals away. HTH

[GrannieAnnie]

I always spray our runs with jeyes fluid in between flocks and once dried limed with graden lime.  left for a couple of days then rotavated in.  Once rotavated the girls can go back on the ground.

I was told this by an old friend who has kept chickens for over 40 years now and also Paul Kelly mentions it in his website for keeping your turkeys nice and healthy!

"PREPARING THE RANGE
Spray 0.5 metre wide with weedkiller on the prospective route of the electric fence three weeks before erection. European legislation
dictates that free range turkeys must be stocked at no more than 2,500 birds per hectare on the range.
Depending on the condition of the range, an apron of hoggin or stone rejects may be needed outside the doors / popholes to avoid a build-up of mud.
Lime should be scattered around the popholes each spring to prevent a build-up of parasites (at the rate of 0.5kg per square metre)
If the whole range needs treating (worms etc) this is equivalent to 5 tonnes per hectare."