[maggiemc]

I have had my 4 ex batt ladies for a month now, and I love them, we have bonded very well, and they are always very pleased to see me (but I fear it is really because I usually have a treat for them to eat  ). The problem is now we have had a lot of rain, I am encountering all the mud, it is driving me nuts, but worse than that I have been unable to poo pick their area, or sweep up any food residue and everything is trampled into the mud. Now it smells horrible, and it can't be good for them. Any ideas what I should do?

[min200]

Get some woodchip, I find local tree surgeons the cheapest, and pop a load of that in.  Also cover a part of the run if you can even a bit of tarp will do to start and this will help keep the rain off.

Unfortunately the winter has only just started so its best to try and get sorted asap! 

Saying that I need to cover a part of my new run as well....three guesses what im doing this weekend now 

[joyfull]

fitting freeview according to another of your posts min 

[JaK]

If you can't get hold of any wood chip just now buy a bale of miscanthus. It works just as well the wood chip and it's only £6 a bale.

[gracie]

What food residue do you have? Try to keep feeders in the dry and keep any scraps you want to give them to things that won't go soggy and smell. I entice mine back to the run with wild bird food it's cheap and there is never any sign of it later. Luckily mine free range so they have their porridge out of a dog bowl on the concrete. I use play bark and gather leaves up from the garden for my open area of the run and it's never smelly had my usual rake over this morning and it's looking really good at the moment.

[reidi]

wood chippings from local authority or forestry workers/ tree surgeons work well keep a nice thick layer in the run.  Come  March you will have some nice mulch for your garden.

[min200]

fitting freeview according to another of your posts min 

  Thats done and its allotmenty things tomorrow.

[ManicMum]

As well as the wood chippings, try using old pallets (usually cheap or free) to create a walkway for humans and interesting different levels for chickens.

I put my feeders on pallets (even though they have legs) to give a bit of extra height under the rainhats.

Our girls love hopping around on the pallets and trying to reach stuff that's fallen between the slats.

My original theory was thath it might extend the life of vegetation in their run if the roots were a little protected by pallets - no, but the girls had to work harder to get it which adds spice to their lives!

[hardygeranium]

We kicked off with a compound and earth, which got swamp like, so we added a tarpauline over the whole compound.  The tarpaulin thought it was a sail and the earth got very smelly, so we dug in the earth, put down weed suppressant and covered it in bark chips.  The girls thought they were great but decided to dig up the weed cover and cover everything in mud.  We replaced the tarpaulin, tied it down better, composted the bark chips, weighted down the weed suppressant and replaced it with gravel.  When the snow came, the tarpaulin pulled down the posts of the compound.

This year, the girls having dug in all the gravel, we have rebuilt the compound with extra supports, put on rafters and put on a corrugated plastic roof.  We have laid paving slabs and covered it all in straw and the girls thoroughly approve.   

Unfortunately, they are now turning their attention to burying the path to their compound .....

[compostqueen]

Keeping as much of their run covered as possible is a good idea to keep the rain off and mud to a minimum. Keeps the birds cleaner too.

I liked the horse bedding on the floor as it makes poo picking so much easier as you can see it so much easier than when the floor is covered in bark chips

You have to clean up spilled food and droppings every day or at least every other day to keep things hygienic 

[maggiemc]

Thanks for your ideas, I am acting on them, thinking about covering a larger area of the run. Meanwhile the ladies love the leaves to kick about.

[ANHBUC]

As well as the wood chippings, try using old pallets (usually cheap or free) to create a walkway for humans and interesting different levels for chickens.

I put my feeders on pallets (even though they have legs) to give a bit of extra height under the rainhats.

Our girls love hopping around on the pallets and trying to reach stuff that's fallen between the slats.

My original theory was thath it might extend the life of vegetation in their run if the roots were a little protected by pallets - no, but the girls had to work harder to get it which adds spice to their lives!

Be careful in frosty weather with pallets though as I did the splits last year and landed very undignified.  Bruised and grazed I decided to remove the pallets before Health and Safety Dept closed me down!   

[ManicMum]

Never thought to give the girls the Health & Safety At Work contact phone number.....

[TeaPots]

 

In the short term, liberally scatter Stalosan F powder. It is a bacteriacide and removes the pong. I use this all year round near the well used areas eg around the drinkers.

[JACDORE]

where can i buy this miscanthus from? im in kettering northants