moving house surprise

[raine]

Hi, I'm in the process of moving house and my lovely son and daughter in law have just told us that they have bought us a chicken house and run as a pressie. we Have always wanted one and we are really excited but eek! a bit panicky too! Our new garden has no lawn so what does averyone suggest?I'm so thrilled , Can't sleep and even though i'm sad to be moving (have lived in house 20 yrs, raised family etc etc) can't wait. Always thought to have ex- battery but really need advice now our dream is nearly a reality!

[vicky]

What a great pressie!!!
It might be more interesting for the chooks if you made them a 'raised bed' with some dirt to scratch in?
When's the move?

[Hashette]

What a lovely pressie

I'm a first timer doing ex-bats as well, the Battery Hen Welfare Trust have been really helpful with loads of advice. All being well we should be getting our girls in late September, so if you wanted to contact them and put your name on the waiting list, you'd probably get some of the same batch. Here's the link, and good luck

Battery Hen Welfare Trust

[Polly Fouracre]

Try putting down loads of straw for them to scratch in (changed weekly) and give them plenty of greens,sprout tops,outside cabbage leaves etc. and they will do well.

[raine]

Many thanks - I was a bit worried about the no grass bit but there is an area that is all bark chippings so i thought I'd either reseed that or, as you say, add straw. What is everyones advice?

[vicky]

If the bark is that ornamental stuff you are not supposed to use it with chickens as it can harbour fungus, so you will have to remove that regardless. They will destroy grass by scratching esp newly seeded grass but they'll enjoy it. However, unless you seed well before they arrived the grass won't get a chance to root so probably not a real option. You can put down straw, wood chippings (bits of wood not bark), earth, hemcore (horse bedding), sawdust (dust extracted horse bedding) and probably more that others can think of. With all of them you'll need to periodically remove and renew so why not try several over time? I'd probably go with something weighty so it didn't make the rest of the garden too untidy by blowing about. And I'd put a plank along the ground to keep the substrate where you want it.

[Hilary B]

We have a lot of shrubs (for the size of garden) and purchased a 'shredder' for the prunings. The output of a similar situation might make a good base for a chicken run, depending on the species on offer (I am not sure what would happen if the shrubs shredded were of a poisonous species).

[Tebbsie]

Hi, I'm in the process of moving house and my lovely son and daughter in law have just told us that they have bought us a chicken house and run as a pressie. we Have always wanted one and we are really excited but eek! a bit panicky too! Our new garden has no lawn so what does averyone suggest?I'm so thrilled , Can't sleep and even though i'm sad to be moving (have lived in house 20 yrs, raised family etc etc) can't wait. Always thought to have ex- battery but really need advice now our dream is nearly a reality!

I got my ex bats on Monday of this week and what a delight. They are so clever and happy and when they see you they start to make noises - I'm sure its their way of talking to you. I have a run with some turf which we planted for the hens and also a separate bit which is bark with topsoil underneath,. The grass is nearly ruined already and they adore the bark and soil - they lie in it and try and burrow as far in the dirt as they can. They are wonderful !!!

[MaureenHall]

Congratulations on getting your ex-batts Tebbsie. They'll give you hours of pleasure and eggs too as a reward for giving them the chance to feel rain and wind in their feathers, see the sky, feel earth under their feet, flap their wings, and be able to PLAY

[sunflower]

We use Aubiose in the run. It's from the hemp plant and soaks up the chicken droppings. We have our run on concrete and have a 3 inch layer of the aubiose. In the run I scatter oyster shell and chicken grit and give them lots of greens like cabbage etc. I have ex bats too and love them dearly. It's lovely to watch them develop into normal hens doing 'chickeny' things especially dustbathing when it's sunshining.

[JackieAt]

Many thanks - I was a bit worried about the no grass bit but there is an area that is all bark chippings so i thought I'd either reseed that or, as you say, add straw. What is everyones advice?

I hope you get your chooks soon- we started last year and it is very rewarding - not only for the eggs but for the comedy factor that they will bring into your life.
Dont worry about grass coz in fairness it wont last any way. Ours free range around our garden and get access to a fenced grass area if it is not too wet. They do like to scratch and dig so bark is good but the grass is soon dug up if they have unlimited access to it.
Most of all jsut enjoy them and good luck