Muddy Chicken Run!

[bluemoon]

I saw it at £7 a square metre, which is still expensive I know, but I thought if it really was as long lasting as claimed then I'd only need to do it once. Also my chooks are in two separate houses and runs, so I could perhaps do one then do the other one a couple of months later. We are allowed a hose-pipe so washing it down wouldn't be a problem..... shame about the dyed stuff though.

[MaureenHall]

I've heard about the rubber stuff too and thought it might be a good idea. Then I got to thinking - would a lot of the poo just be flushed under the rubber and cause a stinky problem? Or would it just compost away? Still thinking about this

[bluemoon]

I wondered that too, especially as you're supposed to put weed suppressant fabric underneath so even worm action wont take the poo away over time. Our runs have a 'skirting-board' around the bottom too, so we couldn't even hose it out sideways

[Hilary B]

I wondered that too, especially as you're supposed to put weed suppressant fabric underneath so even worm action wont take the poo away over time. Our runs have a 'skirting-board' around the bottom too, so we couldn't even hose it out sideways

If your 'skirting board' is wooden, and goes down to the weed suppressant, it WILL rot at the bottom edge eventually. Preservatives will only slow this down, not prevent it. Wood in contact with wet ground (and it will be wet from time to time) gets rotten. If you are able to replace when needed, this may not be important.

[bluemoon]

If your 'skirting board' is wooden, and goes down to the weed suppressant, it WILL rot at the bottom edge eventually. Preservatives will only slow this down, not prevent it. Wood in contact with wet ground (and it will be wet from time to time) gets rotten. If you are able to replace when needed, this may not be important.

It was just a length of 2x1 that was put on to give stability after the chicken wire was put on, it's keeping the wire more secure too and hopefully making it more difficult for a fox to gain access by ripping the wire off, so it shouldn't be too difficult to replace when necessary. The 'uprights' have been planted below soil level though and the wire extends down to the bottom of them - another fox deterrent, we hope - which presumably means that these won't last too long either, even though they've been treated. I think I'll have to accept that the run is going to need replacing on a fairly regular basis.

[Flummery]

Back on the subject of woodchip. I've seen some stuff in B&Q that's called woodchip, but has been dyed in various colours. Is this the same thing? I considered covering our run in it when the grass is all gone - probably Tuesday , but didn't know if the dye would leech out onto the chickens' feet and feathers. As Lancre is painted jade green and lilac and Graceland is yellow and turquoise I had an idea that I could match the run floors to the chicken houses . There's also rubber chips you can buy (not from B&Q though) which are made out of old tyres and which are said to be good for chicken runs as they don't rot or blow away, has anyone tried these?

I wouldn't be happy using the coloured stuff personally - the dye might come off onto food, feet etc. I saw some dark red dyed in B&Q - it was hardwood chips. Mine's softwood.

[Burgerboy]

I am lucky my run is based around a large leylandi conifer so I never have any real problem with drainage, unfortunately it causes a large area of the veg patch to dry out to!

[Maddie106]

Thanks for all the suggestions folks!
With all the sun today, the run has dried out nicely and the gals have had a wonderful time scratching up the grass I gave them from my lawn mowing and also sunbathing on the roof of their hut.

I think I was just getting paranoid and expecting them to develop trench foot or the avian equivalent!

In fact, I've put down a couple of slabs already so I don't go base over apex when going out to shut them up, so they DO have places to go out of the mud if they want to.

I'm having problems with one of them, who is a night owl and doesn't go into the hut till it's really dark outside. She's a hybrid from black rock (I think a dasiybelle?) and is very much the rebel chicken! Anyone else had any similar problems?