new black rocks arriving tomorrow

[Glutton4...]

my black rocks don't seem to using their perches at night and are just settling down for the night in the next boxes,and in the morning the next boxes are full of poo,will they eventually use the perches?

You will have to shut off the nest-boxes at night, or they will continue to sleep and poo in them. The sooner you do this, the sooner they will learn.

[scotty1971]

thanks for that will get a bit of plywood cut to fit in,will i just put it in when i shut them up for the night?

[Glutton4...]

Yes, that's right. I block mine off after they've finished laying, usually when I give them their corn and veg in the evening, and open them up again first thing.

[scotty1971]

as they are not laying yet,should i leave unblocked from when i open the coop until around 11am,then block it until the next morning?

thanks

scott

[Suechooks]

Some may lay later in the day and as they get closer to laying they start to explore the nest box so leave it open all day until just before bedtime.
Hens have a 24-26 hour laying cycle so sometimes lay progressively later each day till they miss a day then start first thing again.

[scotty1971]

thanks once again for the info

scott

[BUFFS]

i found that the blackrocks took a few weeks to start using the roosting bars,they do get the hang of it,they are really tough, my two laid all thru the extreme cold last winter,we only had 2 days all winter when both didnt lay,they are bossy little bu**ers though,they will end up as top birds,even over much bigger birds,loads of personality and daft ways...enjoy..oh and they do seem to get a lot heavier than the other types of hybrids,i keep thinking "a good meal",OH just says"dont you dare"....i can dream..

[scotty1971]

i have another question,i have no intention of moving my coop from where it is,as it's sitting on grass would it be better for me to put bark chips down so it is easier to clean?

thanks in advance

scott

[BUFFS]

i use the small barkchips,usually labelled as playbark for the kids,after a few months,that gets taken up,onto the compostheap,or in the autumn on veg beds,i get 80ltr bags for £4.50,so buy 2 each time,stops ground going sour...so far...

[scotty1971]

will go and get some tomorrow,has it got to be the playbark or any type of small bark chips? sorry for asking so many questions.

cheers

scott

[Suechooks]

Best not to use bark as it contain fungal spores which can cause respiratory problems. I use the chippings from tree surgeons (cos they're delivered free to the allotment site!) which obviously contain some bark but I think the bark chips are usually imported so have "foreign" fungus. You can buy soft wood chipping which is what some folk use.They'll trash the grass in no time anyway. Try putting some logs/tyres/pallets in there too so they can get off the ground if its wet and some sort of cover if you haven't already got it, and a bale of straw gives endless amusement.

[scotty1971]

ok i won't use bark,is gravel any good? i have just returned from spending the day at edinburgh zoo,and all the exotic birds there had bark chips in their runs,must just be chickens that the bark chips aren't good for.so if gravel is ok will prob go for that.

there seems to be a lot of conflicting info about bark chips,this website says bark chips are ok,but also says woodchips would be preferable

Chickens | Eglu guide | wood chippings | No Grass? Keep Your Chickens on Wood Chips | Guide | Omlet UK

cheers

scott

[Suechooks]

Its probably because chickens scrat about in the bark! It'd probably be ok but I was really just passing on info as I understand it. I'm sure thousands of people use bark and get away with it. If you use gravel you'll need gravel boards to prevent them chucking it out all over the place.
Best thing is to watch how they dig stuff over and see for yourself then you can decide whats best for your own situation.

[scotty1971]

thats for taking the time to give me the info,much appreciated

thanks

scott

[Gro-Bag]

When I started out I remember looking into this and if I remember right (and if the info was right) the playbark for children's areas is treated to stop the fungal growths, with other barkchips its risky...but I went for woodchips anyway as it had less 'stuff' on it, and ends up on the veg patch. But more recently I've gone over to straw - lighter to carry about, composts quick, smells sweet, is warm under their little feet when you put it down on a frosty morning and the chickens think it's their birthday when the fresh stuff goes down - they get very, very excited!