Advice re keeping run in one area /soil parasites

[jersey bean]

I'm looking for some advice, you're all so wise on here! Hope this makes sense...

We have had our girls in several different spots but now the garden is coming together this is it - no more moving. Their coop opens into a roofed and netted pergola (dry run) and this opens onto a raised bed which they have the run of. The run is going to be extended further into the raised bed which will give them an additional 56 x 6 foot.(I am going to use a fruit cage as we don't have foxes here so no predator problems although I will fix the bottom as they have been known for their houdini-esque forays for food.)

I have got 4 retired girls and 2 new ones and will be getting another 4 by the end of the summer. I came across a thread the other day on soil/parasites/liming etc. Even if I split their new run in half, there is still the problem of the first part of the raised bed that they go into. This is in constant use and they enjoy it up there, how am I going to keep it parasite free? If I really had to, I could make a little tunnel for them so they could access the rest the run (they used to have a tunnel going 80 foot to the back of the garden - cue mission impossible music!) but is this the only solution?

Any ideas? I have just 'hatched' a baby boy so lots of poo picking is probably not going to happen at the moment.

Thanks everyone

[chris]

Could you not split it lengthways down the middle - or is the whole thing 6' wide?

[Suechooks]

Could you move the coop to the centre of the run so they can access each side separately?
I have a pop-hole on each side of my coop so they can use the runs separately.
Resting one part of the run is the ideal. You could just dig out the dry area on a regular basis. If you worm them every few months then thats the best time to dig out afterwards and rest the run.
Hope that helps?

[motherhen]

As the others have said, if you can split the runs so one can be rested and one used.
We do not keep them this way but I would worm just before moving to leave the worms and eggs behind, and lime the resting ground.
The dry run is better for them as worms are encouraged by damp conditions as slugs are the mid host.
Try and use the dry area in the wet weather and the wet area in the drier weather, hope that makes sense!

[jersey bean]

Crismarks - The whole thing is 6 foot wide, so it could be done that way, there are a few large agapanthas but i don't think that would cause a problem.

Suechooks - The coop/run is a l-shape, with the coop at one end, so I can't move the coop.

It 'looks' like this, new (raised bed) run to the left, down to dry run, left to coop.

proposed new run...................................raised bed
........................................................(down to dry run)

............................................coop (going out to) dry run

(I've tried to draw it with lines on here but when previewed it just moves all over the place! )

Motherhen – makes perfect sense, I can see a bit of planning is needed! With a bit of jiggery pokery and a tunnel or two, it might just work! [Goes off muttering to herself in search of pencil and paper.... ]