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im thinking of growing my run, someone suggested that hens should have hard standing as well as grass

any opinions on this?

Mine have a run on a hard surface, covered with wood chippings to a depth of about 4" for scratching around purposes. They also have a small fenced, grassed area close to their run that they go on most days. It's safe enough to keep them in but not to keep a fox out so they only go on there when we're out with them.

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www.vegheaven.blogspot.com Updated September 5th - Julian's Bower

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we have runs completely on hard standing and runs completely on the grass - eventually what it comes down to is personal preference.

If your run is on grass they will eventually turn it into a mud bath - that is the argument behind hard standing, the compromise is half and half. You can jet wash off hard standing whereas once your run is a mudbath you struggle to clean it - in this current weather i am really favoring my hard standing runs!

There is no particular benefit to either system for teh chickens only for us humans

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at the moment i have an ark, with a 8ft x 8ft run both on grass.

At the moment I move them both every week, but its proving too heavy to do this, so I am trying to come up with ideas to extend the run or at least be able to have them on a clean area every couple of weeks.

I have 4 chucks, yet the neighbours on the allotment have 5 and although their run is around 16x8 the chucks have not wrecked this in all the time they have been in it...mine however (as expected) have turned it into a muddy mess

I would really like them to retain some grass area, so any ideas on run ideas would be great

We sort of ran into getting the ark and my other half built the run, as he wasnt happy with the 6x3 run that came with the ark as being suitable size, so he cracked on with a run (which is fantastic) but heavy

Our run is permanent, hence the paving slabs. It does mean we can jet-wash it when we change the wood chippings though, and I sluice it down with Virkon S. The grass patch is on the other side of the patio and the fencing has a pop-hole in. When we open the run and stand back the chickens leg it across the patio and through the pop-hole to the grass bit - it's dead funny to watch!

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Whoever plants a garden believes in the future.

www.vegheaven.blogspot.com Updated September 5th - Julian's Bower

www.henheaven.blogspot.com - September 5th - Ranging on the meadow

I would go for grass every time, plus a little tree/bush cover, but that's not available to everyone I know. You could attach wheels to your ark to make it easier to move around on the grass, thus keeping the rotation going. Alternatively, if frequent moving is proving unsatisfactory, then a permanent run with a deep layer of wood chippings is an alternative, provided you replenish/replace the soiled litter regularly. I think birds on hard standing aren't really that happy - they need to be active and scratching around in something.

with the current weather, our runs on the hardstanding are fairing better than the grass ones. in fact the grass ones remond me of a glastonbury festival! Hence why today i went and bought a couple of bales of straw and have strawed up all the runs, hard standing or grass to provide some scratching for the birds (straw still has some seed on it) and also to stop them sinking.

I would prefer all of them to be on grass as i feel its more natural to scratch but alas space dictates that ALL available space is used!

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I have both and the hardstanding area is much better for the feather footed varieties of chooks (like my Faverolles). As has been mentioned, I can pressure hose the area once a week and it comes up gleaming. For scratching and dustbathing I have a Belfast sink (under cover) which I fill with sand or dried soil!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Not perfect, but perfectly acceptable(Snadge)

By the time you've got the hoe from the shed at the end of the garden, you could have hand weeded the area! (Geoff Hamiltom-ish)

i use an old ikea draw Snadge and put silver sand and louse powder in it and let them de-louse themselves! after a week i change the sand over to unmedicated until its time to do it again.

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http://meekle.wordpress.com

Mine are on a concrete yard but there's an area next to the Landie axle under a trailer which is just built up mud slush/stuff washed down and the girls love it there, that's their outdoor bath, their indoor is a Belfast sink with sand, ash and woodchip in it as well as a woddchip floor. They also have the run of a couple of stables with straw in which they love.

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An Egg is for breakfast, a chook is for life

Mine started off with kind of forest floor area, with branches and half grass and weeds etc. After 2 weeks it was just mud and branches!
We added some pallets to keep them off the mud, and some gravelled bits (large gravel). They also have the conifers to go under where it is normally dry and they make their little dust baths there. Hard standing only would mean you'd have to provide dust bathing facilities too! lol

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Please have a look at my blog

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updated May 28th 2010

So many seeds so little time

You just have to remember chooks just love to have a scratch about. So if they are mainly on hard standing they will need some access to grass or mud. Even when mine are feeding from the hoppers they still do that scratching thing.

Basil and Rowan's gangs were as happy as chooks could be yesterday when I chucked half a bale of straw in the run for them to scatter around. It dried up the puddles enough for them to really scratch around and make themselves a new dustbath. Why did it have to be right in the entrance to the run though?????????

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My girls found their way into my heart and now they nest there

Cos they're chooks!
I have started putting a couple of paving slabs at run entrances now, inside and out the gates - makes life much easier.

im in the process of building a new run for 12 silver seabright bantams it is 16' cubed see pic below i was thinking of planting a few shrubs in there as well obviously non toxic ones any ideas?

now did I hear right that rhubarb leaves are a natural wormer for chickens?

If someone could confirm this, as that might be a plant for the area, but dont know if they would trash it

Hmm I always thought rhubarb leaves were poisonous.....

I heard the leaves were poisonous too... but a few threads on here and one long debate came to the conclusion that a little did not hurt but caution and discretion was the better part of valour.

As to the original q - try grass(or more appropriately mud) and a few big paving slabs to get your balance and a place for you to stand outa the mud too

Watching the girls create their own dust bath is a lovely site. Do like the idea of getting them to de-louse themselves though......

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Can he put wheels on it? When Mr Sheds goes to Singapore again, I'm going to knock down the garage and make one of these

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~ my allotment photos ~

All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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Don't know about rhubarb but dandelion IS a natural wormer and the chooks love it!

__________________
My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Not perfect, but perfectly acceptable(Snadge)

By the time you've got the hoe from the shed at the end of the garden, you could have hand weeded the area! (Geoff Hamiltom-ish)

I think I'd go for planting dandelions in the run rather than rhubarb (though they won't last long!!) Maybe plant some rhubarb just outside so they can get to a little of the leaves through the mesh?

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My girls found their way into my heart and now they nest there

I didnt know about dandelions, perhaps we should start a thread:

great free food and vitamins etc for chucks!!!

as to wheels on, that link looks quite good, but i'm not sure what we could do

I am thinking perhaps, of a way of extending the current run, having the current run static and perhaps have a further moveable run, but need to figure a way of eg opening the existing run but with the option of opening it in different places to assist with the moveable bit

ummmmm

Ps. 3 of my chciks now laying,souffle has stopped laying after her "being down" period, hoping she will be up and back to her best shortly