to bark or not to bark?? that is the question!!

[angelat]

hi all,

have now layed bark down on my mud bath area for carmen and miranda. looks fab and easy to rake poo out, i make sure there is never any left over food left at end of day (mice) and the girls seem to like the spongey feel, also i have found it keeps their feet cleaner somehow.

am thinking of putting a perch in their run for the day time to keep their feet dryer in wet weather, what does anyone think???

[MaureenHall]

Think it's a bloomin good idea Just need to work out where I can put some outside perches too!

[Flummery]

I've read that giving your hens somewhere to perch outsde helps with the old problem of them not perching at night. They get used to it. Good thinking!

[Noodle]

I have a network of outside perches that the girls love using! They go up their to preen, I think it's a natural behaviour so that they are higher up from preditors whilst relaxing! I have even used a perch instead of a ramp now! The house is so far off the ground that a ramp would be sooo steep!

[lynda66]

i've got a load of hawthorn stumps where the run will eventually be, i was going to remove them, but now i've decided to nail some wood to them, as well as somewhere to hang out, it will give them something to do

[Nicos]

I've ( well OH) cut down an old plum tree and intend to cut out the smaller twigs and branches for starter wood for the fire- and then somehow fix it in the free-ranging area so they can jump up out of the way of say a daytime fox. Not sure whether to paint it with something non-toxic ( thinking red mites here) to make it a bit of an artform in the field!!!!!

Best go lie down after all that planning!!!!!

[Bephlam]

I've got a couple of perches outside now - we collect them on our walks with the dogs. There are LOTS of woodland walks here, so we're often found walking along with a big lump of wood over our shoulders!!

The girls love it - they jump up to give themselves a great clean!!

[Snadger]

I have loads of things in the run to keep them interested (you just have to think like a chicken! chuk chuk bok.........quite easy in my case! Lol)

Perches of varying height are essential but are all movable so I can mix and match and move them out the way if I am cleaning out run etc!

[terrier]

There's loads of places that my ex bats could perch if they wanted to but they seem to prefer terra firma. Obviously not in their nature to perch.

[Rosie.]

i was looking for extra chicken wire in one of the barns the other day and found our old xmas tree stump, i'm pretty sure its just pine or something simalar and they love picking the bark of, also there is a large drilled hole where the tree was inserted
i tried filling it with sesame seeds (there usual favorite) but i dont think there beaks could get them because they we're so small?
i'm thinking of giving some cabbage down there
they love pecking at the whole thing but im afraid they will get bored of that eventually...hmm must think of some more amusing things to stop them going back to there old recreational pass time of pecking at poor Honey

[MaureenHall]

I put an outside perch in for the girls today - well it's a long piece of 3x2 wedged between the stumps of an old lilac and balanced on bricks at the other end. chooks not impressed - think it's too wobbly for them