MJ's little flock

[MaryJanet]

Here's another progress pic.

Before

Now

I might have to make a replacement upper door because the wood warped.

And there's no mesh available until Thursday. So the funrun will remain unfinished for a while yet. I'm a little disappointed truth be told but the hens are enjoying the wider ranging.

 

[MaryJanet]

Little ragamuffin ♥

 

[MaryJanet]

Hmmm Mary may have an egg on the way. She's made three inspections of the little coop's nest box in the last twenty minutes.

 

[MaryJanet]

Hmmm Mary may have an egg on the way. She's made three inspections of the little coop's nest box in the last twenty minutes.

I stand corrected. She made her first egg yesterday.

 

[RoyalChick]

Here's another progress pic.

Before

Now

View attachment 2490943
I might have to make a replacement upper door because the wood warped.

And there's no mesh available until Thursday. So the funrun will remain unfinished for a while yet. I'm a little disappointed truth be told but the hens are enjoying the wider ranging.

Looks great!
You could put some plants in hanging baskets - things like trailing succulents - the chickens wouldn't reach them to dig them up and they would green the place up and give a bit of shade. Just a thought. Maybe even the misting system would be enough water for them.

 

[MaryJanet]

Looks great!
You could put some plants in hanging baskets - things like trailing succulents - the chickens wouldn't reach them to dig them up and they would green the place up and give a bit of shade. Just a thought. Maybe even the misting system would be enough water for them.

Good idea! I have some hanging succulent mini gardens already. I'll transfer them over.

 

[MaryJanet]

Keeping watch while Mary lays her egg.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

Out of curiosity, which natives are doing well? I have some Lomandra they've managed not to kill & the trees are coping. Anything else, even outside the pen, hasn't coped.

I have a Finger Lime and a Banksia ericifolia both at the highest point in the run. The chooks don't spend a lot of time directly underneath them.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

Thank you so much for these suggestions! What other plants can be used?

I haven't planted any yet ribh, but what I could do is take my list to the plant nursery and ask the staff which ones tolerate chicken poo the best. What do you think of that plan?

Asking the nursery people is always a good idea. ☺ Just keep in mind what you want the plants for eg. shade, fruit, flowers, scented foliage or cover.

The herbs my chooks like the most are comfrey and flat leafed or Italian parsley. They both like full sun.

Here are some pics of my set up.

I basically used chicken wire to fence off a long Northern corner of my yard. It is on a gentle slope. There are two "gates", marked by red arrows. Top gate on the left and bottom gate on the right. The big tree to the left of middle is a Bay tree (Laurus nobilis) with a Chinese lantern (Abutilon sp) under planted about 1.5m away. This is where the chooks spend most of their time when confined in the run.

It's a bit hard to see but these are the exposed tangle of roots and layered stems of the Chinese lantern where the girls have been scratching and having dust baths.

Deana for scale

These are the leaves and flowers of the Chinese lantern bush

A close up of a flower

To left side of the run, outside of the chicken wire, I have made a herb bed containing comfrey and wormwood (closest to the wire), parsley, marigold, basil, sage, lavender, nasturtium, yarrow, and other bibs and bobs. It gets full sun for at least 6 hours a day. The girls can pick at things through the wire without digging it up.

Here is my caged blueberry bush (blue arrow) shaded by another, smaller Chinese lantern bush (red arrow). I planted the blueberry as tube stock a couple of years ago and it has really only started shooting up this summer. I wonder if it is because I have been emptying the contents of the chicken coop on it most days?

I hope this gives you some ideas for your Funrun MJ. Enjoy the journey!

Edit. One of the wormwood bushes growing through the fence.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

It's very exciting! I'm going to put three veggie beds in it and rotate them so only one is used for growing at a time. I'll fence that one off from the hens while they dig up the other two.
I'll put the garden bench in there too, and hang up the cushions to keep them poop free.

For now the old tables will go in for shade and rain shelter. But that's a short term measure while the shade bushes grow. The little coop will help with shade and shelter too, but it'll stay as long as it survives.

This morning I decided where to run a misting system for a bit of cooling on hot days: right through the middle because that's where the hens will be able to avoid the mist getting on their feathers while benefitting from the cool air.

I like the veggie garden idea. Looks like you have lots of sun there. Will they be raised beds?

I've heard good things about these, but I haven't used one myself.

Or make your own with left over building material.

I think I'm really enjoying your build and planning too MJ!