Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[no fly zone]

Finally finished post hurricane roof repairs:

View of the run from above:

 

[Shadrach]

Has anyone tried putting a layer of gravel down? the chickens will dig it in of course, and it will need topping up periodically, but it would keep their feet cleaner and drier while improving the drainage as it works in.

The plan is to dig the worst of it out. One thing the allotment holders can do is dig. It's not just the bedding and poop. All sorts of things are buried beneath the mire. They all need to come out. There is no point in even trying to address the drainage until the lot has been dug over and a layer of live soil has been added. It all goes slow but it is going. At the begining of this thread I had some vague dream of providing them with a decent coop and at least one proper meal per day.
We got there eventually.
My hope is we can get a new run built.

 

[Shadrach]

I am surprised it doesn’t rot down to a good compost. It suggests to me the location has a drainage problem.
I just chuck everything on the floor including shredded paper bedding.
Does it smell Shad? That is usually a good sign of a problem.

It stinks. The run was build in the wrong place. There is a serious drainage problem. It rains a lot here. It's generally damp throughout the autumn and winter.
I'll try to remember to take some ground pictures.

 

[Shadrach]

Thanks! It was quite a surprise.

Congratulations.

 

[Shadrach]

I did something incredibly stupid for someone with my experience.
Lima had perched on the new perch in the new coop run. She settled down there. She was there for a good ten minutes and what did I do? I picked her off it and put her through the pophole of the new coop. Needless to write, she came straight back out and went back to the old coop with Henry and Matilda. I have no idea what I was thinking. The perch I took her off is exactly where I want her to perch.

 

[Perris]

I did something incredibly stupid for someone with my experience.
Lima had perched on the new perch in the new coop run. She settled down there. She was there for a good ten minutes and what did I do? I picked her off it and put her through the pophole of the new coop. Needless to write, she came straight back out and went back to the old coop with Henry and Matilda. I have no idea what I was thinking. The perch I took her off is exactly where I want her to perch.
View attachment 3302535View attachment 3302534View attachment 3302531View attachment 3302532

we're all human, even you Shad!

 

[BDutch]

Has anyone tried putting a layer of gravel down? the chickens will dig it in of course, and it will need topping up periodically, but it would keep their feet cleaner and drier while improving the drainage as it works in.

Be careful with sharp gravel. I understand from other chicken keepers this can cause bumble foot.

I made a drainage by hand-drilling deep holes with a tool for poles. And filling these with pebbles. Works great for 7 years already.

 

[BDutch]

Thanks! It was quite a surprise.

You’re kidding us.
What a beautiful pic and beautiful hens!
Congrats earned!

P.S. you certainly need to pay more tax in this thread by now.

 

[BDutch]

Hopefully you find a way to adress the smelly and wet soil Shad.

I had bad soil in my run too at one point. With a good drainage , enlarging the run space and adding lots and lots of autumn leaves every autumn the soil came back to live.

 

[RoyalChick]

Be careful with sharp gravel. I understand from other chicken keepers this can cause bumble foot.

I made a drainage by hand-drilling deep holes with a tool for poles. And filling these with pebbles. Works great for 7 years already.

I did something similar. I dug a very deep hole (my helpful chickens kept filling it in of course) and in the hole I placed a bucket with a lid that was partially filled with rocks.
I cut lots of holes in the bucket, wrapped it in landscape cloth, put it in the hole and filled in with dirt.
The bucket acts like a soak drain. It fills with water underground and leaches the water out slowly through the holes.
Quite effective unless there is a real flood.