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[JemimaP]

I think the door closure is brilliant as the coop is predator proof. You mentioned that there were foxes around your way. Foxes tend to come out at night. So it should be fine especially as you have a fence around the garden. One of your pics showed the run fence and I was concerned if it was accessible for predators and thought it best in mention it in case. The second pics of the run and coop looks so cosy and a lovely size. Hope they are all still settling in fine

Hi Warriorgal, I truly appreciate the advice I feel very nervous about everything.
We think we’ve found fox poo in the garden so I hope it’s only at night that they come in. Scary.
I’m thinking I might need to rebuild the whole run with stronger wire and mesh around the edge to stop anything digging under.
On a happier note I tied a broccoli head up in the run this evening and they’ve loved pecking at it. So adorable to watch.
One of them jumped on my back then my head while I was crouched down poop scooping. So funny.
I’m still a bit too nervous to pick them up though. I need to build up some confidence. Silly really. I don’t know why I’m putting it off. I picked them up when I brought them home to put them in the coop so I can do it but I keep thinking oh I’ll let them settle and do it tomorrow. And tomorrow..... eek

 

[JemimaP]

A sad first for our chicken keeping journey today. Our dear little 5 week old Araucana Edward Scissor beak went sharply downhill and I had to make the call to put him down. Thankfully I found out from my neighbour that you can buy ether at the pharmacy here so it was very peaceful. My 12 year old son held him (totally totally his choice) and I just did it with a cotton ball with a cotton ball square thing over his beak and he just fell asleep

I'm going to update with the new chicks when I get a minute (later in the week??) but this is my thread of my chickens if you want to see some pics:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/poulechicks-chooks.1242608/

That’s so sad Poulechick. I hope you’re ok! X

 

[Warriorgal]

Hi Warriorgal, I truly appreciate the advice I feel very nervous about everything.
We think we’ve found fox poo in the garden so I hope it’s only at night that they come in. Scary.
I’m thinking I might need to rebuild the whole run with stronger wire and mesh around the edge to stop anything digging under.
On a happier note I tied a broccoli head up in the run this evening and they’ve loved pecking at it. So adorable to watch.
One of them jumped on my back then my head while I was crouched down poop scooping. So funny.
I’m still a bit too nervous to pick them up though. I need to build up some confidence. Silly really. I don’t know why I’m putting it off. I picked them up when I brought them home to put them in the coop so I can do it but I keep thinking oh I’ll let them settle and do it tomorrow. And tomorrow..... eek

Hi JemimaP, you will get more confident as time goes by. One thing I kept forgetting about when I pick my chickens up is to hold their wings in firmly, they cant move and appear fine about it. I even walk around the garden sometimes with Joffrey the rooster under my arm pit, he is quite content. I realise now when he gets stoppy with me is when I go near the eggs I think lol. Not sure if anyone has come across that before. Sounds brill about the broccolli its entertainment for them. Mine love chopped up grapes and also I give them some low fat yoghurt as a treat. Because we do that and spoil them. Enjoy JemimaP, and its a good idea to make things as strong as possible if you can, even if its just peice of mind.

 

[JemimaP]

Ooh I’ll try some grapes and will get some yogurt!!
Haha Joffrey sounds lush!

 

[JemimaP]

Grass in the run: my 3m run is half grass and half soil as we dug up a vegetable bed to make room for my girls. We sowed grass seed on the soil bit a week before they came so they had little shoots to eat.
I got my hens 5 days ago and they’re bantams so they’ve been delicately pecking the grass and I’m surprised some of the little shoots are still there.
The established grass end is a bit flattened from them walking but I can’t picture them ever managing to turn it to soil. They have feathered feet and don’t scratch heavily.
My question is about the poop. I find it tricky to scoop the poop properly from the grass as it clings to the blades. Is this unhygienic for them? Should I dig up the grass? I don’t really want to as they seem to like it. Will 4 Pekin Bantams eventually clear the grass? I’ll be letting them freerange when they’re bigger.
I guess I assumed from what I’d read that it would be all soil within a fortnight then I was going to put something down, but they’ve made no indent whatsoever in the first week. If it’s not a problem having poop stuck to the grass I’ll just leave it alone.

 

[CCUK]

View attachment 1421498
Grass in the run: my 3m run is half grass and half soil as we dug up a vegetable bed to make room for my girls. We sowed grass seed on the soil bit a week before they came so they had little shoots to eat.
I got my hens 5 days ago and they’re bantams so they’ve been delicately pecking the grass and I’m surprised some of the little shoots are still there.
The established grass end is a bit flattened from them walking but I can’t picture them ever managing to turn it to soil. They have feathered feet and don’t scratch heavily.
My question is about the poop. I find it tricky to scoop the poop properly from the grass as it clings to the blades. Is this unhygienic for them? Should I dig up the grass? I don’t really want to as they seem to like it. Will 4 Pekin Bantams eventually clear the grass? I’ll be letting them freerange when they’re bigger.
I guess I assumed from what I’d read that it would be all soil within a fortnight then I was going to put something down, but they’ve made no indent whatsoever in the first week. If it’s not a problem having poop stuck to the grass I’ll just leave it alone.

Hi @JemimaP. It's great your chickens still have grass in the run! If your worried about poo you could use a garden rake to try and break it up a bit. You won't be able to get rid of it all. One thing I would advise is that you may want to think about putting to whole run on either concrete slabs or wood chippings. The reason being that come winter when it's cold wet and rainy the run will turn into a bog. There is grass there now and I would let them enjoy it. But it will change. I used to have a lovely grass run for mine (I used to weed it and mow it!) but it slowly diminished. Then come winter it was a muddy slippy dirty nightmare. My coop and enclosed run is all on slabs and the outside run is all woodchip. It was the best thing I've done out there. Come the hardest rain I can go in and not worry about slipping over and the hens can all still go out! If they can freerange then they will still be getting some grass and the poo won't be concentrated in one area. Also you might want to think about getting some tarps from wilkos to cover the sides. The snow we had this year came in sidewards and I ended up with half a foot of snow inside the run! It's just a bit of forward thinking but it's best to be prepared. Your hens look really happy I'm glad your enjoying having them!

 

[Warriorgal]

A lot of people like woodchip, some like sand. but I like straw, but I have tried nothing else. Here is a pic anyway of my set up. They scratch at the straw and in the winter I put a thicker layer down and also remove the lower layer when it gets mucky and add fresh on the top.

 

[JemimaP]

Thank you! So for now during the summer I should just leave the grass? And nearer the winter would I just put straw/chippings on top? And enclose the open side. I haven’t really got anywhere they can go on concrete x
I wish I had a huge run like that it looks awesome!

 

[JemimaP]

I don’t need to dig the grass up first? Just put the straw straight on top?

 

[Warriorgal]

I don’t need to dig the grass up first? Just put the straw straight on top?

I left it as grass initially they would scratch at it anyway then I put straw on top. The pic above was a photo i took yesterday. The grass below the straw is probably negligible now lol.