Baby its cold outside and very wet!

"Baby its cold out side"  When I say it in my head I sound like Tom Jones, said out loud, it sounds rather............. weird!



Photo from google

It has been hammering down for the last few days, and even though I have covered the run for the girls with corrugated clear sheets, the ground is waterlogged again.

Any duck would think they were in Disney World, but Treacle, Pudding and Custard seem quite fed up.

I went out this morning to sort out feeders and water, it seemed bitterly cold, so cold that the outside tap water felt lovely and warm!  I think I somehow need to find warm woolly waterproof gloves!

I have written before about how I have avoided boggy runs but it seems this time I have failed.  :-( http://backgardenpoultryhatcher.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/mud-mud-mud-in-chicken-run-run-run.html



Dry weather days!!!

The good news is I still have a bag of sand and one 100 litre bag of wood chippings (not bark) that I can use to top the run up and give them something to scratch around in.  Hopefully this will lift the ground level a little and mean they are not treading in water.

Perhaps the other option is increasing the size of the run to give them more ground.  However I'm not sure I will get that passed by the boss! ;-)



Image from Disney.co.uk



The Cotswold Wood Company sell some great looking runs that I have been looking at on and off for a year or so.  I have also considered the cheaper option of electric poultry netting, but I am still worried about the hens getting out over the top.  I seem to find breeds that have a similar bouncing abilities to tigger.

I have to be careful as I think half my garden could disappear under chicken runs, and my 3 boys would not be happy with less space for football and the climbing frame!

Only time will tell!

Thanks for reading.

Wyandotte chicks get more space

I have been quiet for too long so here is a new entry! ;-)



Picture from Wikipedia

I have been trying to make Mother hen, Treacle and her chicks Pinky and Perky comfortable.

We had another huge amount of rain recently.  My back garden looks a little like a rugby pitch.  Hens feet and like mini potato mashers on boggy ground and you end up with mashed grass very quickly.

With Pinky still thinking that Treacle is a donkey on the beach, she is looking muddier than a very happy Tamworth pig!

So I have spent the last couple of days devising a way of giving them access to my main run.  Blocking off the far end and creating a safe tunnel for them to walk from the broody coop to the run.

Well, proud as punch, I have managed it, here are the photo's.

The chicks are doing well, and seem to enjoy jumping on and off the ramp in and out of the main run.  Treacle is happy scratching around in the sand and wood chip.  So all in all, a success.  Now that does not happen often.

I used the wire shelving from a mini greenhouse that I had stored in the garage.  No damage done to the shelving, managed to squeeze it in the run opening and then taped together with some duck tape.  The tape is really strong and clear, useful for all sorts of thinks like repairing rips in polysheet covering for pollytunnels, or saving a broken pane of glass in a window or greenhouse!  I bought it from B&Q.  Best thing I ever bought like that.

 

I have been trying to find some breeders of Gold lace Bantam Wyandotte's without much success recently.  A few I have spoken to seem to suggest they are popular but take a long time to mature.  I'm not sure why, I will have to research.

Thanks for reading

Me with my old timer Custard - 4 years old

Wyandotte Chicks update and Run Cleaning

Is it me or can hens get really grumpy?  Do they wake up one morning and get out the wrong side of the nest?  Or is it that I somehow upset them?  I am male after all!  Men have a unique ability in this area.

I checked on Treacle and chicks this morning.  All doing well.  They are now 9 days old but still look tiny!

They managed to knock the feeder over so I opened up the door to the run and tried to move the food.  Treacle attacked like a crazed Tasmanian devil.....................well not quite, but she gave me a really good peck on the hand and drew blood.

Anyway I will live.


I think it is time for Custard and Pudding to take the lime light for 5 minutes. 


I have taken the opportunity whilst there has been a break in the weather to clean my main coop run.

I mentioned in previous posts the process I go through once or twice a year.  However I thought I would take a couple of photos.

I have to keep my hens in a fixed area due to my garden and having 3 young boys (They do get to run around the garden when cleaning out and more so in winter).  So to ensure any worms, smells and bacteria is kept to a minimum I clean the run and disinfect with Stalosan F.  I then top up with sand, this time I used play sand and then added a layer of woodchip, not bark.

Below are the before and after photos.


Before





If you are keeping chickens in your garden I would highly recommend Stalosan F.  Its a disinfectant and great at reducing smells.  It also can kill of any worms living in the soil.

I promise to risk life and limb and get a couple more photos of the chicks for the next entry! ;-)

Thank you for reading.



Mud Mud Mud in the Chicken Run Run Run

Mud Mud Mud in the Chicken Run Run Run!

What rotten weather.  I know we have had horrible weather most of the summer, in fact most of 2012, but it is usually this time of year I look at my chicken run and think, that needs a good clean and top up.

It took me ages to work out the best floor covering for my area.  It turns out that my street name, which is in Welsh, means boggy fields!  Well that is certainly true.

Sometimes I look at the chicken run and think it is more suitable for ducks with the puddles that gather.

I have to keep my chickens contained to a section of garden as I would not want my young boys treading in chicken poop.  In fact I would not put it past the youngest to go further than just treading.  He likes experimenting shall we say and has a very good throw for his age.

Anyway I clean the run regularly, which to be honest is quite a smelly job.  At least once a year, usually twice, I clean the run, cover with Stalosan F disinfectant (brilliant product – can be used for hens, pigs etc) and then top up where the chickens have been digging and the rest of the run with sand.  Usually a soft sand, but I never use sharp sand as I think this could cause issues with the chickens feet and eventually start an infection.

After the sand I top up with woodchip.  Not bark as this rots down and can go mouldy.  That’s the last thing you want.

It seems to work, and you can then keep on top of the run by raking over each week the surface covering with disinfectant.

To be honest, I would much rather have them properly free ranging on grass but for the time being this is a good alternative and they do get a run on the grass when I am cleaning out or in the middle of winter when I know the boys are not playing outside.

What lucky chickens!

Thanks for reading

Cluck Cluck