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alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 05 7:10 am Post subject:
Victoria Roberts writes the vets forum in country Smallholding magazine.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 05 7:13 am Post subject:
Sorry Alison, I meant to say would not hesitate, I've changed my post. Yes, we get CS and always look forwared to her column. Well spotted.

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 05 9:22 am Post subject:
She was married to Michael Roberts from the RBST(I think it is this?) , and his books are very good too.

percypony

Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 146
Location: Hants

Posted: Mon Jan 17, 05 3:38 pm Post subject:
We had to put a proper roof on our chicken run this weekend as with the amount of rain we have had recently the ground was turning into a mud bath! We can't seem to get wood chip delivered unless we are willing to pay an extortionate amount of money so anyone have any other suggestions on what else we can put down (once the soup like mud has dried out a bit!?

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Mon Jan 17, 05 8:50 pm Post subject:
If you are really desperate, for a while I would put down straw.

percypony

Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 146
Location: Hants

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 05 8:41 am Post subject:

I have tried straw alison but think I would need a good few bales as the mud is literally like soup at the moment!
I think I will give it until the weekend to dry out a little more and then put a bale down and see how it goes.
I will need to dig a good layer out off the surface first as there is a lot of muck, straw, woodchip etc built up over the last few months in there! I wonder if that would be any good for the plants?

Marigold123

Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 224

Posted: Mon Feb 07, 05 11:44 pm Post subject:

Don't put it on the plants until it is well-composted - and preferably let most of the composting process take place in your compost bin, not the chicken run! LOL

Bulky vegetable matter that is not fully composted actually takes nitrogen OUT of the soil temporarily until it is fully broken down. Both straw and wood shavings should rot down well in the compost heap, though the wood will take longer as it's largely made up of lignin, which needs to be broken down by fungal action, which works more slowly than the other micro-organisms that do most of the work in your compost heap. (Not to rubbish worms, of course. They work hard too!

) Being more finely divided, though, wood shavings break down faster than say, twigs.

I guess you could use it on the garden as a surface mulch, to help prevent moisture from evaporating from the soil, but even mulches take a bit of nitrogen from the soil as they are broken down.

Of course if your soil is in really good condition, it ought to be able to cope with this, particularly with the addition of all the muck. So if you are desperate to chuck the stuff somewhere and don't want to put it on the heap, I'd say go for it, and see what happens.

NB, don't put any fresh chicken droppings straight onto any precious plants, as they can sometimes burn the leaves. They are great once they have dried, though.

Apologies if I'm trying to teach any grandmothers how to suck eggs, here!

PS. Have you tried bark chippings in the chicken run? I've not done this myself, but I've noticed that they take a long time to rot down in children's playgrounds. They might also make a nice little environment for insects, (ie. chicken treats) to hide! Or you could use coarse wood chips from a shredder, perhaps, but you should probably check that neither shreddings nor chippings include any poisonous trees or shrubs like privet, laurel, rhododendron or yew, in case the chickens decide to eat it.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 05 6:57 am Post subject:
I wouldn't try bark chippings in the run due to this: https://forum.downsizer.net/about926.html

percypony

Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 146
Location: Hants

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 05 8:27 am Post subject:

I usually put the chicken run muck on the heap with all the horse stuff so it will all compast in well before I use it.
As for the wood chippings/bark I have used wood chippings in the past with great success but the chickens do churn it up rather so it lasts about 3-4 months before it needs topping up. Now I don't seem to be able to get any at a reasonable price (�60 for a small van/tipper load) so I am holding on until I see it cheaper elsewhere.
Any ideas anyone???

Marigold123

Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 224

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 05 10:48 am Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

I wouldn't try bark chippings in the run due to this:

https://forum.downsizer.net/about926.html

Ah, valuable information, Treacodactyl. Thanks!

Again, I don't really know anyone here yet, so huge apologies in advance if I post things that are obvious to people who have miles more experience than me.

But if there's a chance it will be helpful to someone somewhere, I will post it anyway unless someone tells me to shut up!

I have to tell you I am in deep awe of those people who have several huge steaming compost/muck heaps on the go at once; my insignificant little pile is but a pimple on the backside of these giants of the composting world, and I take my hat off to their owners/(minders?)

I love compost. To me, it's the ultimate in recycling, and it's so... organic! (Well duh! But you know what I mean!)

Last edited by Marigold123 on Tue Feb 08, 05 10:57 am; edited 1 time in total

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 05 10:53 am Post subject:
Marigold - just mix chicken poo with grass clippings. Then stand back and watch it steam

Marigold123

Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 224

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 05 11:04 am Post subject:
Yay! I'd love to, but unfortunately, the present state of play here is lots of poo, zero grass! (On account of the cause of the poo! ) I could always go out and nick other people's, I suppose, in those recycling bags that they put out for the Council, if I wasn't worried about what they might have put on it.

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 05 11:07 am Post subject:

Marigold123 wrote:

I will post it anyway unless someone tells me to shut up!

Do! But nobody will tell you to shut up

...the only things you can't do here are be rude/inflammatory, or say/suggest anything illegal. Everything else is a chance to get new ideas and gain experience. As you'll see when you explore we all post on things we don't really know about...

I haven't got much choice, as I don't know much about nuffink

Marigold123

Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 224

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 05 11:13 am Post subject:

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 05 12:19 pm Post subject:

Marigold123 wrote:

valuable information, Treacodactyl. Thanks!

It's not something I'd come across but as I know of the problems people can get with hens and remember people asking I though it useful to let people know.

Post away, it's always good to discuss things with others.

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