We get our girls on Friday

We've converted a shed and built a run for them, but we don't have grass...

What's the best/cheapest stuff to use so they can still peck around???

Thanks in advance x

what is on the floor now ?

they are fine on just the dirt really

if it gets a bit muddy when it rain

get some wood or bark chippings and put that down they will soak up a fair bit of the water and it wont get to muddy

if the run is full coverd over and it wont get wet then sand is ok or the wood shavings etc

chickens with scrath about in anything mine make a bee line for the gravel lol

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Thanks for the reply!

It's just concrete at the minute so I was thinking woodchip would be best. I've read so many things I'm getting all confused It isn't covered but I will be covering some of it I think.

Is straw best for their nesting box too?

And where is best to get all this from? I don't want to go to a regular pet shop where they will charge over the odds...

i would say go for the wood chip make sure its the chipping not the shavings

give it a good covering and they will be happy to scratch around in that i would say yes cover part of the run to give them some shelter from the hot sun and the wind and rain alos in the dry part make sure there is a some thing like dry dirt and sand so they can dust bath in it it good for them

you can use a old tyre and fill it builders sand and dirt they will be fine with that

as for the nest boxs and the house i use shavings on the floors and i put straw in the boxs

do be surprised if you find all the bedding outside the house as some love to do that like mine lol

as for where to get it have you got a country wide near you?

or a jollys pet superstore?

google them

also you can get all the above in bulk from ebay aswell

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That's great, thank you so much.

There's a Jolleys Store near me so I will go and price some stuff up this week.

I've just got rid of a load of builders sand too as I didn't think I needed it for anything

We only moved into our house in July and the guy we bought off left alot of stuff we didn't need... Or so we thought

How often would the wood chippings need changing?

i dont change mine that often to be honest but mine is on top of dirt and they are always digging and mixing it all up


i would say a good covering so they can dig and scratch in it would need to be change maybe every 2-3 months?

thats just a guess it depends how messy they are lol

but just rake it over evry week and it will keep it a bit fresher if you no what i mean

i rake mine over every week end it dont stay looking nice for long they just scratch it up but at least its been turn as the poo will start to rot down so turning it regular should smell so bad


also if dont have any good way to get rid of the chippings when you change them

a good fire ine the garden always helps

any thing else please ask will do my best to help where i can

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Good luck with them

Ours settled in really quickly, they are brilliant. So friendly already. When I go in to their coop they all run over & follow me round.

its great when you call them they all come running

mine will shout me when they are going to lay a egg and they keep on running up and don and shouting untill i go out and get it lol

i normaly talk to them and say have you laid a egg clever girls lol

i no i no i must be mad

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LOL, I talk to them far too much!

They make me laugh so much when I go in with some grapes - they LOVE those & end up nearly fighting each other for them

glad its not just me lol

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