Poultry Housing - The Run from
Starting with Chickens - by Katie Thear
Just £6.95 with
FREE UK DELIVERY
This article
is taken from Starting with Chickens by Katie Thear, the UK's
best selling book on keeping chickens.
Where to keep them, what to buy and where to buy chickens from
to what to do with the surplus eggs. The perfect introduction and probably
the only book on keeping chickens you actually need to buy.
The Chicken Run
Most small houses will have a run, either built on
or available as an optional extra from the manufacturer. It is a
good idea to buy the house and run from the same manufacturer because
they will fit easily together. Some manufacturers have interlocking
runs so that you can extend the protected area as required.
Alternatively, buy a free-standing one that can be
dismantled as needed. You can also make your own or provide a fenced
off garden area. Some houses have runs which extend underneath.
This maximizes the use of space so that the hens have more room
to range. If part of the run is covered, it provides protection
for the birds to go when it is raining or very sunny, so that they
still have the benefit of being outside. It is also useful to be
able to put the feeder and drinker under cover.
Perhaps the most important thing about the hens' ranging
area is that it is changed regularly. If chickens are left on the
same ground all the time, it becomes denuded of grass, and parasites
and disease organisms build up. The ground literally becomes 'sick'
and the birds succumb accordingly.
The simplest setup is to have a movable house and
run which is moved regularly to fresh grass. Move it as soon as
the grass shows signs of wear. Alternatively, have a house with
two runs, letting the hens use one run at a time, so that as one
is in use, the other run is 'resting'. Some houses have a pop-hole
at each end, which is a useful feature for controlling access to
alternate runs.
In winter, it may be more appropriate to have the
chickens in a house and run on a concrete base which can be hosed
down easily, while allowing the birds access to a sanded area for
scratching. A really thick layer of hard, coarse wood chips makes
an excellent winter run base when the grass has stopped growing.
It also absorbs droppings and can be raked over and added to as
required. Remember that wood chips are not the same as shavings
or shredded prunings which are softer. Shavings are fine inside
but not outside. Wood chippings are hard and allow rainwater to
drain through leaving the surface dry.
A movable house and run is very useful if you want
the birds to do your vegetable bed clearing in winter. They scratch
up weeds and clear the soil of slugs and other pests. As one area
is cleared, move the unit on to the next one. By the time spring
arrives, the ground is ready for a light forking and planting.
Starting with Chickens - Housing for Chickens (Chicken
Coops)
© 2004. Katie Thear.
From Starting with Chickens,
published by Broad Leys Publishing Ltd
|
