Hi, my chicken run is looking like a mud bath due to the weather and the girls don,t look very happy ,does anyone know where to get a bale of straw to put down ? the bagged stuff sold by pet shops isn,t big enough otherwise it would cost a fortune to do . i live at walkley, is there anywhere nearish i could buy some from . Any help or ideas ( or other solutions )would be appreciated ,thanks

we had thisproblem and you will find the straw will rot. as a temp measure do you have a paving slab or some bricks for them to stand on so they have a dry area. we had to put down a lot of pebbles and gravel but actually resorted to putin our small run on the patio over winter last year as the garden got so bad.

As for straw if you do want some try a horse supliers perhaps although I cant think of any local to you. I only have one bale here or you could have bought one from me!! But believe me it will soon rot and go just as horrible as the mud!

Thanks but i don,t have any slabs or bricks also the run is too large to put on the patio ( its about 15" x 10" and unmoveable ie concreted in ).

mm yes I was lucky it was my small run that I had probs with - only a 6ft one!! If I had to move the 10ft one that would be a no go! Can you give them lots of perching space?? We have large fruit tree branches a 2x2 wood in our 10ft run for the birds so they can get off the floor that way.

Thats an idea , but its also very horrible to go into to get the eggs , you,re sliding all over the place and lucky to get out with the eggs in one piece !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Straw's not so good as its not very absorbent and also harbours mites quite easily. I've got 2 bags of horse shavings (Bedmax) down in my large run and scrape it up and replace it every few months. Hemp horse bedding (Aubiose) is another similar alternative that will absorb a lot of the wet. Nearest place to Walkley for supplies will be Horse & Rider on Northfield Road at Crookes.

mm yes I was lucky it was my small run that I had probs with - only a 6ft one!! If I had to move the 10ft one that would be a no go! Can you give them lots of perching space?? We have large fruit tree branches a 2x2 wood in our 10ft run for the birds so they can get off the floor that way.

Just been out and made them a couple of off the floor perches but the fools are still poddling about in the mud !!!!!!!!!!

Straw's not so good as its not very absorbent and also harbours mites quite easily. I've got 2 bags of horse shavings (Bedmax) down in my large run and scrape it up and replace it every few months. Hemp horse bedding (Aubiose) is another similar alternative that will absorb a lot of the wet. Nearest place to Walkley for supplies will be Horse & Rider on Northfield Road at Crookes.

Thanks i,ve never heard of those ,are they suitable for outside and are they expensive ?

I got some slabs and put loads of woodchip over them, works a treat. Also as previously suggested make lots of above floor features for them to jump on. Theres no easy solution this time of year with the mud, but the slabs and woodchip seemed to work for us.

Thanks i,ve never heard of those ,are they suitable for outside and are they expensive ?

They are manufactured for use as bedding in stables for horses, so not purpose built for use outside but they will last outside for a few months depending on the weather and do soak up a fair amount, and also dry out reasonably quickly, you'd be looking at replacing the lot perhaps 3 times a year. Not sure on current prices but I'd expect to pay in the region of £7 to £10 a bag, and 2 bags covers my 5m x 2m run to a fair depth. As mine are in a permanent run, changing the flooring every few months should help to keep the numbers of parasites and the like down as well.

They work best if you can put boards up around the bottom of the run to keep the shavings within the boundaries of the run, as the chickens have great fun digging about in them and will kick them out of the run through mesh. I also use them for bedding in the house itself and a bag lasts for about 6 months doing that.

The best thing you can do is dig 2' deep drainage channels and fill with limestone chippings before putting turf back on top.

Otherwise a pallet or two will help get them off the floor, as will straw bales. I wouldn't recommend putting straw or other to cover the whole floor as it's just a mess that needs clearing up later on. My free ranging chooks quite happily wander through the mud in the winter, try telling them not to!

If you can get to S66 I can let you have a couple of bales of straw, but like I said, I wouldn't spread it out. And try freecycle for pallets.

Otherwise try Parklands at Aston for shavings @ £6.50 a bale, Easibed @£7.80 a bale and Aubiose at £9 a bale, or there abouts!

I recently enquired about this of Horse & Rider in Crookes (this was part of their reply email)

Aubiose bedding £8.95

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday 9.30 am - 5.30 pm
Thursdays 9.30 am - 1.00 pm
Saturdays 9.00 am - 5.30 pm

Horse & Rider
187 Northfield Road, Sheffield S10 1QQ
Mail Order 0114 266 6001
Shop 0114 268 2523
Fax 0114 267 0355
info@horseandrider.co.uk
www.horseandrider.co.uk


Hope that helps :thumbsup:

I'm a newbie myself, but I'm doing barkchips on run floor, and the above on the coop floor to soak up the doo doos

Heeley City Farm sell bales of straw.