Author Topic: OMG - wish I hadn't left this so long! (Read 7745 times)

Sandy · « **Reply #15 on:** November 02, 2010, 09:02:59 am »

Russ, that floor looks too attractive to be used for chickens!!!!! THe 2 slabs by the gate to the chicken area is always getting muddy, I have to shovel the much off very often, the rest is gravel and that stays dry......maybe a plastic roof wood help, the sheets I use were very cheap and easy to cut to size!!! Maybe the best option would be to move the whole lot!

RUSTYME · « **Reply #16 on:** November 02, 2010, 01:57:17 pm »

the floor is just stones from the river Sandy, nothing special , the floor is not even flat . I just laid some plastic damp proof membrane down then some finer gravel/sand from the river , then the flat stones. It is just the floor for the shed, that at the moment is being used as a forge and general work shed.
I was going to just have the floor as gravel , but after digging the gravel from the river and carrying it in buckets the 60 yards to the shed ( the ground was too wet for a wheel barrow), laying 2" all over the 10'x10' floor area , I had had enough . It needed another 2" more depth. So , plan B .... lay flat stones on the gravel . They still had to be collected (no digging) from the river and carried , but were just easier to manage , and as you say they look good too. They remind me of old Roman roads in Pompeii !! ( I notice that volcano in Iceland is about to go pop again !!!! ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii

Annie , go careful if you use pallets outside . They would be like grease covered ice, once they had a layer of mud and crap on them in the wet weather . Plus they would make ideal rat runs .

cheers

Russ

doganjo · « **Reply #17 on:** November 02, 2010, 02:34:52 pm »

Quote from: RUSTYME on November 02, 2010, 01:57:17 pm

Annie , go careful if you use pallets outside . They would be like grease covered ice, once they had a layer of mud and crap on them in the wet weather . Plus they would make ideal rat runs .

Already have that problem anyway, and can't lay bait in case Rio catches and eats a rat. Also have had the slippy wood problem too - put decking on last house that I built and went out one night, slipped on black ice that had formed due to a sudden temperature drop, down I went, leg doubled under me, still have problems with that knee. So not pallets. Too wet to dig out any more today, busy tomorrow, in Edinburgh Thursday, so will need to wait till Friday

doganjo · « **Reply #18 on:** November 03, 2010, 06:08:26 pm »

Been working hard last few days - about on third of muck cleared from run, some in compost bin which is now almost full, some spread on old raised bed, hopefully to grow cut flowers in next year, some around the bottom of the shrubbery bank to kill off the rampant weeds, thistles etc. Did some more today, dug out trench adjacent to walk boards, water started to drain into it so dug out hole beside gate for it to drain into, then filled trench up with left over gravel from garden makeover. Need to dig deeper hole at gate and make it solid enough to walk on, but much improved already. Still don't know what to put on top of the sharp sand that I've dug down to. Need to do it quick though as the chooks will mess it up again. Nothing doing tomorrow as off to Edinburgh with my sister to do more of family tree at Scotlands People Centre. But feel a bit more positive about it now.

BlueDaisy · « **Reply #19 on:** November 04, 2010, 08:37:54 am »

Well done, Annie, that sounds like a lot of work for one person!!

doganjo · « **Reply #20 on:** November 05, 2010, 12:25:44 am »

Had a good day at Scotland's People Centre in Edinburgh. Not sure what we achieved but enjoyed trying to tie up people with other people. Fascinating stuff, met a couple who had taken a weeks holiday and spending every day in there! Nothing better to do on a wet Thursday anyway!

Frieslandfilly · « **Reply #21 on:** November 05, 2010, 10:14:01 am »

Looks pretty much like mine do in the winter, we have tried all sorts of things, a covered roof is the best solution so far and even that is not 100%, I was lucky enough to have a treecare contractor come and ask me if I wanted any woodchip from some trees they were cutting up the road, how much I asked him, free he said, then yes please said I, 10 cubic metres then arrived!! Ask around your local tree care companies if they are giving any away, sometimes its cheaper for them to do that than take it back to the yard and process it.

doganjo · « **Reply #22 on:** November 05, 2010, 06:41:23 pm »

Tried bark about a year ago just as the grass had been trashed - it just got trodden into the mud. I might try a cover though as there is a 6 foot fence along one side of the run, and a four foot one at the other side. Not this week or next though, up to my eyes in dog stuff! Shows, training, and a Brittany event to run!
Thanks fro all teh suggestions folks, perhaps the covered run is the best idea.

egbert · « **Reply #23 on:** November 07, 2010, 08:51:23 pm »

The OH and I are about to build our larger permanent run - just waiting on the wire delivery. I already 'discussed' (told) with OH that we need a roof on it so it doesnt become a quagmire. We have priced up the sheets from B&Q and Wickes so far - but it definitely seems the best option.

doganjo · « **Reply #24 on:** November 07, 2010, 09:46:09 pm »

I spoke to my son last night and he is going to help me put a roof on the run, that should help, but the rain will still get in the sides, so still need something firm on the ground.

knightquest · « **Reply #25 on:** November 08, 2010, 12:04:49 am »

I've got those fairly big york stone chippings. I dig them up every couple of months and wash them through and put em back down. My chook roof is only pallets so the rain gets through the gaps but it seems to cope quite well. Hope that helps.

Ian