[nutterly_uts]

Can I create a WIR around an exisiting soil bed without clearing all the soil and laying slabs first? I want to roof the area too so it will be covered and therefore dry over time? I can do it now-ish with chickens later in the year? Or is my gut right and I need to do some heavy clearing?

[landroverroy]

What is a WIR?

[Womble]

The simple answer is lots of things, but assuming nutterly_uts isn't hoping to create a Wisconsin Immunization Registry, I'm going to guess at Walk-In Run?

[Eve]

Yes, you definitely can, especially when the run has a roof.   Clear bits that aren't level and level the bumps out, but you don't need to weed it all

The roof is the best bit, as dry soil with pooh is infinitely less disgusting than mud with wet pooh (which you will slip and fall in...).

Next best thing: don't use slabs or any other flooring that doesn't allow water to drain. The pooh will only sit on top.


Then: since it'll be roofed, do one more thing make your life a bizillion times easier: fix 1/2inch galvanised mesh on the bottom, directly on the soil with tent pegs and a foot or so upwards along the edges with cable ties or hog rings. It's an investment worth making. On top of the mesh you empty a few bags of Laysoft or similar horse bedding, to give a layer of bedding of 2 inches thick or so.
Result: chicken run heaven! Dry, clean scratcheable bedding, happy chickens, happy owner! The bedding will stay on top of the mesh rather than become part of the muddy flooring if there wasn't any mesh, and either you pooh pick daily and replace all the bedding every few months in one go (we fill up a few wheelie bins with it).


 

[nutterly_uts]

Yes walk in run sorry!

That tip sounds fab Eve thanks! I'm wanting to chuck down bedding, poo pick and replace bedding as we go, then every x months remove all the bedding to replace and I wasn't sure how that work going straight onto the soil and if the soil would go all compacted and awful with the poo!
I'm hoping to start it all relatively soon and so with a bit of luck, it'll be just soil and covered over for a few months before the chickens are even hatched which I think will help! Will also give me chance to grow some covering on the run to help make it all cosy.

This is very rough plan I have of the area. The wall to shed end is 7ft and then we're looking at about 18ft along the  garden, with the eglu raised up on a palletboard "table"  similar to the second pic on the outside of the run for ease of cleaning out and eggs. Am looking at making it out of pre-made fence panels, probably the attached ones but maybe different (so far seems to be cheapest way on the island, def the least faff option!) although I don't really know what to do for the roof - thankfully have a handy friend! Roof will overhang a bit and def have a drainpipe. Am considering a climber of some kind or bushy border to provide a bit of a windbreak/noise dampening but don't want to make it too dark. They'll come out to mooch round the garden in good weather and when we are around

Edit - I'm wanting to put 4 or 5 girls in this space. Does that seem ok?