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My hens are housed in 2 coops which are inside a 30 x 10 ft pen. The pen was on lovely grass which has turned into a mudbath in the wet weather. I have had bark chips down and the 2 huge straw bales that I put in for "entertainment" have now been almost totally dismantled and have formed a lovely soft surface. They have got all day access to the pen and are out of the pen for several hours every day free ranging on grass and gravel. The pen was erected 2 years ago and the hens have been in it since then. Moving the pen around is not an option as it has been fox-proofed with wire dug in all round. I plan to turn out and burn all the bark chips and straw that are on the pen floor and then bit by bit douse small areas of the ground in Jeyes fluid before allowing the hens back on to the ground. Will this be enough to prevent the ground from getting chicken sick and do I really need to do it after just 2 years. Would be very grateful for any advice.
Cheers,
Jojo

I'm not sure about Jeyes - it can be pretty lethal to animals and birds. Years ago people used to put lime down to clean the ground. Most of my pens and runs are on slabs with pea gravel down, it was expensive but if you put kick boards round the pen you can put a good depth of gravel or sand (childrens play stuff) then just rake it over once a week. The rain washes the muck down to the bottom, then every 6 months we clear the whole lot out, pressure wash the slabs and start again. All the grot gets put in a trailer and taken down to one of my paddocks (horses) where we're filling in an 8 foot deep ditch. We also put some on a bank under our Leylandi hedge where the rain washes the muck thru which the hedge uses as a fertiliser and cleans the gravel enabling it to be used again. The birds have a couple of hours out on the garden/grass to get some greens and then back in. I do this on a rota so I can keep the breeds pure and stop the cockerels killing each other, those that are in runs get grass, dandelion leaves, broccoli, apple, chickweed thrown in the runs.
Jojo, I would suggest perhaps dividing your big run in 2 or 3 parts and rotating. This would let you clean one part, let the grass grow again and get it ready for when the birds have used the other 2 parts.

Good post Meg! Sound advice!
JubesX

Hi Meg L,thank you very much for taking the time to give such a detailed response. I have almost finished removing the bark chips and straw and will go from there. Have got my light sussex sitting on 9 eggs at present, due on the 21st. So exciting!! Do you happen to know about feather sexing chicks at birth. I have put 2 eggs from my plymouth rock which I believe will give all black girls and 2 from my RIR and 3 from my buff sussex which I understand are not sexable. I have put in 2 eggs from my norfolk grey but haven't been able to find out if those chicks will be sexable.
Many thanks,
Jojo

Try this link, the pics give a good idea of what to look for http://animalsciences.missouri.edu/reprod/ReproTech/Feathersex/sld001.htm