Now that Fresh Start have collected the old birds and distributed them to their new families (you can read all about them ‘Flying the Coop’ in our previous post), we only have a few weeks to get everything ready before a new flock of birds arrive. And there’s a fair amount to do…
All that chicken muck from under the floor and the earth from the scratch area is now incredibly rich in phosphates and nitrogen which makes for brilliant fertiliser. There are strict regulations when it comes to these waste materials however, so it all gets dug up and moved to another part of the farm. With far more than we can possibly use on our land, the rest is stockpiled ready to be collected by a variety of other organic businesses including local organic vegetable producers and a company who blends it in with their green compost.
The shed is then moved and inspected so that any necessary maintenance can be carried out. With the shed out of the way, we bring in the tractors to rotavate the land which kills off any parasites by exposing them to the sun’s ultraviolet light and prepares the ground for re-seeding.
Then, when all the necessary repairs have taken place, it’s time suit-up and give the shed a thorough wash. 1 x mobile water tank, 1 x industrial pressure washer, 10,000 litres of rain water and a few soggy days later, and the shed is ready for the final stage of preparation when it gets liberally sprayed with ‘dirt’ - but that’s something we’ll go into next next time…
