Dyrefolde, løbegårde og karantæneområder
Løbegårde og folde der kan spules rene og aldrig rådner
Dyrehold er vådt, beskidt og udsat for gnav. PolyBrick®-vægge vasker rene, kan ikke rådne eller holde på fugt, og kan skilles ad når du skal flytte eller ombygge en fold.
Derfor fungerer PolyBrick her
Alt der indeholder dyr udsættes for en belastning som havekonstruktioner aldrig møder. Det bliver vådt dagligt, det bliver tilsølet, der lænes op ad det, det ridses, gnides og gnaves, og det skal rengøres regelmæssigt.
Træ absorberer alt dette. Det suger urin og vaskevand til sig, forbliver fugtigt i de beskyttede bundskifter hvor det gør mest skade, og når det begynder at blødgøre bliver det både et strukturelt problem og et levested for bakterier og andre biologisk farlige organismer. Imprægneret træ bringer konserveringsmidler inden for rækkevidde af dyr der gnaver.
PolyBrick er ikke-absorberende. Det optager ikke fugt, så det blødgøres ikke, rådner ikke og holder ikke på fugt i bundskifterne, og det spules rent frem for at forblive permanent snavset. Materialet er inert, så der er intet påført overfladen som kan gnaves af.
Fordi der ikke bruges beslag eller samlinger, kan en fold også ombygges. Løbegårde udvides, folde opdeles, et karantæneområde bygges op og tages ned igen, og blokkene flyttes til næste opgave frem for at blive kasseret.
Velegnede anvendelser
- Hønsegårde og andeløbegårde
- Kanin- og marsvinfolde
- Hundeløbegårde og kennelomgivelser
- Griseark og grisestier
- Gede- og fårefolde
- Vægge til foder- og hølagre
- Isolations- og karantænefolde
- Rednings- og genplaceringsanlæg
Overblik
| Samling | Tryksamlet låsesystem. Ingen værktøj, mørtel eller beslag |
| Rengøring | Ikke-absorberende overflade. Spules og vaskes ren; suger ikke snavs til sig |
| Ombyggelig | Folde kan udvides, opdeles eller demonteres og genopbygges andetsteds |
| Kontakt | Inert. Intet påført overfladen der kan gnaves eller slikkes af |
| Vejrbestandighed | UV-stabiliseret. Rådner ikke, ruster ikke, deformerer ikke og bliver ikke sprød |
| Materiale | 100% genanvendt polypropylen, fremstillet i EU af genanvendte polymerer |
| Kompression | Testet til 150 tonnes/m² under fast statisk belastning |
| Levetid | 25 års garanti |
Hvad væggene kan og ikke kan
Det er værd at være præcis her, for dyrehold er ikke et område for upræcise løsninger.
PolyBrick-vægge udgør den massive del af en fold: bundskifterne, de lave vægge, skillevæggene, omgivelserne. De giver dig en ren, vaskbar og rådningsfri konstruktion i det niveau hvor træ svigter først.
De er ikke et komplet indhegningssystem i sig selv. Alt der klatrer, springer, flyver eller graver kræver resten af specifikationen: net over væggen, et tag eller overdækning øverst, og en gravningssikret perimeter under terræn for alt der graver eller for rovdyr der forsøger det samme.
Betragt murværket som den del af folden der forbliver ren og aldrig rådner, mens net, overdækning og en nedgravet perimeter varetager indhegningsopgaven over og under det. Når du indhegner eller beskytter en bestemt art, følg retningslinjerne for den pågældende art med hensyn til højde, maskestørrelse, gravningsdybde og areal per dyr.
Design med rengøring for øje
Den største praktiske forskel på en fold der forbliver hygiejnisk og en der ikke gør, er om den faktisk kan rengøres effektivt.
Byg med fald så vand løber til ét sted og ud, frem for at samle sig i et hjørne. Hold indvendige hjørner så åbne som muligt, fordi trange hjørner samler tilsølet strøelse og er det sværeste at rengøre ordentligt. Hvor en væg møder et hårdt gulv, skal overgangen udformes så en børste kan komme til.
Byg sektioner der kan løftes ud hvor du har brug for adgang, på samme måde som en kompostboks forside. At kunne åbne en væg frem for at arbejde gennem en lille låge gør en betydelig forskel for hvor grundigt en fold faktisk bliver rengjort.
How it goes together
- Set out the compound and check the ground. Level, firm and free-draining is what you want, and a wet corner will be the problem area forever if you build over it.
- Decide the floor before the walls. Bare earth, hard standing, or a stabilised gravel base each change how the compound cleans and drains, and it is far easier to prepare now.
- Prepare the ground for the first course: excavate to firm ground, compact, and screed level. Everything above follows this course.
- Where anything digs or where predators are a risk, put the dig-proof perimeter in at this stage. Retrofitting it later means taking the walls apart.
- Lay the first course and check level in both directions along the whole run.
- Build up in courses, staggering the joints between courses. Where you want removable access, build those sections as loose courses that lift out.
- Fix mesh, panels or roofing to whatever framework the design calls for, and make sure the junction between the blockwork and everything above it has no gaps at the level animals can reach.
- Cap the top course for a clean finish and an edge that is comfortable to handle.
Choosing the floor
The floor decides how much work the compound is, day to day.
Bare earth suits poultry and pigs that are meant to root and dust bathe, but it poaches in winter and cannot be disinfected.
Hard standing cleans and disinfects thoroughly, which is what you want for a quarantine pen or a kennel, but it needs a fall and a drain or the washing water has nowhere to go.
A stabilised gravel base sits between the two: firm and free-draining underfoot, no standing mud, and it copes with a hosing without turning to slurry. It is often the best answer for a run that is in constant use, and it stops the perimeter of the compound becoming the muddiest part of the holding.
Quarantine and isolation pens
An isolation pen has a different job from a permanent run: it needs to be thoroughly cleanable, genuinely separate, and often temporary.
Non-absorbent walls matter more here than anywhere. A surface that soaks up soiling cannot be properly disinfected, and porous, cracked or splintered materials give organisms somewhere to sit through a clean-down. Blockwork that washes to a clean surface is a considerably better starting point.
The dismantling advantage matters too. A quarantine pen can be built when it is needed, broken down and cleaned block by block afterwards, and stored flat until the next time, rather than standing unused and deteriorating.
Biosecurity is a whole protocol rather than a building material, so follow the guidance that applies to your species and situation on separation distances, movement, equipment and clean-down. The structure is one part of it.
Get it right first time
The one thing worth knowing: sort the drainage before you build anything.
Almost every unpleasant animal compound is unpleasant for the same reason: water has nowhere to go. Rain, washing down and soiling all end up in the same low corner, and once that corner is permanently wet it stays that way, whatever the walls are made of.
Set the falls, decide where the water leaves, and make sure the floor works before the first course goes down. It is a morning's thought and it determines whether cleaning the compound takes ten minutes or an hour, every single week, for the next twenty years.
Ask our engineer
Questions about compound layouts, floors, drainage or reconfigurable pens? Ask below, or get in touch directly.
Common Questions
Why use plastic blocks rather than timber for animal pens?
Timber absorbs urine and washing water, stays damp in the low courses where it matters most, and once it softens it becomes both a structural problem and a place organisms live. Treated timber also puts preservative in reach of animals that chew.
PolyBrick is non-absorbent, so it does not soften, rot or harbour damp, and it hoses down to a clean surface. The material is inert, with nothing applied to the surface to be chewed off.
Will PolyBrick walls contain animals on their own?
No, and it is important to be clear about that. The blockwork forms the solid part of a compound: base courses, low walls, dividers and surrounds.
Anything that climbs, jumps, flies or digs needs the rest of the specification, meaning mesh above the wall, a roof or netting over the top, and a dig-proof perimeter below ground. Follow the guidance for your species on height, mesh gauge, dig depth and space per animal.
Can the walls be disinfected?
The surface is non-absorbent, so it washes to a clean surface rather than soaking up soiling, which is what a porous or splintered material does. That makes it a considerably better starting point for a clean-down than timber.
Biosecurity is a whole protocol rather than a material, so follow the guidance that applies to your species and situation.
What floor should an animal compound have?
Bare earth suits poultry and pigs meant to root and dust bathe, but it poaches in winter and cannot be disinfected. Hard standing cleans thoroughly, which suits quarantine pens and kennels, but needs a fall and a drain.
A stabilised gravel base sits between the two: firm and free-draining, no standing mud, and it copes with hosing without turning to slurry.
Can a pen be taken apart and moved?
Yes. There are no fixings or mortar, so compounds can be extended, subdivided, dismantled and rebuilt elsewhere. That suits rotation, temporary quarantine areas, and any setup that changes as stock numbers do.
Blocks from a pen you no longer need go into the next project rather than being cut up.
How do you stop predators or animals digging under?
With a dig-proof perimeter below ground, installed before the walls go up. Retrofitting it later means taking the walls apart, so decide at the setting-out stage whether you need it.
Follow the guidance for the species you are containing or excluding on how deep and how far out that perimeter needs to run.
How do I make the compound easy to clean?
Build with a fall so water runs to one place and out rather than pooling in a corner, keep internal corners as open as you can, and make the junction between wall and floor something a brush can get into.
Build sections that lift out where you need access, since opening a wall is considerably more thorough than working through a small gate.
Is it suitable for a quarantine or isolation pen?
It suits the application well. Non-absorbent walls wash to a clean surface, where porous, cracked or splintered materials give organisms somewhere to sit through a clean-down.
The pen can also be built when needed, broken down and cleaned block by block afterwards, and stored flat until next time rather than standing unused and deteriorating.
Will animals chew or damage the blocks?
The material is a solid, UV stabilised recycled polypropylene with nothing applied to the surface, so there is no coating or preservative to come off.
It does not soften with moisture the way timber does, which is what usually makes chewing and rubbing damage progressive rather than superficial.
