agricultural lime

[Beagleman973]

I have heard about a lot of folks using lime in their ground pens, and was just wondering if any of you have? The remarks I hear is that it keeps the smell down and after a rain packs down hard like concrete, which would be nice when the pens get muddy.

The questions I have are:

1. Do you have to wait a certain amount of time after putting down the lime before allowing the hounds in the pens. Will it burn them.

2. How much lime per square foot would you recommend.

3. How often do you have to reapply the lime.

4. Are there any health risks associated with using the lime in the pens.

Any info you can give me would be greatly appreciated. I'm thinking about trying it, but would like to know a little more about it first.

John

[Alabama John]

Beagleman, I have used Hydrated lime for years. We have large dirt pens and only a few dogs in each. We put the lime out in March and again in June and September. We open a bag and throw it with our hands. Get up wind. Cover the ground with a good frosting. It'll be thicker in some places, especially where you were standing, but it doesn't matter.
Our dog houses are toward the front of the pens where the gate is located and in that area between the houses and the front of the pen we put down straw or pine straw over the lime. It causes them to go to the back to poop somehow.
In Spring and Fall, we rake up the layars of straw and pile it up in the pens and burn it. We do not clean pens at all and they look neat and smell fresh. If the front gets muddy, we put down more straw. The dogs love to lay in it.
I have never seen it hurt a dog and the poop just desolves from that type of lime.
It will dissapear in the ground after a rain or two.

[Beagleman973]

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it. Sure beats cleaning out the pens as often as I'm doing now!