Ohrady, koterce a karanténne priestory pre zvieratá
Výbehy a ohrady, ktoré sa dajú umyť hadicou a nikdy nehnijú
Priestory pre zvieratá sú mokré, znečistené a vystavené ohryzávaniu. Steny z PolyBrick sa umyjú dočista, nehnijú, nezadržiavajú vlhkosť a v prípade potreby sa celá ohrada rozoberá a prestavuje.
Prečo PolyBrick funguje v týchto podmienkach
Priestory pre zvieratá znášajú záťaž, ktorú záhradné konštrukcie nepoznajú. Denne sa namáčajú, znečisťujú, zvieratá sa o ne opierajú, škriabu ich, trú sa o ne a ohryzávajú ich – a pravidelne ich treba dôkladne umyť.
Drevo toto všetko absorbuje. Nasiakne močom aj vodou pri čistení, zostáva vlhké v spodných vrstvách, kde to najviac škodí, a keď začne mäknúť, stáva sa nielen konštrukčným problémom, ale aj živnou pôdou pre baktérie a iné biologicky nebezpečné organizmy. Impregnované drevo navyše obsahuje konzervačné látky, ktoré sú dostupné zvieratám, čo ohryzávajú povrch.
PolyBrick neabsorbuje vlhkosť. Nenasiakne, takže nezmäkne, nehnijú v ňom spodné kurzy a neumožňuje zadržiavanie vlhkosti pri základni. Povrch sa umyje hadicou dočista namiesto toho, aby zostával trvalo zašpinený. Materiál je inertný – neobsahuje žiadne aplikované látky, ktoré by sa dali ohrýzať.
Keďže konštrukcia nevyžaduje žiadne spoje ani kotviace prvky, ohradu možno kedykoľvek prestavať. Výbehy sa predlžujú, koterce sa delia, karanténne priestory sa postavia a opäť rozoberú, pričom bloky sa presunú na ďalšie použitie namiesto toho, aby skončili v odpade.
Kde sa PolyBrick osvedčuje
- Výbehy pre hydinu a kačice
- Ohrady pre králiky a morčatá
- Výbehy pre psov a oplotenie búd
- Steny pre prasacie búdy a koterce
- Koterce pre kozy a ovce
- Steny skladov krmiva a sena
- Izolačné a karanténne koterce
- Záchranné a adopčné zariadenia pre zvieratá
Prehľad parametrov
| Montáž | Zásuvný zámok. Bez náradia, malty ani kotevných prvkov |
| Čistenie | Neabsorbujúci povrch. Umýva sa hadicou; nenasáva nečistoty |
| Prestaviteľnosť | Koterce možno predĺžiť, rozdeliť alebo rozobrať a znovu postaviť inde |
| Kontakt so zvieratami | Inertný materiál. Na povrchu nie sú žiadne aplikované látky, ktoré by sa dali ohrýzať alebo olizovať |
| Odolnosť voči poveternosti | Stabilizovaný voči UV žiareniu. Nehnijú, nehrdzavejú, nekrúti sa ani neláme |
| Materiál | 100% recyklovaný polypropylén, vyrobený udržateľným spôsobom v EÚ |
| Tlakové zaťaženie | Testované na 150 ton/m² pri statickom zaťažení |
| Životnosť | 25 rokov so zárukou |
Čo steny dokážu a čo nie
Je dôležité byť v tom jasný, pretože pri zadržiavaní zvierat nie je priestor na nepresnosti.
Steny z PolyBrick tvoria pevnú časť ohrady: spodné kurzy, nízke steny, deliace priečky a obvodové steny. Poskytujú čistú, umývateľnú a hnilobuvzdornú konštrukciu práve tam, kde drevo zlyháva ako prvé.
Samotné steny však nie sú kompletným systémom zadržiavania zvierat. Pre zvieratá, ktoré lezú, skáču, lietajú alebo kopú, je potrebné doplniť zvyšok riešenia: sieť nad stenou, strechu alebo sieťovinu navrchu a pod zemou zahrabanú ochranu obvodu pre zvieratá, ktoré hrabú, alebo pre predátorov, ktorí sa tak dostávajú dovnútra.
Murivo z blokov predstavuje tú časť ohrady, ktorá zostáva čistá a nikdy nehnijú – sieťovanie, strešná krytina a zahrabaný obvod zabezpečujú zadržiavanie nad ňou aj pod ňou. Pri zadržiavaní alebo ochrane konkrétneho druhu zvieraťa dodržiavajte odporúčania pre daný druh, pokiaľ ide o výšku, rozmer oka siete, hĺbku zahrabania a plochu na jedno zviera.
Navrhovanie s ohľadom na čistenie
Najväčší praktický rozdiel medzi ohradou, ktorá zostáva hygienická, a tou, ktorá nie, spočíva v tom, či sa dá skutočne ľahko vyčistiť.
Stavajte so spádom, aby voda odtekala na jedno miesto a von, nie sa hromadila v rohoch. Vnútorné rohy robte čo najotvorennejšie, pretože úzke rohy zachytávajú znečistenú podstielku a najťažšie sa z nich vyhrňuje. Tam, kde stena prechádza do tvrdej podlahy, urobte spoj tak, aby sa tam dostala kefa.
Navrhujte sekcie, ktoré sa dajú vybrať tam, kde potrebujete prístup – rovnako ako predná stena kompostovacieho zásobníka. Možnosť otvoriť stenu namiesto práce cez malú bránku výrazne zlepšuje dôkladnosť čistenia koterca.
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.
