Best coop/run ideas to reduce disease/protozoa

[paintedChix]

Deep litter/mulch/composting run is absolutely amazing but it takes time to get it working

TheFatBlueCat - I couldn't find your video, BUT I'm sure it's because I am still learning not only this new phone (GRRR!!), But also BYC on a phone which is very different to me from a lap or desktop computer.

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Deep litter methods should work where you are in CA. When your Temps return to normal you actually may have to hose the run down to keep it from going back to too dry & dusty.

The main thing w/ DLM is varied materials, different sizes. This keeps it from packing down when it does get wet & allows air pockets for circulation. Also provides the "sponge" & "spring" - open areas to draw moisture away from the surface and as you move across the run, it springs back up after you move on. Just like a forest floor.

I've been away again for a while, my laptop is still down & this new phone didn't transfer all my notes & saved lists/links. But - this is one of the best videos I've found on DLM. AART & some others will remember her name here - it's escaping me at the moment. Beekissed, maybe? Great articles, too along w/ many, many others written here on BYC.

Over the years, I have added my own commentary about sand here in NC & DLM .

I use whatever I can - leaves, yard debri, wood chips from tree companies, pine straw, food scraps, shredded paper (bills, junk mail, news paper, phone books, LOTS of card board), hay, straw, wood chips from coops/nest boxes/brooders, stall refresh for horses & pine pellets. Pine cones & small twigs/limbs as well. If you have a garden, grow some plants this winter that has big leaves. What they don't eat will also break down. Plant hardy plants/shrubs - both in & out of your run & Coop. Protect while getting established (even out side run) - or they can destroy them.

Build a grazing frame, use good soil & plant plants they will eat - alfalfa, cover crops, micro-greens, oats, wheat, others(?). Less areas for them to kick up loose dust, keeps them occupied, attracts bugs, is healthy.

Here is my photo album, nothing fancy, but it works. And I would probably literally die if I had to clean every day - along w/ working full time, dealing w/ my health issues & feeding the chix & dux & ponys.

DLM

1 more thing - if you do YouTube - check out Sean's - Edible Acres to see how they do a TON of actual composting w/ their chickens. His methods can be modified - but so, so different from much of what you see here.

WOW! When did BYC get into auto correct ? Or is it this phone? Turning air blue & editing again (!!) to correct stuff that was changed...

 

[The_1898_Homestead]

Thank you for the information! Our coop is definitely not sterile. Do you recommend the deep litter method then even though the straw has been getting damp from the Coastal marine layer and not drying out? This time last year we were having sun and 90 degree Temps every day. This year, we have had 3-4 days of sun in the last month or two. Very wet. I understand chickens get their water messy and that's just part of it, but we have friends with chickens either in areas with less dusty soil, or with coops that have a solid floor, and they seem to be able to go the full day without having the water get so dirty (not from food but from dust). I am committed to daily cleaning, but just trying to find what others have most ease and success with for easy cleaning, low maintenance, or best for preventing disease (mostly protozoa).

We have wood chips in both of our runs and really like how they are working. The chickens are constantly scratching around in them and I can see they are decomposing already and it has only been about 6 weeks since we put them in there. We will be adding a couple more inches before winter sets in And we have snow and cold.

 

[paintedChix]

I will try again with the nipple waterer. My mom also just bought us the cup waterers that you drill into a 5-gal bucket.

I will update my profile to put my location. I did not know how to do that! I would love to connect with others in my area since I am new to all this and so much to learn.

I really love my birds and enjoy having them, but it's crazy to me how so many people with chickens told us (before we got the chickens) how low maintenance they are and that they barely have to do anything haha...how??? We spend so much time and energy on the birds (and money haha). I cannot imagine not doing daily chores.

You can search for your state thread. Even in same state, will be areas that have different microclimates - meaning different care routines.

Work - I've found the bigger the area the chickens are contained in, the less work overall. You can do large, gravity fed waterers & feeders requiring just to be checked & filled. DLM has a tendency to reduce flying/settling dust, however, if the birds scratch near the waterers then they can still be filled with debri.

If you use DLM, it needs to be kept moist when it's dry/hot for extended periods. The premise behind DLM is different size & types of materials that will allow water to percolate/drain down, poops to disintegrate & smells to disapate. Simulates a forest floor.

Here are some of my pics over the years...

DLM

Edit - as I'm away for extended times & didn't read all responses, I didn't realize I'd already replied!

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Hello everyone! I live in Prunedale, CA, in northern Monterey County. We have been keeping poultry since February. We have sandy soil, but it is very fine and silty. It produces a fine dust that coats everything. We have two coops in our backyard that we built. Each one is a rectangle and has about a 9' x 4' x 5' run with an attached coop that is maybe another 4'×4'. The run is just hardware cloth with a dirt floor (wire extends into soil 12" below coop) and a corrugated metal roof. The coop is all plywood (with ventilation at top) and has a wood bottom.

We have 3 laying hens in the one run/coop, and another 3 birds that we raised from chicks (2 young chickens and a young turkey) in the other. They spend their time in the run when they are not free ranging in our grassy backyard. Due to the dirt floor, the waterer gets dirty so fast. It gets coated in fine dust and gets dirty. We clean it out twice a day. It is raised, but not hanging. We tried the nipple waterers but our chickens didn't catch on and we didn't try very hard to make the switch and went back to a traditional waterer.

This summer has been unusually cool and very wet (normally it is hot and dry). We put down straw in the run when we got the chickens, because I wanted to try the deep litter method, but it has been getting damp and not drying out. I feel like that can't be good. We took it all out and just have the dirt now. The coop itself doesn't get very messy. We have some straw in the nesting boxes and below where there turkey sleeps and we clean it out and change it regularly. I am mainly unsure what to do in the run where they spend most their time (when not free ranging a few hours a day).

What is the best way to keep a clean run to reduce disease, parasites, and protozoa?

I don't mind cleaning out the run/coop regularly. I would rather that than have them pecking around and ingesting their feces. Should i put plywood down to reduce the amount of dust, or just leave the dirt? They like to dust bathe in the dirt, but will it be better to keep them off the dirt (mainly the turkey) to reduce parasites and protozoa? I also read sand could be a good option, but there was mixed reviews about using sand with respect to cleanliness.

Anyone live in Central CA or just have advice in general? I am not a clean freak, I just don't want to create a moist environment that breeds disease, and I would love to not have to clean the waterer twice a day (if possible). Thank you!!!!

When the weather is wet wet wet with no time to dry at it.....it can get tricky. If there are brief moments of dry weather, i am out there raking the run. Mine is covered, so there are some dry spots that I will rake with the wet to make it at least not soaked. Then, If its still wet and raining, i add straw and more straw. I keep piling straw until no wetness. Even if its 5 inches of straw. Then I pray. I pray mother nature will change her ways. Eventually she does! Good luck and.....tons of ventilation helps too