Do you Clean out poop from the run?

[K0k0shka]

I’ve never cleaned my run. My current setup is 4 years old. I use a cold compost system of wood chips, dry leaves, grass clippings and other miscellaneous yard waste that I throw in periodically throughout the year. The chickens turn it over when scratching and it just composts in place. It doesn’t look dirty, smell, get muddy, or freeze solid in the winter. I love it! I’m going to haul the top 6 inches or so out and into my garden as fertilizer soon, because it’s building up too high (as I keep adding material but don’t remove any). When I do, I’ll put down a new layer of chips and dry leaves and start over.

 

[Chold05]

I clean my run every day, sometimes multiple times a day. I have wood chips down. I don't like them (or me) stepping in it. i scoop it out and it goes into my compost pile. I add fresh wood chips every year... I also wood chip my garden paths so it's not really an extra work.

 

[Bleuberry]

We had a tree stump ground out and put the chips in the run. We also bought pellets previously but never used them.

 

[Mason Farm and Ranch]

My run ended up becoming my roosting area. My builder heard '13' instead of '30'. It's not much of an issue as I started using the henhouse as a space for brooding hens, and birds being picked on.

With that being said, I made the gambit of bedding materials and have come back to sand over a vinyl floor. Underneath the vinyl is sawdust from pelletized bedding. It keep the floor drier by absorbing water before it gets inside. Yes, during rainy seasons the floor does rise several inches. But for the most part, the sand stays dry.

I rake the floor about twice a month and add more sand. Twice a year I sweep it all out and start fresh. I add PDZ and Spinosad to the sand. There's not much of a smell. I put the debris in a barrel to compost for my garden.

 

[Suzz]

I pick up poop every day coop and run a long handled cat poop scooper from Chewys makes it very simple

 

[Vin saga]

Curious to know if you all clean out poop from the run? I added pine bark nuggets and mix it around and it seems to be ok for now. Today, the edges of the run are getting muddy bc of the rain coming in from the sides. I'm reading to use pelletized bedding, but then it turns to sawdust. Are ppl picking out poop from it or just turning it often and letting everything just eventually become one with the dirt floor?

Well it depends on the run type. Mine is movable and I don't clean it often I leave the poops there it's a natural manure that aid in enriching the soil and also allow the growth of insects and worm

 

[tripletfeb]

I've only ever cleaned out my run one time in five years. And that was because I got rid of my older ladies and started fresh, three years ago. My second batch of ladies have gone to a new home now and I'm currently brooding my new batch in the coop. I will clean out the run as best as I can before I let these new ladies in but I don't think it's a big deal. I'll mostly just fill in the holes the other chickens dug and rake some leaves in there. I do the deep bedding method in my coop and only clean that out twice a year. No smell and everything works like it should so I have no plans on changing

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

I stir wood chips in the covered run. In the Spring I scoop out the run to the compost pile, and take the dry deep bedding from the coop to go into the run. Compost goes onto the garden in the Fall to winter over. Repeat.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Ahhh, the chicken run ecosystem is probably one of my favorite parts about chicken keeping. Once you understand how things compost, and how to mitigate weather problems, its a marvelous hobby almost.
What I do know is everyones goal is the same: provide the chickens with a healthy ecosystem. What works for some, may not work for others. It's important to at least consider which zone these effective measures come from. I'm zone 6a and have a covered run. The 4 seasons is such a welcomed blessing in keeping a healthy coop/run. I have come to enjoy the deep winter months knowing all of mother natures creepy creatures are taking a break. At the end of the day, my healthy coop tip is a dry top layer always. Mother Nature takes care of the rest. When its super wet I add a bunch of straw, which eventually breaks down, drys and mixes with dry dirt in the run. In a perfect world I'd have dry leaves for every rain event

 

[thecatumbrella]

I clean my run every day, sometimes multiple times a day. I have wood chips down. I don't like them (or me) stepping in it. i scoop it out and it goes into my compost pile. I add fresh wood chips every year... I also wood chip my garden paths so it's not really an extra work.

I do the same thing (with mulch instead of wood chips). Can't help myself, plus it's oddly relaxing to poop scoop the run. The girls love to help as well.