Do you use bedding in your run or leave it bare dirt?

[flyin-lowe]

I am planning to start construction on my first coop in the next couple of weeks. My initial plans are for the coop to e 8x6, tall enough to walk inside of. I plan to have the run off of the 8 foot side so my run will be 8 foot wide. I will probably go 12-16 foot. I am only planning to start with 6-8 hens. I live in Indiana so the weather is never reliable, we could have drought, or record rains. I have five acres of yard so I have plenty of grass clipping, leaves etc. Is there a huge downfall to letting the run go to dirt and then just throw in some grass clippings etc routinely. I don't want to have to keep it full of sand, pea gravel, etc unless it is really required for some reason.

I do plan to let them out some when I am home in the evenings but the majority of the time they will be confined.

 

[ShrekDawg]

But don't a lot of people let it compost inside the run? Not saying there's no clean up and I'm sure there's a lot of people doing it wrong so I am trying to understand it more cause to me it does seem kinda gross to just completely leave poo in it but from what I've seen recently it seems like people do do that and let the chickens do all the work of turning it and and it composts fine/turns into a forest floor/mini environment if it's left alone long enough? Or not?

 

[aart]

There are so many posts about using the "deep litter method" inside of the coop, that it gives the impression that you do not have to clean up after your birds. PLEASE don't believe this. During the winter I do not bed my chicken's run, which is 12 adult birds (5 roosters are 6mo's) in a 12 x 30ft run with the coop inside of it. Sometimes I will put down straw so that there is an outside area without mud.
You have to clean up after your birds. The winter can be easier because the poo freezes and you can scoop it up with a gloved hand, small shovel or a cat litter scoop. I use a painter's bucket that sprung a leak and fill it, then empty it into the wheelbarrow with the rest of my soiled horse stall bedding.
Outside in the summer I use a bag mower and empty those into the run. The birds love it, BUT, every few weeks I rake and roll it and remove the leftovers and the poo, then compost. You need to keep any wood from being burned from the ammonia. That is why we paint the insides of the coop and lay down a piece of vinyl for the floor, to prevent early wood rot. It helps to have a small garden wheelbarrow that you can push through the door to the run.
There is no outside bedding that prevents cleanup.

If you have the right mix of of materials in your litter, you do not have to pick up the poops.

 

[member 373180]

Nice run!! Is it covered? How long have you had it? Do those tiny birds(I think those are bantams?) drop tiny poops?

Thanks, I think it's awesome, too. I was responsible for painting all the pieces and holding things while they were being attached by the actual builder. It is completely encased in hardware cloth. We recently added an inside wall of plastic mesh to keep the new babies separate. We built it last spring, I think chickens moved in around mid-June. Yes, all bantams, I decided to go with them so I could still have a nice little flock in the limited space. The poops are quite polite except from the broodies.

 

[JacksFarmNGardn]

I am planning to start construction on my first coop in the next couple of weeks.  My initial plans are for the coop to e 8x6, tall enough to walk inside of.  I plan to have the run off of the 8 foot side so my run will be 8 foot wide.  I will probably go 12-16 foot.  I am only planning to start with 6-8 hens.  I live in Indiana so the weather is never reliable, we could have drought, or record rains.  I have five acres of yard so I have plenty of grass clipping, leaves etc.  Is there a huge downfall to letting the run go to dirt and then just throw in some grass clippings etc routinely.  I don't want to have to keep it full of sand, pea gravel, etc unless it is really required for some reason.

I do plan to let them out some when I am home in the evenings but the majority of the time they will be confined.

I don't put anything outside. I let them pick at the dirt for bugs. I put shavings in the coop only,to keep warm.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

Leave the run bare. They love to uproot grass and weeds for bugs and they love playing in dirt.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

Doesn't the run get smelly with just bare dirt? How about flies? We use deep litter, plenty of bugs in that but no smell or flies.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

After a season or two your run will be a hard packed, sometimes smelly run. I do deep litter in my bantam run. I put grass clippings, fall leaves, garden produce, weeds, dirt and all, any sod I dig up, hay, spent mulch. I pile it in, the chickens mix it digging for scratch, poop disappears, the dirt gets fluffy and light, drains well, it took a season or two to really get it going and nice but I won't go back to bare, poorly drained packed smelly soil.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Fall


Spring

 

[Percheron chick]

I am planning to start construction on my first coop in the next couple of weeks.  My initial plans are for the coop to e 8x6, tall enough to walk inside of.  I plan to have the run off of the 8 foot side so my run will be 8 foot wide.  I will probably go 12-16 foot.  I am only planning to start with 6-8 hens.  I live in Indiana so the weather is never reliable, we could have drought, or record rains.  I have five acres of yard so I have plenty of grass clipping, leaves etc.  Is there a huge downfall to letting the run go to dirt and then just throw in some grass clippings etc routinely.  I don't want to have to keep it full of sand, pea gravel, etc unless it is really required for some reason.

Make sure you have drainage figured out than you'll be fine. You could also roof part of the run right off the coop to give them a dry snow free area outside.