Run is at critical mass

[columbiacritter]

After 6 years of heavy use, many bales of straw, wheel barrow loads of yard debris, yards and yards of sand and gravel, and who knows how many hundreds of pounds chicken poop it's time to remove at least the top 6" of dirt from the run. I've taken lots of dirt out of it before to build up flower beds, but now it really needs a massive clean out. It's 30' x 30' so it's not a small under taking. Unfortunately all the places I can use the super rich dirt are uphill.

The birds are happy, because every shovel of dirt uncovers a pile of juicy worms.

 

[aggie9296]

Good luck. You should start taking some Tylenol now.

 

[Carols Clucks]

Advil will help with the knee swelling (or so I keep hoping)

 

[columbiacritter]

2 alleve as soon as I get moving in the morning. I think I will pile up a bunch of it below their run to plant pumpkins in.

 

[Carols Clucks]

Our coop has been in the same location for probably the last 100 years (not kidding-it was OLD in 65 when my parents bought the place)

Since we finished the new coop and tore down the old one, I have that side of the garden higher than the middle part....hmm wonder why?

It is the BEST fine garden soil though, so I have been leveling that side some and we are using the dirt in the garden (you should see all the happy worms in it!)

 

[MamaChic21]

Quote:
I take motrin before I begin and hospital after I'm done

I have a problem with my back, I can bend down but after a while, I can't stand up straight lol. I'm also cleaning out their old run yesterday and today. Their run was 10x18 and getting rid of all the poo, straw, wood chips and 40 of 1ft gravel stones. I'm going to make that area a vegetable garden because they have a new run 32x38. I guess I'll be at your situation in 6 years

. Good luck, plenty of rest and pain killers.

 

[ducks_rcool329]

it took me 6 hours to clean out a 15x8' run yesterday. I'm still felling it after a couple doses of Advil..

 

[elmo]

Another one of the benefits of the chicken lifestyle: we get plenty of exercise!

 

[annie3001]

my backs been hurting alot lately just from lugging the water buckets to the duck pools.

i have asked hubby to fix the faucet closest to the house and in reach perfectly to my duck coops. i am going to have to start limping in the house, so hubby can really get it fixed......

soooo i feel your pain, i love advil, the gel caps, works wonders!

 

[onthespot]

buy a hose.