Am I making a big mistake?

[featherhead007]

Well, I only have 3 at the moment and they have a lot of space, relatively speaking. So that's good.

I'll be getting 4 more in late June then I guess I'll have to be picking up the pace. ...and the poo.

Yep as chickens do so does poo!

 

[rebrascora]

It's not entirely clear if you are deep littering the run as well as the coop or if it's just a dirt base with some debris on it. The dirt will get sour if there is just poop going into it and no litter material.
Also, I'm not sure why you are removing poop from the coop if you are deep littering. The idea of deep littering is that you leave the poop in the deep litter and encourage the hens to scratch through it to keep it aerated and mix the poop into the litter. The good bacteria along with the chickens then breaking it down into compost over several months.

 

[nightowl223]

The idea of deep littering is that you leave the poop in the deep litter and encourage the hens to scratch through it to keep it aerated and mix the poop into the litter. The good bacteria along with the chickens then breaking it down into compost over several months.

Definitely this. Deep litter needs to be at least 6 to 8 inches deep to work the best, too. And if they don't mix it good enough scratching in it, you can lightly rake it with a leaf rake every week, to mix it better.

 

[Ridgerunner]

In my opinion if the poop is dry it’s not a big deal. If it stays wet for a while it can stink and can become a health hazard. I’d think where you are it will be pretty dry most of the time but you can occasionally have wet spells. I agree, your nose will tell you how you are doing.

I have no idea what your coop or run look like, how big they are, or what your chicken density is or will be. Your question is about the run but I’ll talk about both since the same basic principles apply. As far as the poop your goal is to keep it dry. The obvious ways it can get wet are from watering or the weather. Another problem can be if the poop gets too thick it just doesn’t dry out. Right under the roosts can be a problem area since it tends to build up there.

Since your weather is so dry most of the time you are not likely to get much composting action. The bugs that eat it need some moisture to live and reproduce. Some people dampen the litter in the coop and/or run enough so it will compost, manage it like you do a compost bin. But don’t get it too wet. I don’t know what you have in your run as far as how thick the bedding is. If it is normally as dry as I think it is I’d expect the chickens to scratch the dried poop in your run to a powder which will sink down to the ground, pretty much under the litter but on top of the soil. It will pretty much just sit there, not composting or doing anything as long as it is dry. If you have a wet spell you may or may not have issues, depending a lot on how well it drains. Some of it also depends on your chicken density, how much the poop builds up.

You can think of your bedding as a diaper. Its job it to absorb moisture. It does that fine as long as it is dry but when a diaper gets soaked I can’t absorb any more. Different people use different things as bedding: wood shavings, wood chips, straw, hay, sand, dry leaves, plain old dirt, or something else. How well any of these work for you will depend a lot on your unique circumstances.

I have a fairly large coop and my climate is such that the chickens spend most of their waking time outside. I use droppings boards under the roosts so I get rid of that poop build-up. My coop floor is wood shavings. It stays so dry that it does not compost. I regularly go three or four years between cleaning it out. When I do, I put it on the garden in the fall so it has time to break down before I plant in the spring.

My main run is bare dirt. It is covered, fairly large, and it drains pretty well. I’ve never cleaned it out. But I also have a large area in electric netting where the chickens spend the majority of their waking time. I never clean that either. My chicken density is so low that I just don’t have the problems a lot of people with tiny backyard coops and runs have to deal with.

If you are not having issues now you are probably doing fine, especially if you have gone through a wet spell. When you add chickens and increase your density that could change. Your nose will let you know.

 

[IamRainey]

Thanks, Ridgerunner. That was very helpful and I feel more confident now.

I have active garden compost piles so I just add what I collect from my poop board directly to it.

My set up sounds much like yours. And the dryness of our weather should keep things manageable.

 

[Molpet]

Maybe, but IMHO, the key to the deep litter method is to completely remove everything on a schedule - whether that be quarterly, semi-annually or annually.
While everything is up and out of the coop/run, put down something like DE at a minimum or possibly permethrin, 5% Sevin, etc.. And then put down a thick layer of new clean bedding.
ETA
The only reason I mention permethrin or Sevin is if one has had any lice or mites on their birds.

That said, I don't have any experience with dirt floor coops except with Macaws.
All my coops have either concrete, wood or HDPE floors. A little easier to keep clean than dirt.

Sevin has a life time egg withdraw.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Sevin has a life time egg withdraw.

Where did you read that?
The last documents I read from the FDA don't prohibit Carbaryl in poultry.
It is the most common product used and approved for poultry parasites in Canada, Central America and much of Europe.
Here are the recommendations for the US
In the United States, carbaryl suspension concentrates, wettable
powders and dusts may be applied directly to poultry for the control
of Northern fowl mite, chicken mite, lice and fleas. The dust is
applied at the rate of 500g/100 birds and 0.5 percent sprays at the
rate of 4 1/100 birds. Carbaryl dust (5 percent) is used in dust baths
at the rate of 1 kg per box for each 50 birds. There is a seven day
interval between the last application and day of slaughter. The
relative proportion of dust and spray is not known (United States,
1984).
The dust is applied topically, not ingested. There should be no residue in eggs. It would be a good idea if using it in nesting material that eggs be washed before cracking.
http://www.farad.org/publications/digests/122015EggResidue.pdf

 

[IamRainey]

Sevin has a life time egg withdraw.

I don't understand what this means.

But then I'm not using anything that it's a natural material: pine shavings, native soil/sand, dried leaves from my lawn, water, vinegar, orange oil, etc.

 

[JaeG]

Where did you read that?
The last documents I read from the FDA don't prohibit Carbaryl in poultry.
It is the most common product used and approved for poultry parasites in Canada, Central America and much of Europe.
Here are the recommendations for the US
In the United States, carbaryl suspension concentrates, wettable
powders and dusts may be applied directly to poultry for the control
of Northern fowl mite, chicken mite, lice and fleas. The dust is
applied at the rate of 500g/100 birds and 0.5 percent sprays at the
rate of 4 1/100 birds. Carbaryl dust (5 percent) is used in dust baths
at the rate of 1 kg per box for each 50 birds. There is a seven day
interval between the last application and day of slaughter. The
relative proportion of dust and spray is not known (United States,
1984).
The dust is applied topically, not ingested. There should be no residue in eggs. It would be a good idea if using it in nesting material that eggs be washed before cracking.
http://www.farad.org/publications/digests/122015EggResidue.pdf

You can read about it here specifically post #17:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...esticide-withdrawal-times-for-layers.1142760/

 

[JaeG]

I don't understand what this means.

But then I'm not using anything that it's a natural material: pine shavings, native soil/sand, dried leaves from my lawn, water, vinegar, orange oil, etc.

Sevin is an insecticide used for treating lice and mites.