Back pain sand run

[LeslieSB]

Getting some back and shoulder pain from cleaning/scooping my sand chicken run every 2-3 days. Someone suggested micro bark. Can I just place this on top of my sand or do I have to remove? Have a covered run in central coast CA do little rain. Like the sand but hard on my back. Deep litter seems too complicated. Thanks for suggestions.

 

[3KillerBs]

In a covered run in a dry climate you'd be doing Deep Bedding rather than Deep Litter because there wouldn't be any composting going on unless you added moisture intentionally.

This article might be helpful: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

If the repetitive motion of the scooping is the problem it might be less painful to have the big cleanout 2-6 times a year instead of the daily chore.

 

[jonalisa]

Getting some back and shoulder pain from cleaning/scooping my sand chicken run every 2-3 days. Someone suggested micro bark. Can I just place this on top of my sand or do I have to remove? Have a covered run in central coast CA do little rain. Like the sand but hard on my back. Deep litter seems too complicated. Thanks for suggestions.

How big is your run? You could mix in Sweet PDZ which works as a dessicant. How many chickens?

 

[Farmgirl1878]

What do you use to scoop poop? I use a long-handled wok spider that saves me a lot of bending over. I love it! https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000DZXGLW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1