Your system sounds every bit as good as mine! I wouldn't even call what we do a "system," more like, "It's Spring, and the chicken run is getting too deep and muddy, time to get out the mini-tiller, loosen everything up and set aside the large chunks to make a dry surface, then get the rest of this mess out of the run and into the compost bin. When's our next day off, that isn't going to pour down rain? Next week, hopefully?"
One good thing we did this past weekend that will help improve the small run we have now, we put a roof over it. At least now, while we're still working on completing the big run, the chickens have a mud-free area.
If your deep-litter is 16" now, with all the materials you've been putting in recently, it's going to shrink a lot as it breaks down. Maybe leave it through summer as it is, while you keep adding grass clippings. Then in September or whenever Fall comes in your area, do the mini-till, dig out everything down 6 inches or as far as your mini-tiller goes, dig it all out to become compost, then level it off and start adding the fallen leaves.
One good thing we did this past weekend that will help improve the small run we have now, we put a roof over it. At least now, while we're still working on completing the big run, the chickens have a mud-free area.
If your deep-litter is 16" now, with all the materials you've been putting in recently, it's going to shrink a lot as it breaks down. Maybe leave it through summer as it is, while you keep adding grass clippings. Then in September or whenever Fall comes in your area, do the mini-till, dig out everything down 6 inches or as far as your mini-tiller goes, dig it all out to become compost, then level it off and start adding the fallen leaves.