TNchicknewbie
In the Brooder
Hi, I'm a new chicken owner. I was given 11 hens and 1 rooster of various ages and breeds that were used to true free ranging. We have a raised coop that is on a slight slope and the opening underneath varies from a few inches to about a foot of clearance. The chickens love to go under there and as we have absolutely no trees or shade in that part of our property, (except for a small area of the run that has a roof,) we thought this would be a good idea. My problem is that I am not sure how to keep it clean. The rest of the run either has pretty deep wood chips or else is still grassy. (It's a large netted run, about 55x16) Any ideas short of attempting to toss wood chips under there handful by handful? I'm afraid that if I just leave it that it will start to smell as it gets hotter and the poop begins to build up. Thanks for any suggestions!