Cleaning the run

[DobieLover]

Deep litter needs some moisture in order to compost so is generally done on a dirt floor.

I hate to be a big party pooper but with the way the roof is constructed on this coop, there will be plenty of moisture getting into the coop and onto the plywood floor.

The pitch of the roof ends at the dog ears of the privacy fence that makes up one of the long walls.
The tar paper is pinned down behind the trim board, essentially diverting water onto the plywood siding and into the coop that way too.
The roof line needs to completely redone to actually shed water away from the structure and not have it run back in.
@Love My Chickies , where are you located in general? Do you ever get snow? Using the fence as a wall is a clever idea but it shouldn't be on the load bearing side. Is this structure just temporary until you can build something different?

 

[Love My Chickies]

The coop isn't completed. It's going to have flashing and a channel to divert water away, as well as asphalt roofing. My fiance is building it.

I'm in south Texas. Never snows but did have a nice freeze this past winter!

 

[Love My Chickies]

This was so informative and helpful! Thank you!

Here is my article on Deep Bedding, which is what you can do on a wood floor. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

To never ever have to clean in the run you need to achieve the perfect balance of carbon (the litter), nitrogen (the poop), and moisture to get the composting to proceed at the perfect rate. Some people achieve this. Others find that the litter will eventually pile up to the point where it's spilling over the door frames (tip, build the door frames so that the door is up off the ground), and they have to shovel some out. Others find that they develop an odor that isn't solved by adding another layer of litter and thus they have to shovel out and start over.

While the idea of a never-clean run is appealing, I personally don't want to do it because I want to generate compost for my garden.

 

[3KillerBs]

This was so informative and helpful! Thank you!

You're welcome.

I wrote up a lot of the things I'd wished I'd have known when I began.

 

[Sally PB]

As a preventive against mosquitoes I add a sprig of lavender and rosemary then wipe around the inside of the coop with a damp rag with a few drops of eucalyptus oil.

Does that do anything to discourage flies?