Im hoping this is the right place to post this... Ive got 3 chickens and this is my first time having them. Ive got a coop/runner all built in one which is 5ft by 7ft. The sides have clear plastic surrounding it so the rain doesnt get in it and get it wet. Where I live it rains,rains,rains. The ground is pretty soft dirt and pebbles. So this might sound silly to ask and if so go ahead and giggle....lol....but when the ground gets covered in poop how do I clean it out? Dig up some of the top dirt and turn it upside down? If so how often like once a month or every few months? Is the poop toxic after awhile or is it no biggie? The rain cant get into the runner area at all so its mostly soft dirt.
You may want to lay down a bed of sand in the run to make poop removal easier. Poop build-up is not great- messy, stinky, slippery and can perpetuate disease if it is too present. A bed of sand makes the run a piece of cake to clean- just rake off the excess on the top and the run is pristine afterwards. I am putting 2-3 inches of sand down in my run this year. I have been wanting to do it for years, but couldn't due to accessibility issues. Those issues have been resolved, so my dream of a clean, sandy run is going to be realized as soon as I can accomplish it. Good luck.
I laid down a sand base for drainage and then I put pine shavings over that. I use a dog style pooper-scooper to clean the run, and rake as needed to keep it easy to pick up. Once it gets compacted it becomes difficult to clean. Since you don't have water issues, you can just put sand in and treat like a chicken litter box.
