Wendy Bee
Songster
You'll find as you go you'll learn and alter course on some things you thought you wanted, things that you learn you don't want, and some things that just work better than others. We're just about a year into our chicken journey and I'm feeling like I have a better handle on a balance between what I thought were ideals and what works best in our climate/topography/budget/practicalities/abilities to maintain.
Our run (28x8 total, with 6' of that under a raised coop) has a dirt floor on which we've put large pine flakes (Tractor Supply White bag). Over time, we've built up a depth of about 6-8 inches, if it were spread evenly, but as I rake and stir it every few days, I make piles, which gives the chickens something to do. The shavings mix with the dirt as the chickens scratch and peck and the chickens take epic dust baths which they THOUROUGHLY enjoy! I have not changed out the litter in about a year (they free range during the day and when there's not too much snow). As noted above, I give it all a good raking over with a garden rake every few days to aerate and stir in any poop. The run does not smell at all and composts very well. Earlier this past winter we also mixed in about a metal garbage can full of clean wood ash (hardwood burned in our woodstoves), which they can eat (trace minerals including calcium) and dust bathe in (good for prevention of parasites). Sometimes their poops are black (normal when eating small bits of charcoal and wood ash), and I've read that wood ash can actually cut down on chicken poop odor.
(There are babies brooding behind the green fencing)
Our run has a shingle roof over it, so stays dry from the weather - except this winter I did get some large patches of seepage in the run up through the floor from snow melt and roof dripline combined with the slight but consequential slope of the ground. We'll be installing rain diverters on the roof soon, and over the winter I used tarps on the ground to shed water away from the run, which worked well. Currently I'm streamlining this method, just waiting for another good rain to make sure I have the ground under the tarp graded properly for water to shed well and then I'll cover it all with wood chips (free from local tree service, yay!) and you'll never even know the tarp is there. It looks kind of poofy right now, but chips really settle over time.
We thought about doing a gutter system into a barrel for watering the chickens, but use 2 gallon buckets with horizontal chicken nipples (pictured above with the bathing beauties) and LOVE them. They are simple, easy to clean, and the water stays clean. They're also easy to heat in the winter with bird bath deicers. Some people use 5 gallon buckets, but I really don't want to carry that much weight, so went with 2 gallon buckets. I have a couple of posts HERE and HERE about what's worked for me and one challenge/resolution regarding these waterers.
We have industrial hemp for bedding in the coop itself. Deep bedding method there, as well. In a 6x8 coop, 2 bales got us started, though 2.5-3 bales would have been better. Adding a small layer of bedding at a time as needed is all you need to do, and give it a good stir every week or two. With the cost of hemp having gone up almost double in my area, I have filtered out the big poops every now and then using the front grill of an old 16" stand fan. I dump the poops into 5 gallon buckets, and when 2 are full, I take them out to the woods and dump them. After the pile ages, to the garden the poops will go.
I think I have 4 total bales in the coop over the past year, and it has no smell, no ammonia. In addition to sifting out poops every so often, I also give the coop a good turning over with a garden rake once every week or two. I have 2 more bales in the loft for when I need to add thin layers of new material, and anticipate easily being able to go 2 years without a bedding change.
Those are just a few things that came to mind as I read through your thread - enjoy the process of finding what things work best for you!
Our run (28x8 total, with 6' of that under a raised coop) has a dirt floor on which we've put large pine flakes (Tractor Supply White bag). Over time, we've built up a depth of about 6-8 inches, if it were spread evenly, but as I rake and stir it every few days, I make piles, which gives the chickens something to do. The shavings mix with the dirt as the chickens scratch and peck and the chickens take epic dust baths which they THOUROUGHLY enjoy! I have not changed out the litter in about a year (they free range during the day and when there's not too much snow). As noted above, I give it all a good raking over with a garden rake every few days to aerate and stir in any poop. The run does not smell at all and composts very well. Earlier this past winter we also mixed in about a metal garbage can full of clean wood ash (hardwood burned in our woodstoves), which they can eat (trace minerals including calcium) and dust bathe in (good for prevention of parasites). Sometimes their poops are black (normal when eating small bits of charcoal and wood ash), and I've read that wood ash can actually cut down on chicken poop odor.
(There are babies brooding behind the green fencing)
Our run has a shingle roof over it, so stays dry from the weather - except this winter I did get some large patches of seepage in the run up through the floor from snow melt and roof dripline combined with the slight but consequential slope of the ground. We'll be installing rain diverters on the roof soon, and over the winter I used tarps on the ground to shed water away from the run, which worked well. Currently I'm streamlining this method, just waiting for another good rain to make sure I have the ground under the tarp graded properly for water to shed well and then I'll cover it all with wood chips (free from local tree service, yay!) and you'll never even know the tarp is there. It looks kind of poofy right now, but chips really settle over time.
We thought about doing a gutter system into a barrel for watering the chickens, but use 2 gallon buckets with horizontal chicken nipples (pictured above with the bathing beauties) and LOVE them. They are simple, easy to clean, and the water stays clean. They're also easy to heat in the winter with bird bath deicers. Some people use 5 gallon buckets, but I really don't want to carry that much weight, so went with 2 gallon buckets. I have a couple of posts HERE and HERE about what's worked for me and one challenge/resolution regarding these waterers.
We have industrial hemp for bedding in the coop itself. Deep bedding method there, as well. In a 6x8 coop, 2 bales got us started, though 2.5-3 bales would have been better. Adding a small layer of bedding at a time as needed is all you need to do, and give it a good stir every week or two. With the cost of hemp having gone up almost double in my area, I have filtered out the big poops every now and then using the front grill of an old 16" stand fan. I dump the poops into 5 gallon buckets, and when 2 are full, I take them out to the woods and dump them. After the pile ages, to the garden the poops will go.
I think I have 4 total bales in the coop over the past year, and it has no smell, no ammonia. In addition to sifting out poops every so often, I also give the coop a good turning over with a garden rake once every week or two. I have 2 more bales in the loft for when I need to add thin layers of new material, and anticipate easily being able to go 2 years without a bedding change.
Those are just a few things that came to mind as I read through your thread - enjoy the process of finding what things work best for you!
