Deep litter for the run?

[thepoorehouse]

OHHHHH. I use DE! Didn't recognize the abbreviation. Thanks. I'll know it from now on.

 

[greenpixies]

hey chickyboomboom!
tell us newbies more about Stall Dry and where we can get it cheap. That's the 2nd time I've heard it mentioned today. I'm about to purchase some food grade DE, but have not heard/read much about Stall Dry.

 

[chickyboomboom]

Hi greenpixies,

I'm a newbie too! Someone else on the forum told me about it.

You should be able to get it at any feed/tractor store. Stall dry is used for all kinds of animals, including horses. One of the ingredients in it is DE. I paid about $17 for a 44# bag, and it lasts awhile. It looks like dark sand, you just sprinkle it in the coop and run and it absorbs odors, ammonia and moisture. My coop/run doesn't smell at all! It's also 99% dust free, so you don't get all that dusty powder like you do with pure DE. I usually sprinkle DE first, and then stall dry over it every few days.

I don't think I'm crazy about the DE though, and once I run out, I'm going to go without it for awhile and see how I feel.

I love stalldry! And it's so cheap!

 

[mothrhen]

Has anybody heard of or tried keeping chickens on construction sand? I read about it somewhere but don't know where. Right now my coop and run is on concrete. It wasn't my original plan when I built it but. . . I love it! when I let the girls out to roam I just hose it out and it stays clean all the time. This is not going to work in the winter though. I read about keeping them on the sand and that they could eat it and it was good for thier feet. I thought I could scoop the poop out like kitty litter. The problem is that once it's in getting it out will not be easy and last I heard, it's not made for consumtion. I mostly want to be sure it's safe.

 

[chickyboomboom]

It's a lot of scooping. I do sand in the coop and don't mind it, it is so easy to clean, but I would never do the kitty scoop thing in the run. That's a whole lot of poo to be bending down to scoop. If I composted, I might consider it, but otherwise I think it's too much work! I guess you could rake it, since you are on concrete, that might not be bad.

 

[poseygrace]

Love the bark idea! Thanks!

 

[mothrhen]

I thought bark/mulch might harbor bacteria. Any thoughts on that? Am I just being over protective?

 

[greenpixies]

mothrhen:

I don't think that it would harbor bacteria to any detrimental level, bark dries out very quickly. Unless you are keeping things really wet in your run/pen area bacteria is more of a problem with 'wet' and 'soft' stuff. I've used barks in many horticultural projects and they are pretty great that way. The bark stays dry and hard. I try to avoid using them now only because they are not a sustainable product, but they really are great in terms of how they work in different settings. I mulch my garden beds with pine straw because it's sustainable and very easy to access (plus often free), but it breaks down very quickly compared to bark peices. My plan is to use a combination of materials for the girls and see how things go. I want my girls to have access to the dirt too so they can chase them up some yummy bugs!

Oh, P.S. anyone who lives in termite country might want to think twice about using bark -- especially if it's going to be laying on top of soil -- termites LOVE it!

 

[lbartsch]

Can you please post what kind of bark you got? I'd really love to know as I'm thinking of doing the same thing. Right now I have a layered thing going on. There's a layer of hardware cloth (we have lots of burrowing predators), a layer of soil, grass and then chicken wire over the grass so that they can't totally destroy the grass. The girls aren't out there yet but it did occur to me that it might be hard to clean the run with the chicken wire over the grass. Also, I put them out there yesterday when I took them out for their free range time and they didn't seem to like the wire on their feet. Maybe if I put bark, it'll be better. Question too though, do they eat it?

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

I use play sand in my about 20 ft by 30 ft chicken pen and I love love love it!

I go through with a kitty litter scoop once a day and scoop the poop out. The poo is not as gross when it is coated in sand! They like to dust in it, too, and I can wet it down when it's hot.