Okay. That makes much more sense then throwing away the run contents every couple weeks!! Thank you for explaining it to me. I will look into wood chips today - they should be pretty easy to come by in Maine. Thanks again!
That sounds awesome! Thank you so much for your time answering my questions. I'll get there - hopefully without too many mishaps along the way.Yes, I just toss the scraps into the run -- in different places so that dominant and subordinate flock members both get the treats.
What they don't eat becomes one with the bedding and composts in place. I don't give them huge amounts of stuff that would stay in a pile and make a mess. I do, however, pick up large bones since they don't break down in a timely fashion.
Giving them a straw bale is a great way to prevent winter boredom. Don't spread it -- just cut one tie and let them tear it apart over days or weeks. Likewise when you rake leaves. Don't bother to spread them, just put in the pile and let the chickens have fun scratching it until it's spread out.
The litter doesn't stay in layers. The chickens scratch and dig and mix it all up. They can be encouraged to work over any area that seems like it might be neglected and getting compacted by scattering a little scratch there.
IF straw does get matted into a distinct layer you will need to flip it around with a pitchfork to fluff it back up. This is why it's better to add bedding/litter a little at a time instead of a lot at once.
That sounds awesome! Thank you so much for your time answering my questions. I'll get there - hopefully without too many mishaps along the way.
I agree with straw packing soil down.Yes. People everywhere use this method in different climates and with different litters.
Yes, just like Deep Bedding except for the moisture and ground contact, which create the conditions for composting to occur. Deep Bedding, being a dry system, doesn't break down -- other then by the mechanical action of chickens scratching, which creates a fine dust of mixed bedding particles and dried poop.
With either system you need to clean when the bedding/litter pile up deeper than is convenient for you or an odor develops that doesn't go away with the addition of another layer of bedding/litter.
My observations here on these forums lead me to conclude that most failures with either system come from having too many chickens in too confined a space so that the manure load overwhelms the ability of the volume of bedding available to absorb and that most of the rest of the failures are due to an ill-drained run that is wet-wet rather than moist.
Some materials -- straw and leaves especially -- tend to pack, mat, and form anaerobic pockets. This is why I advocate a mix of materials and textures if possible. Those coarse wood chips are superb for keeping the mix well-aerated and preventing packing/matting.
In addition to the above, different places have locally-available materials which have the advantage of being cheap/free. Here in the US Southeast I have pine straw -- the long needled of the Longleaf and Loblolly pines. I've heard of rice hulls being available in some places and I'm sure that there are other local materials in other places.
I totally agree with go lightly on straw layer. I unknowingly laid down a 3-4inch layer of straw in snow storm last year and that layer is like BRICK.Yes, I just toss the scraps into the run -- in different places so that dominant and subordinate flock members both get the treats.
What they don't eat becomes one with the bedding and composts in place. I don't give them huge amounts of stuff that would stay in a pile and make a mess. I do, however, pick up large bones since they don't break down in a timely fashion.
Giving them a straw bale is a great way to prevent winter boredom. Don't spread it -- just cut one tie and let them tear it apart over days or weeks. Likewise when you rake leaves. Don't bother to spread them, just put in the pile and let the chickens have fun scratching it until it's spread out.
The litter doesn't stay in layers. The chickens scratch and dig and mix it all up. They can be encouraged to work over any area that seems like it might be neglected and getting compacted by scattering a little scratch there.
IF straw does get matted into a distinct layer you will need to flip it around with a pitchfork to fluff it back up. This is why it's better to add bedding/litter a little at a time instead of a lot at once.
After all that's how they made bricks in Bible!
I'm impressed
Like 3KillerBs I just toss any food scraps directly on the floor. Even if I put them in a pan the chickens will drag them from the pan onto the floor anyhow.
We do deal with mold. I'm new to Maine, but it seems like the land never dries out. If I miss a dog poo - it grows white fuzzy mold within 2 days. So I would only guess that straw would go moldy as well. I think what I am lacking is the wood chips. I am currently just using bags of pine shavings that I had laying around and they compact too much and the poo just sticks to them and to the chickens feet. I definitely need some aeration! Thank you for the advice.
