Deep Litter in Run and How to Keep Clean

[InterestingChickens]

I am going on five years with gravel in the run, I raked a lot of it out to expose dirt and the rest is mostly to one side and have not had any issues.

It can cause bumble foot. I am just going off my experinces and others. But everyones experiences will not be the same. All I can say is your lucky you have not experienced bumble foot.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

It can cause bumble foot

So can a twig or a pine needle I am guessing. Those with more experience can correct me if I am wrong but isn't bumblefoot an infection caused when a chicken gets a cut in the foot then walks in poop? IDK because it has never happened in my flock.

 

[InterestingChickens]

So can a twig or a pine needle I am guessing. Those with more experience can correct me if I am wrong but isn't bumblefoot an infection caused when a chicken gets a cut in the foot then walks in poop? IDK because it has never happened in my flock.

Yes, anything sharp. The staph infection usually enters through droppings and into a cut.

 

[lifein1840]

Hi.

I am a new chicken owner and my chickens have been in their coop/run for a couple months now. I am wondering what do people put in their runs and how do you keep it clean? We have 10 laying hens - they all have names and my daughter bring chairs into the run and hold them a few times a week. Yes - we are one of those people who treat their animals like part of the family.

The run is on dirt/gravel and I put down some pine shavings and pellets that I bought for the coop but didn't like - I went with Koop Clean instead. I clean the coop on a daily basis, but after a few weeks the run starts to get poopy and the chickens feet start getting really dirty (especially the cochins). We live in Maine and it rains and snows a lot. It is a covered run and I plan on putting hay in there over the winter to help keep it warm.

Anyway - I just didn't know what most people do to keep the floor of the coop clean and the poopy feet at a minimum. I am doing deep litter in the coop and loving it - it is staying clean, doesn't smell. Is there a way to do deep litter in the run or is it better to haul out the bedding every month or so? I read where someone puts activated carbon/charcoal in the run to facilitate composting and raise the carbon. Does anyone have thoughts on that?

Thanks for your time.

I put the pine shavings from when I clean the coop out in the run along with all the leaves I have. In the spring, I haul the nice compost to the garden and start over again!!

 

[MaggieRose2001]

Joke around here is that mold is the state flower. Plus my lot has a creek and a pond, so we have ground water just below the surface.

So far no mold issues in the run, but that's because I prioritize drainage (and I mostly provide feed inside the coop, where it stays dry and mold-free). As long as the water can flow through to the soil below (our soil inherently has good drainage) then the surface of the run litter stays fairly dry most of the time, so no mold forms.


It's a bit of experimentation... what might work great for me could be bad for you, or vice versa. Like some people happily toss fruit scraps in the run, but I don't (or I have to pick up anything left behind) because of fruit flies in the summer. But so far I've found that most leafy green plants can be safely left in there, as well as things that dry out well like the corn cobs and husks.

I’ve been giving it a try. I definitely have to clean out stuff about once a week. I’m still trying to figure out what they will eat and what they won’t. I thought they would like lettuce - but it goes completely untouched. Maybe it’s because they still have grass outside - it may change in the winter. Thank you for your help.

 

[MaggieRose2001]

I use Koop clean in the coop mainly for bedding, LOVE IT. On the floor of the coop and the run I use pine shavings. The run shavings compost quickly since the girls are always turning it over into the dirt floor. In the coop the shavings are deep bedding and there’s no smell at all (and they last longer than the Koop Clean) I think anyways.

Thank you. Maybe I’ll try the shavings in the spring. The makers of Koop Clean live a few hours from me so I went and bought a bunch of bags at a discount - so I have enough to last the whole winter. I love the smell!!!! But I agree that it doesn’t break down.

 

[MaggieRose2001]

In my coop I use deep bedding but in my 250sqft covered run, I use contractors sand. Hands down it’s the absolute best! I zip tied a piece of hard ware cloth to a pitch fork and use that like a kitty litter scooper to sift the sand from the now dried poop. It’s amazingly fast and easy and I’m done in 5 min or less

I love the idea of sand and that is what I would love to do. It definitely fits my clean personality. But I was reading that it’s horrible for places with cold winters. Oh well.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I’m still trying to figure out what they will eat and what they won’t. I thought they would like lettuce - but it goes completely untouched. Maybe it’s because they still have grass outside - it may change in the winter.

Mine hate lettuce too. Even in winter they'd just stomp it into the ground and walk away. Like you said, it's all trial and error to find out what your flock likes.

 

[MaggieRose2001]

I put a large tractor tire on its side in my run as a feeder for scraps. I didn't like the look from our kitchen window of food scraps spread around the run. I toss turkey carcass, chicken bones, vegetable scraps, old bread, hidden leftovers from back of fridge shelves...I have 2 grass catcher bags of grass every time I mow and dump it in there too. When it looks like it is getting packed I toss a handful of scratch or feed in there and they mix it up. A lot of worms and bugs thrive in the compost and the chickens dig there everyday.
Any tire shop will most likely give you a tire as they cost them money to dispose of. If your lucky, maybe they will deliver and put it in your run for you, they are heavy. My only problem with mine is every so often I find a clutch of eggs laid in it.

That’s a good idea. I actually have a tire that I tried to use as a dust bath but it didn’t work out - it was too small and my girls like to bathe together. Maybe I’ll give that a try! Thanks.

 

[MaggieRose2001]

I love this idea for in the coop. I got a bale to put some in a nesting box and set the rest outside of the coop. When they were let out of the run to do some free ranging in my backyard, they wouldn’t go in the backyard, they just wanted to dig through the straw and eat the more wheat like ends? I have no idea what they’re called obviously I think I’ll be moving the bale into the run in the morning!

This is 100% why I’m going with deep litter. I put my coop and run behind my fence, right up against the woods on our property. The area was a lot of dirt as it gets very little direct Sun during the day. I pulled in some of the leaves and such you find in woods but got 10 bags of mulch and put that down in the run to start things. My husband did a lot of yard work last weekend and I put all of the weeds and trimmed bushes and duck in the run. It gives them places to hide and eat until it dies. Fall will be here soon and I’ll add a ton of leaves!

I love the idea of using yard debri. My husband just cut a bunch of branches off our trees - maybe I’ll drag one into the coop for them. Thank you.