Do you use bedding in your run or leave it bare dirt?

[enola]

Cold composting- the compost does not hold heat. The composting is done slowly and includes bugs and worms which the chickens eat.

Hot composting is done by adding just enough moisture to the pile of bedding to cause it to heat up from the actual action of composting. There will not be any worms or insects in the compost heap.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Cold composting- the compost does not hold heat. The composting is done slowly and includes bugs and worms which the chickens eat.

Hot composting is done by adding just enough moisture to the pile of bedding to cause it to heat up from the actual action of composting. There will not be any worms or insects in the compost heap.

Thanks for the info!!! So is hot composting usually the kind you see when people have it in those spinning barrels? Also how come those sometimes smell and this doesn't? Or does all compost smell? I've just heard of complaints of compost smelling terrible

 

[ducks4you]

I'm interested in composting the run, but NOT interested in composting anything next to wood. When I garden the wood used for my raised beds rots out every 5 years.
I just bought my coop and I have figured out what to close and what to remain open to keep it dry and warm for my birds. ANY composting creates heat. I have a wooden floor and wooden walls. I have put vinyl on my floor to make it easier to clean up. I am sure that many chicken owners who have built a coop and left a dirt floor could experiment with this.
ANY method requires maintenance. I am satisfied to clean up after my birds inside of their coop, just as I clean up after my horses in their stalls.
Do as you wish. I cannot afford to buy a new coop in 5 years. THIS one was close to $1K.
MY point was that you have to clean up after your animals.
Perhaps I may try composting in the run.
I have a portable chicken tractor, bought my McMurray, that will need bricks to keep down, and I intend to let my hens clean up areas while I monitor and garden closeby.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yeah, i think most of the people that do it have dirt floors. I wouldn't try it inside the coop either. But I am trying it in the run

 

[Chapel Hill Chicks]

I've always kept sand in the run, pine shavings in the coop. Every six months or so, I buy a new bag of play sand (meant for kids' sandboxes) and freshen up the run floor. My chickens love the sand for dust baths. I don't know if sand would work if my chickens were confined to the run constantly. My chickens have free reign of a fenced yard during the day, so the run is used more for bathing or hanging out in the morning for the early risers.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yeah, I considered sand and might still do it but mine are confined most of the time right now. I would like to try letting the free range though

 

[member 373180]

My run is sand on a deep bed of gravel with ample drainage. I've been really impressed with how clean it stays. In summer and fall the poop just kind of dries up and crumbles and gets washed down, there was very little for me to pick up. Now that it's cold I just make a quick run through with a kitty litter scoop and collect frozen poops.
I was worried that the sand and poop would cake up or smell but it has stayed really clean, I turn it with a spade maybe once a month.
Because I'm on an urban farm with many dogs, my girls can't free range and are confined in the sand run all day. They have wood chips in the coop.

 

[aart]

My run is sand on a deep bed of gravel with ample drainage. I've been really impressed with how clean it stays. In summer and fall the poop just kind of dries up and crumbles and gets washed down, there was very little for me to pick up. Now that it's cold I just make a quick run through with a kitty litter scoop and collect frozen poops.
I was worried that the sand and poop would cake up or smell but it has stayed really clean, I turn it with a spade maybe once a month.
Because I'm on an urban farm with many dogs, my girls can't free range and are confined in the sand run all day. They have wood chips in the coop.

Nice run!!
Is it covered?
How long have you had it?
Do those tiny birds(I think those are bantams?) drop tiny poops<giggles>?

 

[member 373180]

Nice run!! Is it covered? How long have you had it? Do those tiny birds(I think those are bantams?) drop tiny poops?

Thanks, I think it's awesome, too. I was responsible for painting all the pieces and holding things while they were being attached by the actual builder. It is completely encased in hardware cloth. We recently added an inside wall of plastic mesh to keep the new babies separate. We built it last spring, I think chickens moved in around mid-June. Yes, all bantams, I decided to go with them so I could still have a nice little flock in the limited space. The poops are quite polite except from the broodies.

 

[member 373180]

I was responsible for painting all the pieces and holding things while they were being attached by the actual builder.

Ha. And I carried up the hill in buckets half of 3 tons of gravel and 5 tons of sand. And 62 bags of concrete which I helped pour!