Doo Run, Run, Run..the Doo Doo Run...

[ThatCrazyChickenGirl]

I'd rake the acorns, simply because they're slightly toxic. Not strong enough that eating one or two is likely to kill a chicken, but it may effect laying rate. But if you do establish the deep litter, a few of them in there won't cause a problem...so you can be a little lazy with your raking job

 

[Parront]

Unless the acorns are small enough for them to swallow, don't bother with them. Turn the birds out into your run, and let them tell you. If they gorge on acorns, I guess I would rake them up. Then start adding your yard waste, straw, wood chips. Keep adding the dry woody, straw and leaves so that you always have a layer covering the ground. You might want to put something around the sides of your chain link to keep the litter inside the run. Think of a giant cat box. You want them to be able to bury their own poop!

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

I can guess that the bird area is more forest? There are guys who move their coops to fresh grass for the birds, I had something like that in my head. They tear up the ground fast, put lots of yard waste and you will have happy birds!

I can guess that the bird area is more forest? There are guys who move their coops to fresh grass for the birds, I had something like that in my head. They tear up the ground fast, put lots of yard waste and you will have happy birds!

Yes, forest type terrain. Here's a link to my building project...you can see in the background of the pictures of the finished project what the area is like. I began building right outside the workshop...but then carried it to where it is now to complete.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-a-bookkeeper-built-a-coop.1204897/#post-19108575

 

[Parront]

Yes, forest type terrain. Here's a link to my building project...you can see in the background of the pictures of the finished project what the area is like. I began building right outside the workshop...but then carried it to where it is now to complete.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-a-bookkeeper-built-a-coop.1204897/#post-19108575

Nice little coop. Very efficient to get it done in 2 days! One of my favorite chicken books is, "The Small Scale Poultry Flock", by Harvey Ussery. Has a lot of good info on this subject.

 

[venymae]

Deep litter method can be accomplished in the coop too. We used cypress mulch (just raked it up from under the trees!) which smelled fabulous, shredded paper from a local business (in coop only!), and autumn leaves. We cleaned our coop twice a year, with an occasional mix of the litter or scoop out of a poop pile when needed. Twice a year we removed all the litter in the coop and put in fresh.

Essentially with deep litter, the poop either dries out or decomposes so fast that their never is any smell. You just keep adding more and more litter material to the top and mixing it in. It also provides a softer landing and floor insulation in the coop and entertainment for your chooks in the run! We lived on a small city lot, so having no smell was VERY important to us. Making sure your run has good drainage is the 1st step in a clean run! Ours naturally sloped to prevent mud/puddles. Every spring we'd snag a truckful of wood chips from the city transfer station (the tree companies dumped there and it wass free for public use) and spread them out in our run. During summer we bagged our yard and dumped the clippings in the run. They loved to dig through them and would spread them out with their scratching, eating the tasty bits like dandelion and clover. In the autumn we raked all our leaves up and tossed them in the run, and we snagged our neighbors leaf bags too! This is also when we went to the local park and raked up the cypress needles that had fallen under the trees. These we put mostly in the coop and nesting boxes. It smelled SO GOOD! Our chooks loved them too.
We actually fed our chooks acorns a lot. Some were not enjoyed very much, but those white oak acorns were eaten with relish! They are very nutritious, we would run ours over in a gunny sack a couple times to break them up before feeding.