Drainage and cleaning...

[Trevorusn]

I also only replace my coop bedding (deep bedding, using wood chips) twice a year but a key factor in this is the size of the coop, style of coop and poop management. Your coop is too small for infrequent replacement of bedding, no matter how good you are at managing poop. Back when I was using a prefab the longest I could go without a full cleanout was maybe a month, and that's if the bedding stayed dry (which was only in the summer).

My current coop stays completely dry inside (raised wood floor, no waterer in the coop, etc) so as long as I stay on top of picking up poop under the roost area, the bedding remains pretty clean and dry until it's time for cleaning out. I could probably extend it out to a yearly cleaning if I wanted to.

Clean out the bedding once a week, including dumping and replacing the wood shavings. The coop has a poopboard so its not a terribly difficult task fortunately.

 

[aart]

I understand the coop part, mine stays dry too. I was curious on the run "flooring" with the ramial wood chippings, if it gets saturated how long does it take to naturally dry out, and is it mositure resistant, which it sounds like it is.

No, it's not moisture resistant, it can be good that it actually soaks up excess rain water/snow melt. But there is good drainage so no standing water remains for long. The thick pieces of wood will slowly dry back out.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I was curious on the run "flooring" with the ramial wood chippings, if it gets saturated how long does it take to naturally dry out, and is it mositure resistant, which it sounds like it is.

The wood chips themselves aren't moisture resistant. It's about drainage. The chunkier chips naturally leave little gaps in the litter mix, which allows for rain or melting snow to drain through to the soil below while providing a drier surface on top for you and the chickens to walk on. So as long as your run site has good drainage, this can greatly reduce overall puddling of water and duration of puddling.

 

[blackdog043]

How do you prevent precipitation from saturating it? Does it dry fairly quickly if it does get wet?? I like the sound of this.

Do you have any mulched flower beds? That's what deep litter is like, except it has extra stuff in it. As long as you don't have a drainage issue, it won't hold water.

 

[Trevorusn]

So it seems drainage is the key. Thanks for all the tips and advice, time to shop around now!

 

[EggWalrus]

So it seems drainage is the key. Thanks for all the tips and advice, time to shop around now!

You're either gonna build it so it drains or you're gonna build it so you make chicken poo soup.
The choice is yours.