First big clean out. Is there an easier way in the future?

[Kaesi2020]

Progress after 1 hour. I'm in a rhythm now but I so regret the whole pine shavings as flooring thing.

 

[Kaesi2020]

1/3 done

 

[K0k0shka]

I don't clean my run. The bedding is wood chips, dry leaves I save from the fall, grass clippings and other yard waste. The chickens scratch it around and it composts nicely. It doesn't smell, they don't sink in it, it doesn't get muddy when it rains, it doesn't turn into a sheet of ice in the winter. My run was covered last year, uncovered this year, and both setups worked just fine with this kind of bedding. Did I mention I don't clean it ever? Pretty much the best setup, I love it!

 

[Kaesi2020]

I don't clean my run. The bedding is wood chips, dry leaves I save from the fall, grass clippings and other yard waste. The chickens scratch it around and it composts nicely. It doesn't smell, they don't sink in it, it doesn't get muddy when it rains, it doesn't turn into a sheet of ice in the winter. My run was covered last year, uncovered this year, and both setups worked just fine with this kind of bedding. Did I mention I don't clean it ever? Pretty much the best setup, I love it!

No clean up? I need that! This was a real bear...

 

[K0k0shka]

No clean up? I need that! This was a real bear...

That's right, no clean up! Give it a try.

 

[K0k0shka]

This is what it looks like. It rained yesterday (and for several days before that due to Henri) but you can’t even tell, it dries up very quickly on the surface (stays moist underneath, which the chickens love digging holes in).

 

[Kaesi2020]

No clean up? I need that! This was a real bear...

What kind of wood chips?

 

[K0k0shka]

What kind of wood chips?

A neighbor on my street was having a large dead tree taken down and shredded. I asked the workers if I could have the chips, and they dumped them on my driveway. So I got them for free! Lucky in this case the tree was dead and the wood was dry, you gotta be careful with fresh wood because it can mold. You can use any kind of wood chips sold by landscaping companies if you don't have access to free stuff. Like playground chips or mulch. Some people are suspicious of mulch because it's usually dyed, but chickens don't really eat it so I don't think it matters. Plus, the dyes are usually iron-based or charcoal-based and not harmful. People do put that mulch on their edible gardens, after all. And lots of free-ranging chickens dig through mulched flower beds and edging anyway. So I'd use mulch if that's what was available, it's just usually more expensive.

 

[perkolator]

Another "I don't clean" person here.
The attached run on my coop has coarse wood chips and I haven't removed any material from it in 2yrs. Only thing I've done is add material. It's a mix of whatever arborist mulch I've gotten free in chip drops (pine, cottonwood, oak and elm), pine shavings and leaves from the yard.
Has a roof over it, so it stays dry. There's a dozen chickens pooping on it nightly (they all choose to sleep in the run, not the coop) and there is no smell, fly problem, excessive poop, etc. that I've noticed.
I figure I might go until Spring before I clean anything out. Mainly it will be to just rake over all the chunky stuff and scoop out the fines from underneath, then add more wood chips again - so not even close to being a "full clean out". Maybe this weekend I'll be adding some cedar fence boards along the bottom perimeter of the low-side (sloped terrain), which will let me go even deeper!!! Mainly it's because enough material has migrated that direction that it's several inches above the sill plate, pushing on the hardware cloth walls. It's probably 16" deep on that side if I dug down to my HC barrier underneath it all.

 

[Kaesi2020]

I didn’t show what’s in mine..some pics my new iPad can “squash” the frame to get more in view, the run is actually bigger than it appears in a couple shots..

Thanks for the pics! What are your gals eating in the photo with the bowl? Also, do yours dust bathe in your run ?