Grass clipping in the run or coup?

[flyin-lowe]

I have my own makeshift deep litter method in my coop which includes raking up grass clippings every few weeks and throwing a layer in. I try to put some in, then next time I add leaves, then next time some straw or pine shavings. Just not the same thing over and over. I add a few inches every couple weeks and do this for 6 months. It makes a nice compost that I then spread on my garden twice a year. Never had the grass clippings get slimey or stink.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Let the grass grow taller and make hay for the winter!
That's what i did: Waited for the grass to become almost three feet tall, cut it with a weed-wacker and let it dry for two to three days. Rake it into four feet tall heaps and let is sit for another day, then store it somewhere where it is dry with good ventilation. My Duckies love to sit on hay, eat it and create all kinds of mess with it.
My pasture is almost ready for the third round this year…

 

[EggSighted4Life]

they cut down a bunch of trees and kept the chips from the stump grinding... they have an enormous pile of it. I absolutely love it!

You must be careful... I saw another thread on here last year... and I'm sure conditions need to be just right, possibly even including the type of tree... but I saw someone lost almost their whole flock to aspergillosis... confirmed cause was a pile of wood they had chipped and started using in their run. I'm no fear monger... but it's worth knowing about about maybe looking in to to make sure the conditions can't repeat themselves at your place.

 

[WhoDatChick]

You must be careful... I saw another thread on here last year... and I'm sure conditions need to be just right, possibly even including the type of tree... but I saw someone lost almost their whole flock to aspergillosis... confirmed cause was a pile of wood they had chipped and started using in their run. I'm no fear monger... but it's worth knowing about about maybe looking in to to make sure the conditions can't repeat themselves at your place.

Oh my.... I’ll look that up... thanks!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

You must be careful... I saw another thread on here last year... and I'm sure conditions need to be just right, possibly even including the type of tree... but I saw someone lost almost their whole flock to aspergillosis... confirmed cause was a pile of wood they had chipped and started using in their run. I'm no fear monger... but it's worth knowing about about maybe looking in to to make sure the conditions can't repeat themselves at your place.

Just keep the hay dry until you use it. I have compressed mine into little hay bails, using a plastic box and my own body weight and keep it under a plastic tarp.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I do use grass clippings as part of my deep litter but I try to keep clippings short (to avoid crop issues) and I let them dry out a bit before adding them, both to keep the grass from from clumping, and to deter the chickens from eating too much of it, as my flock doesn't like to eat dried grass as much.

I wouldn't use it as the only component in a run, especially in a wet climate, as it doesn't really allow for good drainage and tends to clump up when wet.

You must be careful... I saw another thread on here last year... and I'm sure conditions need to be just right, possibly even including the type of tree... but I saw someone lost almost their whole flock to aspergillosis... confirmed cause was a pile of wood they had chipped and started using in their run. I'm no fear monger... but it's worth knowing about about maybe looking in to to make sure the conditions can't repeat themselves at your place.

This is the reason why it's advised that chips be aged as much as possible, 6 months or a year if possible.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Just keep the hay dry until you use it. I have compressed mine into little hay bails, using a plastic box and my own body weight and keep it under a plastic tarp.
View attachment 1530916

That looks pretty good.

Too much work for me.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

That looks pretty good.

Too much work for me.

Some people hav a membership in a gym - i have my yard…

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Some people hav a membership in a gym - i have my yard…

Same here... and I love it that way.

It doesn't cost me anything extra. I don't have to leave my home. And I don't have to think of it as exercise or yard work... I'm simply taking care of my family and pets with the bonus of keeping more fit than not. Yard work by itself is a chore. But doing things for my animals is more like contented mindless movement. And if I get bored or burnt out I just move onto something else.

It's more than just a gym... it's physical therapy and also being outside and doing things that make me feel good benefits my mental health in more ways than I can count!

Truth is with all the mildew, mold and other things here in the PNW... I'm just better off paying a few bucks for hay that was done and stored correctly... My facilities are not conducive to storing things long term... even things that don't get wet grow a top layer of something that smells moldy... even my couch inside my house or the back seat in my car if we don't sit back there often enough! The spores are in the air and they settle... yesterday was 91% humidity. Plus storing hay attracts rats, and I'm already battling them... so one bale my current limit. Also, running a weed eater wrecks my hand joints much faster than a mower.

Saying it was too much work was an easier explanation. But I think it's great that you are able to use that technique and share it with us! I know another BYC'er (lazy gardener) who stores bags and bags of dry leaves even from neighbors and uses them as her bedding throughout the year.

In my run... what I am aiming for is a forest floor feeling... spongy and soft yet dry and absorbent. Mixture of leaves, pine needles, grass clippings, hay, small branches, or what have you. It's an ongoing renewal process in that area. So far I haven't built up enough stuff to remove and start over. Don't know when that will happen. But for now I am just thankful that when it rains the edges of my run don't stink like they did when I had just the sand that so many recommend... even though it was scooped daily... poo juice stays behind. Bare dirt did nothing for it. But the microbial activity that takes place with deep litter (I call mine semi since I still remove as much dropping as I can see) REALLY made a difference.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Same here... and I love it that way.

It doesn't cost me anything extra. I don't have to leave my home. And I don't have to think of it as exercise or yard work... I'm simply taking care of my family and pets with the bonus of keeping more fit than not. Yard work by itself is a chore. But doing things for my animals is more like contented mindless movement. And if I get bored or burnt out I just move onto something else.

It's more than just a gym... it's physical therapy and also being outside and doing things that make me feel good benefits my mental health in more ways than I can count!

Truth is with all the mildew, mold and other things here in the PNW... I'm just better off paying a few bucks for hay that was done and stored correctly... My facilities are not conducive to storing things long term... even things that don't get wet grow a top layer of something that smells moldy... even my couch inside my house or the back seat in my car if we don't sit back there often enough! The spores are in the air and they settle... yesterday was 91% humidity. Plus storing hay attracts rats, and I'm already battling them... so one bale my current limit. Also, running a weed eater wrecks my hand joints much faster than a mower.

Saying it was too much work was an easier explanation. But I think it's great that you are able to use that technique and share it with us! I know another BYC'er (lazy gardener) who stores bags and bags of dry leaves even from neighbors and uses them as her bedding throughout the year.

In my run... what I am aiming for is a forest floor feeling... spongy and soft yet dry and absorbent. Mixture of leaves, pine needles, grass clippings, hay, small branches, or what have you. It's an ongoing renewal process in that area. So far I haven't built up enough stuff to remove and start over. Don't know when that will happen. But for now I am just thankful that when it rains the edges of my run don't stink like they did when I had just the sand that so many recommend... even though it was scooped daily... poo juice stays behind. Bare dirt did nothing for it. But the microbial activity that takes place with deep litter (I call mine semi since I still remove as much dropping as I can see) REALLY made a difference.

Yes, i completely agree with the wrecked hand joints, but some parts of my property are so steep that i can barely walk there, so no mower would work. I am searching for an affordable sickle-bar mower, but the only thing i found was a BCS walk-behind tractor with a sickle-bar mower attachment for »3.000$ - too expensive! Those rotary mower decks chip the grass into small chunks which compact too much and rot instead of drying out. My hay stays dry and fluffy despite the combined efforts of five pig-ducks…
Hay should not grow mold if kept dry, even in a humid climate. As you can see on the picture above i keep my hay on a wooden platform with a roof on top, covered with tarps to protect it from the "sideways rains". It is, however dusty when i get to it and for somebody with hay-fever might be lethal