Hay or Pine shavings???

[babyblubbs]

I'd leave the grass until the chickens destroy it (it won't take long), then start building up a mix of various kinds of dry, organic material -- wood chips, wood shavings, straw, pine straw, fall leaves, or whatever else comes to hand.

I personally wouldn't use hay simply because, being animal feed rather than animal bedding, it tends to cost more. But I do use well-dried lawn clippings.

how often do you clean out the old and put in new?

 

[Folly's place]

You should be able to add more shaving and stuff as you go, without removing much, except as nice mulch or compost.
It's essential to have your run drain well!!! Make sure that water runs away from it, so it's never a wet mess. Fix drainage issues first, not after you've got problems.
Mary

 

[drinkoj]

how often do you clean out the old and put in new?

I personally don't change out the run bio-mater, I build it up to about 4 to 6 inches and let the moisture from the ground, the chicken poop (browns), and the pine shavings/leaves/shredded paper/grass clippings (called greens) do what is called a "cold compost". This allows it to naturally become compost, as the chickens will turn all the ingredients for you.

Now cleaning out the COOP, one or two times a year if you make the shavings deep enough and use poop boards. When you clean the coop out, you just throw the material into the run.

 

[Weetamoo93]

I personally don't change out the run bio-mater, I build it up to about 4 to 6 inches and let the moisture from the ground, the chicken poop (browns), and the pine shavings/leaves/shredded paper/grass clippings (called greens) do what is called a "cold compost". This allows it to naturally become compost, as the chickens will turn all the ingredients for you.

Now cleaning out the COOP, one or two times a year if you make the shavings deep enough and use poop boards. When you clean the coop out, you just throw the material into the run.

Exactly what I was going to suggest as it's what I do. Keeps the run from turning into a muddy mess and gives them something to do if they're locked up in the coop's run; I have a mobile run during nice days and allow free range a few hours a day as well.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Also in North Florida. Straw is fine for the house, in a run that size, it will likely mat up pretty quickly. I'd use the pine shavings in the run (together with leaf litter, lawn clippings, etc) and whatever is cheapest/most convenient in the house.

 

[cherylgladys]

@babyblubbs - my silkies LOVE their hemp bedding... odor free. I have sand in their run so I can clean with litter shovel but they also like to dust-bathe in my mulch beds when free-ranging.

HI there - do your chicks dust bathe in the sand ever? A month ago I laid down course sand in the run area because I don't want it to get muddy in the winter months. I left a small area where they usually do their dust baths, but it too will get muddy. I have made a dust bath in a covered bin that they can use during the winter so hopefully that will work. Any tips would be great. Thanks ahead.

 

[3KillerBs]

how often do you clean out the old and put in new?

If you have a large enough run for the number of chickens and if there are no adverse weather conditions you should be able to just keep on adding more bedding until you either want to pull some out for compost or it becomes inconveniently deep and spills over the sills excessively.

Otherwise, clean it out when you find that you have an odor problem that isn't fixed by adding a good layer of new bedding.

My in-town run was cleaned out about every 6 months due to the pile-up spilling over the sills.

A month ago I laid down course sand in the run area because I don't want it to get muddy in the winter months. I left a small area where they usually do their dust baths, but it too will get muddy.

If you have a mud problem in your run the first thing to do is to fix the drainage so that groundwater neither collects in nor runs through the run. Use French drain, diversion ditches, grass swales, guttering on nearby buildings, etc. to direct water around and away from the chickens.

The second thing to do is to add a lot of dry organic material to absorb the water.

You can also consider roofing all or part of your run.

The chickens will dustbathe anywhere they think is a good place -- often not in the place that we think they should.

 

[babyblubbs]

HI there - do your chicks dust bathe in the sand ever? A month ago I laid down course sand in the run area because I don't want it to get muddy in the winter months. I left a small area where they usually do their dust baths, but it too will get muddy. I have made a dust bath in a covered bin that they can use during the winter so hopefully that will work. Any tips would be great. Thanks ahead.

can you attach a picture?? right now they just cover themselves in the shavings in the cage

 

[drinkoj]

can you attach a picture?? right now they just cover themselves in the shavings in the cage

You’re good with the shavings and the ground, as mine try to dig to China in our run and coop. But lots do like to give their chickens a tire with sand in it

 

[noahs_flock]

HI there - do your chicks dust bathe in the sand ever? A month ago I laid down course sand in the run area because I don't want it to get muddy in the winter months. I left a small area where they usually do their dust baths, but it too will get muddy. I have made a dust bath in a covered bin that they can use during the winter so hopefully that will work. Any tips would be great. Thanks ahead.

Hi! Hope you are doing well. My chickens do occasionally dust bathe in the sand. My run is raised above the ground so it has good drainage and the sand is almost always dry. BUT, my chickens much prefer the mulch. Hope this helps.