How do I clean/freshen an enclosed attached pen with dirt floor?? need advise please.....

[ynendine]

I have a coop with an attached pen that has a roof on it...I am new at this and got flock last April...I imagine the dirt ground will get saturated and smelly whe the weather warms..I am in upstate NY When the groung wasn't frozen I did shovel it often flipping over dirt....that's all I have in there is dirt..it stays dry with roof but after awhile I am sure it will be smelly and not sure too healthy for them to be in...someone suggested adding peatmoss and hydrated lime this spring and tilling in...any other suggestions?? this was actually build on top of a huge raised vegetable bed so drainage is good.

 

[foreverlearning]

Look up the deep litter method. Many up north use it for their covered runs, it is basically a compost pile and when it needs turning you just throw some scratch in there and the chickens will do it for you. If the deep litter method is done correctly there is no smell plus you can use it next year as compost for your garden.

 

[clickclackmoo]

Yes, pine shavings or kiln-dried wood chips or dried oak leaves are all good options. A dirt floor isn't going to be healthy for them so it will need to be heavily mulched. Anytime it smells just add another layer of mulch and the chickens will turn it themselves looking for worms and bug and such. It will give them a lot more to do too!

 

[jetdog]

Address any drainage issues and fill it with a course sand, easy to clean and will drain very well.

 

[ynendine]

I use his method inside coop but never thought of it for run

 

[ynendine]

I tried out that coarse sand thing with the brooder and it was a disaster....stinky heavy to move also.. I have a bad back...even cleaning it daily it seemed to be a lot more smelly than shavings which to me are so much easier to work with.... and the dust is horrendous I bought it from lowes it was made by quikrete and labeled coarse sand and also that stuff is not good to breath.. for me or chickens.. I had to wear ventilater mask when cleaning brroder...and my entire garage was so deep of dust...sorry but that didn't work out for me well

 

[ynendine]

what about peat moss and hydrated lime? so just add bags of coarse shavings ? I will have to keep taking some out and adding more fresh like in the coop right??

 

[jetdog]

I have no experience with either I've had sand since day 1 and never had an issue, I clean it once a week usually a Saturday project and there is no smell, being outside I wouldn't think the dust would be as bad but I know what you mean about the brooder, I had mine in the dining room and the wife had a stroke.

 

[lularat]

I have no experience with either I've had sand since day 1 and never had an issue, I clean it once a week usually a Saturday project and there is no smell, being outside I wouldn't think the dust would be as bad but I know what you mean about the brooder, I had mine in the dining room and the wife had a stroke.

Wow, that looks nice and clean. I also have added sand to the run, but the girls dig and scratch and eventually the sand is mixed with the dirt underneath and I have to keep adding sand. Last summer I added about 3" of sand and have added more sand since, but it has never looked as nice as yours. How deep is your sand?

 

[jetdog]

It's boarder with 2x6's so around 5 inches. Mine dig and dust to, I put landscape fabric down before I added the sand so it doesn't disappear in the ground, water flows through and the sand stays.