How do you clean your run?

[max13077]

My girls did a pretty good job of scratching and flicking "stuff" to the sides of the run. I'd rake once in a while when I saw it was getting plentiful.

Something they loved a member on here suggested was leaves this fall. I went over the hill from my house and raked up a half dozen big bags of leaves and dumped them in the pen. Throw a scoop of sunflower seeds in there.....OMG.....

they were in their glory!!!

 

[Chickenaddict]

In the summer they are in a run on dirt so i add a bit of grass clippings, leaves,weeds and spent veggies topped with a dusting of food grad DE. Rake it once a week and throw the old bedding in the compost. All this is done while the chickens are in there, they are pretty good about staying out of the way when you have a big rake in your hand

. In the winter the run is covered in tarps and on a concrete slab. I throw down a thick layer of straw and mix in some DE and clean it once every few months, they stur everything up pretty good.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Litter is your answer. Straw, wood chips, leaves, and such as that.
Spread a thick layer and add to it every few weeks. Replace it once or twice a year. Never allow water to stand in the run.

Chickens will turn any space into a moonscape if confined. They were not meant to be crowded. 100 square feet PER BIRD is a minimum if you want the land to take care of itself when chickens are present. Anything less and you have to resort to all sorts of "techniques" to manage their waste and bad habits.

"In Britain, Geoffrey Sykes developed a new yarding system in the Fifties.[3] This used a small yard covered with a thick layer of straw, with more straw added frequently. He also recommended that shade and a windbreak be provided by a solid fence around the yard, or by other means, such as rows of haybales. Once a year, the old straw was removed by a front-end loader or similar machinery. This method eliminated mud and pathogens. It was later forgotten because the industry moved to high-density confinement before the method was widely established" - - wikipedia.

Bob Plamondon has Mr. Sykes book under his Norton Creek label. you can find Bob at www.plamondon.com

 

[rooster0209]

I havnt had to clean my run, its concrete and the rain usually washes it off since it slopes a bit. The dirt that builds up gets scratched around my the birds. Right now its full of snow but usually they flow over the run (4') and range around the yard.

The coop is a different story. I havnt cleaned it too much this winter. I have several inches of straw on the concrete floor. I rake and add more. My compost pile is under snow too and I cant get to it, so my wheel barrow is even full of dirty straw.

 

[columbiacritter]

My run is pretty big and the hens have still moonscaped it. I've put 4 bales worth on straw, uncountable wheelbarrow loads of garden debris and several yards of gravel in it. All of it's disappeared into a rich brown mulch. I figure to let it go through next summer and in the fall "harvest" it with rakes and shovels. I'll take the level of the run down around 4 inches and use the results to top dress alot of my winter dormant vegetable and flower beds.

 

[peb1976]

what is food grade DE?????

 

[wingnut1]

peb1976

food grade DE = human grade DE -- and DE stands for Diatomaceous Earth, also known as Fossil Shell Flour, is the fossilized remains of hard shelled, one celled plants called Diatoms.

Here is a good link on more detailed info - http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html

the wingnut1 explanation - the key thing is to only use human or food grade - the little fossils are sharp and internal worms, external parasites, etc., hate the DE - I believe the key for the human grade is how fine the bits of DE are - and you want to make sure it is OK to ingest, won't cause the chickens any harm. DE is expensive, but it lasts a long time. In addition to discouraging internal worms/external parasites, it tends to dry thing out... really great for a chicken run.

Oh - another key thing - make sure that if you use human grade DE in your coop or run, that it is mixed in well with your soil, sand, litter, whatever else you have - the "dust" of the DE can irritate the chicken airways... so I rake it in and make sure there isn't any loose dust on the top...

My chickens LOVE to take dirt baths in a mix of sand, peat mos, human grade DE!

Hope this helps!!!

 

[FrenchHen]

Fresh Straw, a handful of scratch or critter feed, and let them do the work. Rake it out spring and fall and put it under fruit trees. It'll kill the grass under the trees (less mowing!) and it'll fertilize the trees.

 

[chookchick]

Like Davaroo says---litter!
I've been using a thick layer of woodchips and they just love digging through it (the run is mostly covered). About 2 weeks ago, I was going to rake everything out and replace it with new chips. Looking around, I decided "this doesn't look too bad!", and just raked it out and dumped another couple of garbage cans full on top. I'm not sure where the poo goes--it just seems to disappear. I also through in half-rotted leaves and weeds for them to root around in. This spring when I add on to the run, I will rake up the old stuff, compost it, and add new chip. BTW, I just work around the chooks, they seem to actually enjoy it when I'm working in there.

 

[Comet Mum]

THANKS everyone for your ideas. We spent the day doing some repairs and improvements to the coop and run, so I didn't respond earlier. I was surprised how much they wanted to help me with the repair work

They now have some improved security and some new roosts and looks like tomorrow I'll add some sand/litter to the run based on your suggestions. I appreciate your suggestions.