How to clean poop inside of an all grass walk in chicken run?

[AGeese]

I'm not sure about the expectations of the OP here. Personally I would either do bedding or nothing. What it sounds like you are trying to do is rotational grazing, but on a scale so small and fixed I'm not sure how it will work without putting wheels on your coop.

 

[Akachicklil]

Yes , you are probably right about solitary chickens being happy with human companion if you are around and about more than just a few hours a day.

There was one member ( @HeiHei123 ? ) who had a rooster in his appartement who was alone too. Bc lots of people here told him he needed a flock, he brought him to a friend who had several chickens. But there he was bullied too much. So he picked him up again.
And they lived happily together again .

I suppose the gras in you’re run is also flat snd not thriving bc you probably walk on it quit often.

Yes that is true. It’s the path I walk. But she will have friends soon. Did you not notice that gorgeous silkie/ auracana mix? That’s going to be her friend. Similar height and temperament. She has been matched with a reputable NPIP match maker. I will be very gentle in the introduction process and after I go through the necessary quarantine time. Shalom to you!

 

[Akachicklil]

I'm not sure about the expectations of the OP here. Personally I would either do bedding or nothing. What it sounds like you are trying to do is rotational grazing, but on a scale so small and fixed I'm not sure how it will work without putting wheels on your coop.

OP here. Thank you for your wheels suggestion.

 

[1chip2chicks3cheeks]

I probably wouldn’t bother with trying to keep the grass in the current run, and rather let it become a covered outdoor space for the girls to go when it rains and a good place for them to dust bathe. Then add on two extra runs that are uncovered, that you can rotate the girls through. That way the designated grass areas will get rain and sun, won’t get destroyed by the chickens if you rotate them and your girls will always have access to forage and sunlight! Of course this would require a bit extra space, but since you don’t have many chickens it shouldn’t be too much extra if you can pull it off.

Another option would be a chicken tractor, or moveable coop and run with wheels, but note that these are typically less secure from predators than permanent coops and runs.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Sorry to hear that.

Why would you be sorry? I have deep litter over a dirt floor, a system where I do not have to clean the coop out more than every 18 months or so. I have 14 birds right now and they are healthy and happy. My hen house does not smell. I really do not understand why you would be sorry to hear that.

 

[Akachicklil]

Why would you be sorry? I have deep litter over a dirt floor, a system where I do not have to clean the coop out more than every 18 months or so. I have 14 birds right now and they are healthy and happy. My hen house does not smell. I really do not understand why you would be sorry to hear that.

That’s awesome! Not sure either. Must of been a typo.

 

[NatJ]

I took the advice about not watering the poop in the grass because one of you convinced me into getting worried about attracting flies and also eating poop… The only down fall of that is thad I have also neglected to water the area of the grass that is flat… I am sort of not sure if I should allow the center to die or if I should water the grass, revive it and keep it short.

You could water the grass enough to keep it alive-- not every day, but maybe once a week or so. I would not expect that to cause problems with flies, especially since you are picking up the poop. Obviously, if you do not want poop washed into the grass, you should pick it up right before you water that area.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I've had birds in my life, most of my life, but I was new to chickens and started with 1 hen & 1 rooster. We built a nice predator proof pen, & at 1st, it stayed nice and grassy. I would use a pooper scooper daily and scoop up poop in the coop & the pen. Most poop was like a like a solid blob & easily scooped, but then of course you know the cecal poop is runny & quite nasty...so inside the coop I used wood chips, no problem, wet cecal poop rolled in wood chips...a cecal poop macaroon!
But cecal in the grass...ewww, yeah, I'd hose down what rain missed, as my pens are not covered.

So...2 birds in a 10x10 pen, grass was easy, until July 100 degree days with no rain...the grass was dead by September. So then, I had to rake up pen & lay down sod. The sod grass stayed nice until next July heatwave. I did this routine a few years. Well...2 chickens became 20 chickens & more pens & another coop because some chicks grew up to be roosters & of course I became attached to all of them.

Fast forward...oh, my aching, pen raking, sod laying back!!!
I kid you not, my back STILL feels awful!!!
So...this past August, that grass died again & I had a decision to make. I opted for thick pine bark mulch, all natural, No dyes or any chemicals whatsoever. I spread a lot of thick bark mulch in all of the pens, and this was the 1st Winter that I tried it. It worked surprisingly well. The pens did not become a disgusting mud hole. Also, little insects are drawn to hiding under the mulch bark bark chips, & the chickens enjoy kicking & scratching, looking for crickets, bugs, etc. I still scoop poop, every morning under their night perches & in the pens. Cecal poop on a big bark chip...that entire chip goes into the poop bucket, too. I try to keep coop & pens dry & clean...you know they'll be walking, scratching & will get bumblefoot if you don't keep the area clean & dry. I do to provide a covered, dry area for them to take dustbaths, but my pens are so big, it is not feasible to try to cover them entirely. You can have grass for now, but realize the constant traffic of being walked on, pecking, digging and scratching looking for bugs, even with just 2 chickens, it probably will not stay growing grass forever.

I'm not sure about the weather in your region. I have freezing weather in the Winter here, heavy snowfalls, then in the summer it gets blazing hot and we can range from a lot of Spring rain to drought in August. You have to determine how your weather patterns are, what will work best in your area. Just know that your chickens need a predator proof & weather proof shelter area, a place to take dry dust baths, a secure place to lay eggs & a place to perch at night, that doesn't have to be very high but at least 1-2 feet above the coop floor. A perch too high & they may get injured jumping down.

It doesn't take much to make them happy. Good luck with your new feather babies!

(Pics of my coop & pens, started with grass, now have thick bark mulch chunks.)

 

[Akachicklil]

You could water the grass enough to keep it alive-- not every day, but maybe once a week or so. I would not expect that to cause problems with flies, especially since you are picking up the poop. Obviously, if you do not want poop washed into the grass, you should pick it up right before you water that area.

Wow thank you.

 

[WisconsinMom23]

A little late to this thread but thought I might share my thoughts

I find that with a larger run, the poop doesn’t really seem to pile up. With the chickens having a larger area to explore, and scratching all the time, the poop just gets broken up and buried with the help of the chickens. And with dry dirt in the run, the poop is dried out easily. I actually hardly ever notice poop in the chickens run, but there is ALWAYS poop in the coops with our set up. I think that since you still have grass, the poop isn’t easily dried out by the dirt and scratched in by the chicken! So scooping or watering it in would be your best bet until the grass is destroyed. But, thinking back when our run still had grass, I still never noticed any piling up of the poop and I think that is mainly due to having a very big area for the run, so everything is more spread out and isn’t as much of a problem as the chickens scratch it and it decomposes.

How big is your run and how many chickens do you have?