I HATE sand, now what do I do? (Help me with my run flooring)

[Blooie]

If someone shot your calf from 30-40+ yards away with a 400-500 fps air rifle and it penetrated skin then that's a rare occasion.

I dunno foot pounds from foot fungus!

But I do know that that old Daisy bb hurt like a sonofagun and the doctor opted to leave it where it was. Gee, thanks Doc!

 

[CliffB]

You might not be a fan of air soft games just like i'm not. I've watched guys shoot bb guns at each other from 40+ yards and seen the other guy yelp in pain and that just never appealed to me. The idea of air soft and paintball bewilders me.

 

[mg15]

Thanks for the info. We have a Tractor supply store not too far away.

 

[mg15]

Same thing as Sweet PDZ.........absorbs ammonia.....might be cheaper at Trator Supply for $10/25# if you're paying shipping thru Azure.

Thanks for the info. Yes am paying for shipping thru Azure. We have a Tractor Supply not too far away.
mg

 

[Mtn Laurel]

I use Deep Litter in my coop and I'd never really thought to do it in the run also. My run is covered but there are stray drips and blown in snow from time to time and it can tend to get mucky with the freeze/thaw cycles. Would I be better off trying wood shavings or straw in the run for DLM? I do shavings in the coop but it seems like it'd take a lot of them for the run. As far as straw, would that be inviting parasites into the run or do the beneficial microbes take care of that? Straw seems like it'd go a lot further and I'm all for the girls having clean feet while making less work for myself.

I use primarily straw and leaves in the run, shavings and leaves in the coop. The dirt under the straw almost eats it up, it will compost pretty fast especially if it gets sun, wind, rain, etc. The only "pests" I've noticed is the worms and bugs that come up to eat the leaf litter and the girls snacking on them! I add more organic matter if it gets really wet or if I notice odor [which is usually when it gets really wet].

 

[chickamy]

We kept layering and when we needed to excavate it was the worst smelling adventure EVER!

 

[triplepurpose]

We kept layering and when we needed to excavate it was the worst smelling adventure EVER!

You let it get too wet and or packed down then, i'm assuming, or you didn't add enough carbon for the amount of manure (you need a lot more dry carbonaceous matter than manure).

If it ever stinks like that it's a sure sign something ain't right and you're not actually doing proper DLM.

I've found it's it can be helpful to "stir" it with a digging fork or some other cultivating tool from time to time too, if it get's really deep, which keeps it aerated and helps distribute the manure better (I'm not talking about a daily job, just once a week or so maybe). The chickens should be mixing and aerating some with their scratching, but they don't always get down that deep or they don't cultivate some areas as well as others.

And for external parasites, DE applied liberally around the coop as needed has always proved effective control for us when necessary.

 

[floridagrown]

my coop is 5x8x7 run is8x16x7 i hav 12 chicks will this big enough for them

 

[Luvmy9hens]

When my chickens free range, I noticed that they would ALWAYS head toward s the wooded area surrounding our house. There, they would spend hours in sheer bliss digging through the substrate in their search for a meal. Pine needles, leaves, and soil that contained much decomposed material acted as bedding and the perfect dirt bath! Unfortunately, we can no longer free range the girls but have brought the woods to them! We have moved a lot of the soil to the run area and have collected large (55 gal) bags of the litter containing leaves, pine needles, etc. to add throughout the winter. As an added precaution (to keep down odor and prevent the run from becoming wet) we have put sheets of clear polycarbonate paneling over the walls leaving a 4" area at the top (of the walls) for ventilation. Roofing is a combination of polycarbonate paneling and standard roofing shingles. The girls LOVE digging through the dirt and litter, there is NO odor, the run stays dry, the food stays dry, the girls stay dry and winter is less stressful for them.

 

[RonP]

my coop is 5x8x7 run is8x16x7 i hav 12 chicks will this big enough for them

You should be fine.