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

[SixChickFlock]

I also have stone both in the hen house and the run... Mine are limestone/flagstone pieces of different sizes. I put a large chunk near a run roost as a step up. Added some other pieces for shorter birds to reach the feeder more easily, and another to cover an electrical cord running from the water heater to the wall of the run. If it gets sloppy this spring, I'll add some more as stepping stones for me. Perhaps they file their nails down on these?

I also (nearly) completely encased the run in clear plastic. Heavy duty shower curtain liners were just the right size for my run wall panels, and are more clear than plastic tarp material. This has kept out all of the snow so far this winter. In the summer an oak tree shelters it pretty well. The girls use the run everyday and are never cooped up in the hen house.

I am about to complete my first year with chickens. I have gleaned so much info from this forum... And made up the rest to fit the particulars of my situation.

 

[goldfishes]

I'll have to remember the shower curtains for the run next year if I don't go with the polycarbonate panels. I did notice a dramatic difference in the way they spent time outdoors once I covered nearly 3/4 of the run. They still lay around on occasion, but they are more active than ever. I rarely see them huddled in a corner cold even in single digit weather. Most of the time, they are scratching around looking for food in the pine shavings.

Thanks to both of you for the idea to use a few pavers. There are a few places they love to scratch that I've been trying to deter them from because it is right under the 2x6 so that might be the perfect place for a paver or two. I'll report back on whether or not it makes a difference on the nails for anyone that might be interested.

Edited to add: Congrats on nearly completing your first year with chickens!

 

[260906]

Looking for some guidance.. One of my chickens has some long nails. I just now noticed, but it looks like they've started to curl a bit. I'm worried the bedding is too soft and they aren't able to sharpen their nails sufficiently. Is there anything I can put in the run to help or should I remove a section of the deep liter and put some scratch on the dirt? They are long enough to be concerned. Oddly, I don't notice this on any of the other girls and this one just finished molting if that matters.

I had a hen last summer who kept trying to hatch batch after batch of babies. She was setting for quite a while, rather than out scratching for food, and her nails got quite long. I sanitized my dog's toenail clippers with some rubbing alcohol and trimmed the hen's nails. If you try this, just look carefully to see exactly where the nail changes color (the quick) and don't cut it too short. It also helps to have another person holding the hen and distracting her with treats as you trim. You can even file the nails a little, if you wish, to get off rough corners. It seems to me that some hens don't scratch around as much as others and can get longer nails.

I'm glad the deep litter method is working pretty well for you. I've used that for several years. It has been easier to keep smells down for my hens if I throw a variety of materials into the coop--leaves, hay, grass clippings (not too deep, or it really compacts), even wood mulch and sticks. It seems like more variety in materials keeps it from compacting and getting smelly. I only remove heavy poo from under the roost bars a couple of times each winter and throw it on the garden. Other than that, an occasional toss with a pitchfork and a few handfuls of dry oatmeal are all we use to keep the litter fluffy and the coop smelling fresh.

We have separate rubber clogs for going to the garden and chicken coop. In nice weather, we leave them on the back steps. In rainy or bad weather, we take them off at the door, carry them inside, and place them in a big rubbermaid bin on the floor near the door. I just occasionally vacuum out the bin or take it outside to dump the grass, dirt, and yuck out of it.

Good luck with your chickens!

 

[goldfishes]

I wouldn't be opposed to clipping her nails if the need arises, but I'm really hoping to remedy it naturally. Mainly because I don't see my spouse too keen on the idea of holding a chicken while I clip claws. It took years to wear him down to allow me to have chickens in the first place. But I will keep it in mind if they don't improve within a week or so.

I did decide to rake up an area in the run to reveal some dirt for the girls to scratch at. I am surprised to see some of the pine shavings are already broken down into barely recognizable bits! A lot of good the raking did as they had it all neatly spread back out before bedtime. But hey, maybe that will help her nails a bit until I pick up a few pavers this weekend. I'll keep it in mind to use a variety of materials in the future. It was really hard to maneuver some of the shavings as they were pretty packed down.

Great idea on the rubbermaid bin! That might just solve the majority of my pine shavings problem. I currently use a designated pair of shoes, but they are currently just sitting in the back room. Now if I can just remember to not wear fleece in the coop, I'd be good to go.

 

[SixChickFlock]

I have a big long compost bin my girls love to play/dine in. Whenever I pick up the hay fork, Astrid comes a running and hops on the pile of earth I'm about to turn over... Quickly followed by the others. All the holes I dig are filled up by the end of play time. Even in mid January!

 

[goldfishes]

It's been nearly two weeks and the bird (Red) with the long nails are improving. I raked a small area back, poured a bit of scratch on the ground and quickly covered it back up. I did this in a few areas and it really got them all into scratching a lot more digging for treasures. Within a few days, I started to notice improvement on her nails. They are nearly back to a normal length! So if this happens to you all, making them dig for the scratch is quite effective. I also noticed that there is a definite breaking down of materials in the bottom. Just an inch or so down, you can see a lot of dirt and they have started ignoring the designated dust box and are now bathing in the deep litter.

Now if I can just make it through the next few days without feeling really awful about not providing heat.

 

[goldfishes]

Chickens made it through double digits negative weather, two winter storms and a winter flooding without heat and seemed completely oblivious. Why? Perhaps they were too busy having a blast playing in deep litter. I took a picture of Red dust bathing in single digit weather. Her nails are now back to normal lengths. I am making an educated guess that the nails got so long during her molting phase as I had upped the protein to promote feather growth. She was not as active during the molt, so she didn't forage as much. Now that the molt is complete, she is back to her old self and scratching around all day.



I must thank you all. Best idea ever to go with the deep litter method in the run! Sand was a nightmare for me when the rainy season hit. (I noticed sand that I had left over from paving in front of the run became a frozen solid chunk just from the humidity in the air.) It is just too rainy/humid/cold/poor drainage for sand. It became a nasty, smelly mess no matter how often I turned, raked, pleaded. On the other hand, deep litter is perfect! I am getting black gold already, the chickens are happier and don't pick at each other like they were starting to. And if it gets a little damp or smelly, I only have to dump a little more browns or stir it up a bit. Overall, it is relatively maintenance free. For the past few weeks, the liter has taken on the forest floor smell you guys were talking about, so I am thinking I've found the perfect ratio of greens to browns. I haven't had to even stir it as the chickens do all the work for me now if I sprinkle oats or scratch on the ground.

I am curious how it will work in the spring and summer months. For fall and winter in a very rainy climate, I'm calling it a complete success. Healthy, happy birds and happy, recovering chicken keeper. I'll report back for any that may be following as the months progress.

 

[roseyred]

I couldn't keep mine in the coop today. Snowed almost a foot and where were they? Chillin under a small run in I made for them....didn't wanna o I the warm hay lined coop, wanted to get snowed on lol. Even after putting there food in the coop they wante to be outaide. Ugh. Lol

 

[CBabs]

Thank you for the updates goldfishes! I am planning my coop and we have "cold" wet winters here (never into the single digits) with potentially soggy spring/fall months.
Sand kept being suggested, but I just have the feeling that it won't work for me!
I really appreciate your updates and experiences! Thanks

 

[Bobby Basham]

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures, and my run has a foot of snow covering everything.

The girls won't use it till all signs of white disappears.

I'll post some pictures when the snow is gone.

As far as the nails, I have 16" concrete pavers under the feeders.

I often see them "scratching" them.

I do believe this helps keep their nails trim, as I have no issues with long nails, and deep litter inside and out.

Hope this helps.



I like the idea of those PVC feeders. It just gave me the idea of attaching four of those to a 4x4 post with with pavers underneath. Pointing out in four directions would eliminate some crowding issues of larger (spoiled) fat hens standing side-by-side getting their grub on.

I don't know where my idea for the run came from, but it's completely from scratch. It probably started with wood dimensions to suit my purpose, and spent hours drawing and re-drawing plans. I love the actual planning, but would rather have someone else do the labor. This is what I have come up with so far...



The bottom sections (all the way around) are each built as one piece that slid into deck/fence brackets. The 1/4" hardware cloth was first secured to the top of the frame and down the entire frame and extends about 18 inches out into the yard. This particular lower frame is not screened yet.




You can see the screening attached here, and the upper braces are actually screwed through the screening for more reinforcement. The hardware cloth does extend out from the bottom. The top half has not been screened in yet.




From the looks of things, it appears to be four 8x8 foot sections, but those bottom boards are for support to keep the frame from being rickety, and it turned out to be pretty strong. Hopefully, the deep litter will cover those to make it seamless.

That fourth section was divided in half, leaving more footage for the girls, leaving the other half for the Chicken TV deck. It will be screened off from the rest of the run. There is about a 2" layer of sand in there which I'm debating about keeping.



The large opening just left of center will be the gate/door into the run. You can see some of the extended hardware cloth at the base, barely 18 inches, but there will be planter boxes around the perimeter. I decided to throw some pavers seated in sand bordered by a wood frame attached to the run. Additional pavers and solar lights will lead to my back patio. This is all pressure-treated wood that is not supposed to rot.



The park bench is going out front under the living room window, and ordered a nice cushioned glider bench to replace it. The deck is only 4x8 ft, so a swing glider with umbrella would be too big because of its wide stance. I have enough hardware cloth to finish the upper half and enough to do the entire top...no wild birds getting in there.

From seeing all the houses, I live in an HOA (Home Owners Assassination), so my run is only 5 feet tall. I'm only 5'9" on a good day, so it suits my needs. Structures are not supposed to be seen from the street and offensive to neighbors. The coop is constantly being redesigned, and it will be 6x6 ft which should be enough for 4-6 hens should the weather get nasty and they want to stay inside all day.

Darnit, ended up doing another essay again. I just wanted to share my run design with you folks. I really enjoy drawing and this is what happens (after a few drinks...LOL). Kudos to the PVC feeder design. I am definitely going that route. Thanks so much for the information shared here. --BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona