i went with sand in my run ........

[Chicks4MyChicks]

thanks for the feedback.

I was going to wait until the weekend but instead I plan on putting up the eavestrough tonight. Hoping to see the sand dry out some in the next few days.

I am only a few weeks in and I am not wanting to make a switch over to deep litter unless I absolutely must. It would be a lot of work. And my coop is raised up about 28" off the run, with 6" of sand that leaves 22" of free space ........ if I go deep litter that would really close that down ............

If I was to make a switch , I think I will wait to spring ........... but I would hate to switch and have the same issues.........

I am hesitant to have my two girls (6 & 7) in there on deep litter ......... it seems dirty

Looking forward to reading through your post Talkalittle .......... looks like you had a lot of feedback there

Thanks
Dax

 

[0wen]

I use a wood chip based DLM and it is continually composting (this is the intention). The only maintenance I have is doing a very brief raking of it when I go to feed the chickens. I don't rake every time - tossing scratch out for the chickens to do the work is almost as good. I also have a raised interior coop inside my run around the same height 28ish inches and don't have an issue with running out of room - again, it breaks down and composts relatively rapidly. I don't use straw unless there happens to be some for free laying around (ie - from straw bale gardening at the end of the year or if they kick whats in the nesting boxes out into the coop) but instead use whats free - dried leaves. pine needles, grass clippings, garden waste, weeds, dried herbs, wood chips. I use the same mixture in the coop and in my run (they're essentially the same, I use an enclosed hoop coop - link in profile - and don't lock them inside the interior coop/huddle box).

There is very little maintenance, again, just a brief raking and the occasional addition of the above mentioned organic waste items. The raking moves the poop into the mix and covers it up - akin to the ideas of humanure composting and organic covering. Whenever it rains, the manure is broken up and washed into the mix further or into the soil below. The healthiest and richest soil I have is what lies beneath my DLM run. The rate at which the contents compost is amazing really and that results in an earthy compost/soil scent more than any odor. I also feed my flock fermented feed. There seems to be a noticeable difference in their waste as far as odor and such go and I believe that it helps in coop/run management. My oldest kid, who is 8, routinely goes into the run without issue. There's never any noticeable tracking of waste into our home. That being said, we're generally a shoes off inside family, but there is still access to the hallway and such where shoes are worn - again, no noticeable tracking of mud/poop/etc from the coop. Obviously there's probably germs and such (as with anything) but I'd put it to a test against any sand based run any day of the week - especially if there is significant odor coming from the sand.... (where there's smoke/smell there's fire/poop)...

 

[lynnehd]

I use a wood chip based DLM and it is continually composting (this is the intention). The only maintenance I have is doing a very brief raking of it when I go to feed the chickens. I don't rake every time - tossing scratch out for the chickens to do the work is almost as good. I also have a raised interior coop inside my run around the same height 28ish inches and don't have an issue with running out of room - again, it breaks down and composts relatively rapidly. I don't use straw unless there happens to be some for free laying around (ie - from straw bale gardening at the end of the year or if they kick whats in the nesting boxes out into the coop) but instead use whats free - dried leaves. pine needles, grass clippings, garden waste, weeds, dried herbs, wood chips. I use the same mixture in the coop and in my run (they're essentially the same, I use an enclosed hoop coop - link in profile - and don't lock them inside the interior coop/huddle box).

There is very little maintenance, again, just a brief raking and the occasional addition of the above mentioned organic waste items. The raking moves the poop into the mix and covers it up - akin to the ideas of humanure composting and organic covering. Whenever it rains, the manure is broken up and washed into the mix further or into the soil below. The healthiest and richest soil I have is what lies beneath my DLM run. The rate at which the contents compost is amazing really and that results in an earthy compost/soil scent more than any odor. I also feed my flock fermented feed. There seems to be a noticeable difference in their waste as far as odor and such go and I believe that it helps in coop/run management. My oldest kid, who is 8, routinely goes into the run without issue. There's never any noticeable tracking of waste into our home. That being said, we're generally a shoes off inside family, but there is still access to the hallway and such where shoes are worn - again, no noticeable tracking of mud/poop/etc from the coop. Obviously there's probably germs and such (as with anything) but I'd put it to a test against any sand based run any day of the week - especially if there is significant odor coming from the sand.... (where there's smoke/smell there's fire/poop)...

I really like your coop and how you've set it up inside the hoop with part of it protected. Nice!

 

[aart]

thanks for the feedback.

I was going to wait until the weekend but instead I plan on putting up the eavestrough tonight. Hoping to see the sand dry out some in the next few days.

I am only a few weeks in and I am not wanting to make a switch over to deep litter unless I absolutely must. It would be a lot of work. And my coop is raised up about 28" off the run, with 6" of sand that leaves 22" of free space ........ if I go deep litter that would really close that down ............

If I was to make a switch , I think I will wait to spring ........... but I would hate to switch and have the same issues.........

I am hesitant to have my two girls (6 & 7) in there on deep litter ......... it seems dirty

Looking forward to reading through your post Talkalittle .......... looks like you had a lot of feedback there

Thanks
Dax

I understand the thought of moving all that sand is overwhelming, but it will be more 'pleasant' to move it now before it gets even stinkier.

What is your climate? Putting your location in your profile can help folks give better answers/suggestions.

Deep litter materials don't have to be a foot deep to work, even 2" will make an immediate difference in odor....it did in my run.
You don't even have to remove the sand if you don't want, but it would be best to remove most of it anyway.

Just start adding some dry plant materials...a mix of sizes/shapes/materials is important...and build it up slowly.
Have you seen this?:
Here's a great description of contents and how to manage organic 'bedding' in a run or coop...and there's a great video of what it looks like.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1037998/muddy-run-help-please#post_16017992

 

[jennyf]

Sand is working well for me, but have lots of roof overhang and so far has stayed dry... You might think about removing it in stages, scraping off the top inch or two at a time. Would get rid of surface poop (and hopefully some stink), be more manageable, and also make progress towards removal if you decide to go with deep litter. I've done this a couple of times (mostly when we've gotten back from being out of town and I don't ask the Petsitter to scoop run poop)--removing that heavily soiled layer does seem to help.

 

[lynnehd]

thanks for the feedback.

I was going to wait until the weekend but instead I plan on putting up the eavestrough tonight. Hoping to see the sand dry out some in the next few days.

I am only a few weeks in and I am not wanting to make a switch over to deep litter unless I absolutely must. It would be a lot of work. And my coop is raised up about 28" off the run, with 6" of sand that leaves 22" of free space ........ if I go deep litter that would really close that down ............

If I was to make a switch , I think I will wait to spring ........... but I would hate to switch and have the same issues.........

I am hesitant to have my two girls (6 & 7) in there on deep litter ......... it seems dirty

Looking forward to reading through your post Talkalittle .......... looks like you had a lot of feedback there

Thanks
Dax

I love the DLM, and as mentioned, use it in my large run area. I scored a bunch of wood chips from a local tree company. I would never worry about your kids being on it.
But sand can work too, and is very low maintenance (as you have found out until it got wet), so do what is needed to keep it dry, and I think it can work for you, for now, at least.

If you find a way (gutter, plastic partway up side) to protect your sand from getting wet, then it won't stink. Mine dries out the poop quickly; there is no odor.
These are not expensive options, and also will extend your protected area for your chickens and kids in bad weather.

 

[0wen]

I really like your coop and how you've set it up inside the hoop with part of it protected. Nice!

Thanks. The inspiration for it was an instructional here @ BYC on making a permanent hoop coop. That one had wire end caps (iirc) and either stacked straw bales or a small huddle box. I'm too soft, so wanted to build a sturdier weather break for my birds so I capped with T111 and built the interior coop. That being said, the interior coop has no roof at all - it's open and is only sheltered by the wire and tarp of the run. Also no door - the birds have access to the entire area at all times. Im sure they would've been fine with the straw or small huddle box, but I wound up keeping a few more birds than expected and wanted to give them additional floor space (the entire 8.8' x 16 + the 8.8' x 8' run in a pinch. I plan on expanding the run another 12-16' for the spring hatch (because we all add birds in the spring!

Back on bedding. Like above, you don't necessarily need 12"+ to be effective. In fact, I rarely reach anywhere close to that because my birds are effective at composting whats in the run. I'm always adding new material, and most of that is edible to them (weeds, garden, grass, etc) so they're constantly kicking the non-edible organic material (wood chips, etc) around. The sheer volume of turning and access to fresh oxygen makes short work of new material. I'm usually closer to the 6" range in my DLM. I'll try to pile it up a bit more come winter...