Is this acceptable in the run?

[Ittybittyschmidtie]

extending run today

 

[Ittybittyschmidtie]

 

[rosemarythyme]

Might need a vertical support or two in the center or towards the center, it looks like it's already bowing a bit. If you want it to be less dabsmack in the middle of where a human would walk, maybe a support on each side of those horizontal ones in the middle? Not an engineer or builder so I'd need someone to verify if that would work.

 

[paintedChix]

Also, if you see chicken "bedding" in the stores made of used coffee grounds, that's IMO a horrid idea. Folks have had their chicks poisoned from the caffeine remnants found in the used coffee grounds. I wouldn't risk those. They're touted as organic or something, but really, just a very bad idea with deceptive marketing, IMO.

I don't know about the bedding. No experience.

But I use all types of materials and often dump the filters & wet grounds (k-pod & regular size filters) in w/ veggie & fruit scraps as well as leftovers into the garden beds that I have the chickens in/on currently. In my on-the-ground, hooped, open air chicken coop/run combos, again dumped in directly. I have not had issues w/ sick or poisoned chickens. They scratch the grounds into the surrounding litter & shred the filters.

I use a variety of "bedding" - pine (needles, fine & large flakes, sawdust), straw, hay, grass clippings, shredded paper (bills plastic windows removed, newspaper, napkins, paper towels, used copy paper, phone books, catalogs, card board boxes, paper plates & bowls), wood chips & mulch and spent garden plants.

We just had a week of lots of rain & I'm shredding like crazy to add to 3 garden beds that are about 3' wide by 13' long. Also mowed before it rained & got a lot of grass clippings into those beds. They are acting as grow out pens for a variety of chicks. When the beds are about full(chicks are standing up just below the wire tops of the beds), the chickens will be moved into tractors & coops/runs that use same bedding materials. They are turning those materials into compost w/I the raised beds (double duty).

I do allow grass in the coop/runs until they've turned it all to dirt. That's when I start adding other materials.

DLM

I need to add garden bed pictures to album...

 

[FunClucks]

I don't know about the bedding. No experience.

But I use all types of materials and often dump the filters & wet grounds (k-pod & regular size filters) in w/ veggie & fruit scraps as well as leftovers into the garden beds that I have the chickens in/on currently. In my on-the-ground, hooped, open air chicken coop/run combos, again dumped in directly. I have not had issues w/ sick or poisoned chickens. They scratch the grounds into the surrounding litter & shred the filters.

I use a variety of "bedding" - pine (needles, fine & large flakes, sawdust), straw, hay, grass clippings, shredded paper (bills plastic windows removed, newspaper, napkins, paper towels, used copy paper, phone books, catalogs, card board boxes, paper plates & bowls), wood chips & mulch and spent garden plants.

We just had a week of lots of rain & I'm shredding like crazy to add to 3 garden beds that are about 3' wide by 13' long. Also mowed before it rained & got a lot of grass clippings into those beds. They are acting as grow out pens for a variety of chicks. When the beds are about full(chicks are standing up just below the wire tops of the beds), the chickens will be moved into tractors & coops/runs that use same bedding materials. They are turning those materials into compost w/I the raised beds (double duty).

I do allow grass in the coop/runs until they've turned it all to dirt. That's when I start adding other materials.

DLM

I need to add garden bed pictures to album...

That is awesome! I wish I was as co-ordinated and organized as you about getting my chickens to compost my garden beds!!!

The situations I'm aware of that had bad outcomes were folks brooding young chicks in large plastic tubs on bagged spent coffee ground bedding. So - not outdoors, possibly limited ventilation, and the bedding may have gotten quite hot from the heat lamp (offgassing maybe?), and moisture may or may not have been present from spilled water from waterers, etc.. Not sure how much caffeine or other substances was still present in the bedding as-purchased. To me, this scenario sounds totally different than what you are doing with coffee grounds. Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[Ittybittyschmidtie]

Might need a vertical support or two in the center or towards the center, it looks like it's already bowing a bit. If you want it to be less dabsmack in the middle of where a human would walk, maybe a support on each side of those horizontal ones in the middle? Not an engineer or builder so I'd need someone to verify if that would work.

plus and negative to it being in the middle
Plus, I am 4’11 barely even touch the top
Negative, snow in winter may put weight on it?

if it’s okay, I can provide a better picture

 

[rosemarythyme]

Negative, snow in winter may put weight on it?

if it’s okay, I can provide a better picture

Yeah I'd worry a lot about snow weight, especially if you get decent amounts of snow each year. Every winter we see reports from members here of snow collapsing a run roof, tarp or netting.

 

[Ittybittyschmidtie]

Yeah I'd worry a lot about snow weight, especially if you get decent amounts of snow each year. Every winter we see reports from members here of snow collapsing a run roof, tarp or netting.

 

[paintedChix]

That is awesome! I wish I was as co-ordinated and organized as you about getting my chickens to compost my garden beds!!!

Thanks for sharing your experience!

I added a bunch of photos to the DLM album of us starting the beds last year & adding first chickens. Not cropped or written on, but you can open individual pics, then "slide up" & date pic taken & other info displayed. O, & not so coordinated or organized, LOL. Took years for this to work out.

Did lose a few. Allowed compost bedding to get too low & chickens started hole under one side & coyote? finished it? Lost several juvenile grow outs...

Also, just had 2x4 wire "lid" w/ no wood or pole support ziptied onto 1 side & a lip bent over other side of 2 beds. Bad idea - not strong enough. Something jumped on top, tearing out wire... lost 9 almost mature CLBs last fall. Only have 1 line of CLBs from last year, now.

When our Spay Neuter clinic offered some large dog kennels to several area rescue groups last month, several damaged ones left over. I used the individual sections of 2 as the lids to the beds for now. Attached on one side w/ paracord & knots. On other side, each section is wrapped & tied in double knotted bow. Can untie those & raise each section to add more bedding, compost, refresh water pans & feed. Also, pour feed into beds loose - keeps chicks "digging" & turning the beds.

Right now, the chicks are wanting to roost. Expect to remove all older chicks (hatched late Feb thru early Mar) from the beds by end of May & current chicks in brooders will go into new beds, building between now & then. The 3 beds w/ chickens now will get purchased compost & soil added and planted. And irrigation set up...

The new beds will get "covers" made from hog panel or horse panel. They will be divided into sections just like the dog pen panels - that seems to work well. After planting, the raised tops will(?) work for trellising.

This has been years in thought process & building. Still not perfect, a bit "country"... Just saw a FB Reel tonight w/ someone's farm having built NICE, steel/tin garden beds & then building a wonderful, raised, wire cover. It has a wood frame & a support in the center that allows each hinged long side to be raised. A lot of wood - cutting & measuring. Not my forte so I will stick w/ my "little bit country", LOL, for now.

You are welcome.