Just a girl trying to raise some chickens in DFW

[Auntiejessi3]

Do you use pine shavings? I may be overthinking all of this.

Yep, just large flake pine shaving, when I clean out the coop I throw them all in the run

 

[j_palmer]

No, just because they are beautiful birds. I'm a breeder, so I breed for purity of bloodlines and to sell the offspring to others that want to do the same.

That sounds so lovely!

 

[j_palmer]

This is the run to which she was referring.
View attachment 3212577
I use wood chips that I get for free from one of the local Town Highway departments.

I see. I'm now leaning towards wood chips as the the thought of emptying the run of sand every year to clean it, let it sit out for a year while adding in new sand sounds like a lot of work!

 

[Auntiejessi3]

I see. I'm now leaning towards wood chips as the the thought of emptying the run of sand every year to clean it, let it sit out for a year while adding in new sand sounds like a lot of work!

It really is a kind of set it and forget it thing for the most part. When fall comes I collect all the leaves and bag a bunch of them and put them in the shop, throughout the winter I'll just go empty a bag into the run, the chickens do the rest, in the summer same thing but wood chips and grass clippings. The best part is it's all free, and the ladies do all the manual labor