Keeping your run clean?

[tenderkat]

Okay, we finally have our run completed, and the girls are in it at last. Yeah!!!!!!!

The run is 17x6x6, chainlink dogrun, with hardware cloth on the lower 3 feet, and various other predator proofing. I have 6 chickens.

The floor material is regular old ground dirt, with a mixture of sand and woodchips thrown on top. I also have straw available, if anyone recommends this.

I'm wondering what advice you all can give about the methods used for keeping your runs as clean as possible. I don't expect it to be pristine, but I really don't want my girls walking around in a bunch of stinky, poopy muck!! Plus, I really don't want any of my neighbors stopping by to chat about how stinky my chickens have become!

I've been reading about DE and Lime on the posts, and have become a bit overwhelmed trying to differrentiate between the pros and cons of each, and if either are really necessary? There also seems to be conflicting ideas on what type of lime and DE that should be used, and how much. What about stall dry?

Also, do I just rake and turn everything over on occasion, adding more sand and woodchips as needed? Or, do I need to rake everything OUT of the run, and start fresh periodically?

 

[Big Chicken Little]

Put down a good layer of play sand ...3-4 inches. It is easy to clean up and keeps their feet dry. I only use DE in the coop not in the run and i have no smell problem as i do a little raking every week.

 

[windtryst]

I use peat moss in my run. After our very rainy spring, we covered the run. I just could not deal with the wet, soggy poop! So now it is nice an dry. I rake it every day and use stall dry say once a week. Once a month I put down DE. I just want to be sure I don't get flies. This seems to work so far. The peat moss dries up the poop and as a plus, the chicks love to dust bathe in it!

 

[tenderkat]

So, the DE is what takes care of the flys? What does the stall dry do? Will lime help keep the smell down? Do I just rake the poop around into the existing sand, dirt, and woodchips?

I have done some searching, and so far have been unable to find some definitives, perhaps I'm not using the right keywords? I come across many threads, but none seem to address the run specifically, most seem to focus on the house. Perhaps someone has saved a thread that focuses more on the RUN? Please?

 

[ging3rhoffman]

We used regular sand...about 6 or 8 inches deep. When it rains there are no puddles and it provides grit for them also. I never have an odor problem in the run. I use shavings in the coop and love it. Straw did not absorb, it stays wet and doesnt absorb like the shavings. I just buy the tractor supply shavings in the clear bag for $5. The one bag has lasted 4 months now.

 

[Jenski]

I scoop all three of my runs out every day with a cat litter scoop, whisk broom and bucket. Takes 5 minutes, reduces flies, reduces cocci risk, keeps smell down, let me observe condition of droppings, gives me time with the girls, keeps me out of trouble. Probably does not need to be done every day, but I can't stand to see them walking around in droppings. If I had larger runs I would probably do it less often.

I like using sand too, but it gets all over any treats I toss into the run. Sure does help things dry out, though.

 

[chookchick]

I use a thick layer of wood chip in my run, and it does not smell at all! I honestly only rake out some of the material every few months, and then only because I feel like I need to (goes into the garden). Most of the run is covered, but even the uncovered parts are just fine--and this is in the rainy PNW where nothing dries out until July. I don't use any DE or lime at all in the run. I do use stall dry (DE and clay) in the coop to dry out the poo faster. If your run drains well, and you have a thick layer of chip or sand, you really should not have any problems. My hens always have completely clean feet-okay once in a while they step right into a fresh poo, but it falls off. Put landscape timbers, or 2 by 6 around the base and build the bottom up, pour yourself a drink and sit and watch the chickens!

 

[Freckle Face Farm]

I feed my chickens DE soo there poop doesnt smell...It also makes it so the flies cant lay eggs in it so I don't seem to have a fly problem...
I got some new laying hens first thing I notice was PU they smelled after 2 weeks on DE much much better...

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

I too like the wood chips. Especially since I got them FREE and delivered to my place.

My eight girls are constantly scratching so I don't have to rake it. If anything, I fill in the holes that they dug down in looking for bugs and cool ground when it was HOT.

In the coop I have horse bedding, topped with stall dry, followed by aspin shavings. About once every two months I sprinkle a fresh layer of stall dry and then a bag of shavings. The stall dry dries out the poo.

I do scrape the poo in the morning into a covered bucket and scoop up any big poos I see in the shavings.

No odor from my run or coop.