Many questions about dirt floor coop and Deep litter/pests

[mgharris30]

Hello again. I'm new to chickens and this site has been a Godsend for me!!
We want to convert an old shed into a coop. It has 55 square feet of floor space and is nearly 7 feet tall inside. It is a metal shed on dirt floor. I currently have 4 2-month old chicks and 7 chicks in a brooder (because chicken math). I plan to deep litter in the coop, but I think also doing deep litter in the run might be a bit much for me (and my back during cleaning).

Is it possible to do deep litter in coop and not run? What do I put in the run when the grass is gone?

I know that I need to put hardware cloth around my coop and run. I do NOT want to put it on the floor of my coop. I'm not sure if a "skirt" of hardware cloth means to bury some or leave a few inches around the outside. (Pictures would be helpful)

The main predators in my area are roaming dogs and hawks. However, EVERYTHING likes chickens, so I want to make sure my birds are protected from anything they may attract.

Thanks in advance.

 

[aart]

I'm not sure if a "skirt" of hardware cloth means to bury some or leave a few inches around the outside. (Pictures would be helpful)

Good examples of anti-dig apron installation.

If rodents are prolific, burying the apron ~12" would be good.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wire-around-coop.1110498/#post-17093528
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-coop-project.1169916/page-2#post-18481208

 

[Mellowmalt]

The deep litter method has never really appealed to me, it seems like a lot of waste but that's just me. In the past I'd use a plastic sheet in the coop, let them poo on it and once it would build up a bit remove the whole sheet, roll it up and dump in in the bin.
I find things stay dryier and less dusty like this. No added waste either.

In the run, tbh I've never had to worry too much, usually the rain would just wash it out every once in a while. People like to use bark chips when it gets too wet and smelly ( something on my to get list atm).

I never had more than 4 chickens and they had a lot of space but I have noticed if you confine them more they make a lot more mess so maybe I will have to start a cleaning routine if i confine them more.

 

[Julie Sachse]

I have deep litter in coop and dirt in their run, used to have grass. I add to the dirt in 1/3 of the run with wood ash etc...in the middle 1/3 ha've hard ground where their food and water is, the rest of the run is under the coop there is dirt and some grass. If the run is lightly watered on occation, grass will grow in the area of the run not covered. We have 12" of hardware cloth buried around the whole coop and run, but moles still dig their way in. I should add, they only go into their coop to lay eggs, they sleep in the run then they are out running around all day. They're so cute

 

[cmom]

I have some coops with just the dirt as the floors. I do not use anything but do rake them out periodically especially under the roosts. The birds take care of the rest when they scratch around. Good luck and have fun...
http://www.poultrydvm.com/featured-infographic/tips-for-protecting-poultry-from-predators
MY DH and a friend built these as a surprise but left one side open. An owl got in by going through the crappy netting and killed some birds because I didn't have enough good netting to cover these pens which I have done since. These coops all have dirt floors. I put tarps over the open side. The three metal sided coops have the dirt floors. The first picture is a rather old picture before I covered the pens with the netting.

The coop on the far left in the picture does have chicken wire over the open end. I also put some shade cloth over that end of that coop. It's hard to see in the picture. It hangs about half way down.

coops on the end.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I deep litter both the coop (which has over 100 sq ft of floor space and the original run (like 800-900 sq ft of "floor" space, I wasn't very straight or square with the T posts). The only maintenance it takes is removing some shovels full of composted litter from around the coop door periodically, and throwing more litter at it each quarter. Admittedly, its a LOT of litter to cart over from my surrounding woods, 7 cu ft at a time... Hard to argue with the cost, however. Needs to be done again, sadly.

My second run is much larger still, and still mostly green - even with the goats in it. I'm leaving it natural for now, since deep litter would only kill of the green, like deeply mulching a garden.

If rainfall is managed so it doesn't get muddy or flooded, and the soils are suitable for it, you can leave the run as native sands, then rake periodically.

Truly, your run maintenance needs are determined by flock density. Lots of birds in a small area, lots of maintenance. Few birds in a large area, nature will do most of the maintenance for you. Just know that "lots" of space is LOTS of space. 30 birds in the original 800-900 sq ft run, even free ranging during most of the day, together with a month of no rainfall (unusual for us, but not unheard of) was enough to destroy every living thing in it, apart from a single badly beaten shrub. Part of why I built the second, larger run.

 

[mgharris30]

I deep litter both the coop (which has over 100 sq ft of floor space and the original run (like 800-900 sq ft of "floor" space, I wasn't very straight or square with the T posts). The only maintenance it takes is removing some shovels full of composted litter from around the coop door periodically, and throwing more litter at it each quarter. Admittedly, its a LOT of litter to cart over from my surrounding woods, 7 cu ft at a time... Hard to argue with the cost, however. Needs to be done again, sadly.

My second run is much larger still, and still mostly green - even with the goats in it. I'm leaving it natural for now, since deep litter would only kill of the green, like deeply mulching a garden.

If rainfall is managed so it doesn't get muddy or flooded, and the soils are suitable for it, you can leave the run as native sands, then rake periodically.

Truly, your run maintenance needs are determined by flock density. Lots of birds in a small area, lots of maintenance. Few birds in a large area, nature will do most of the maintenance for you. Just know that "lots" of space is LOTS of space. 30 birds in the original 800-900 sq ft run, even free ranging during most of the day, together with a month of no rainfall (unusual for us, but not unheard of) was enough to destroy every living thing in it, apart from a single badly beaten shrub. Part of why I built the second, larger run.

I currently have 11 chickens... I think 10 pullets. I'm not sure if I will be able to keep my two silkies in the same area as the other birds. I'll have to see how it goes. So... 9-11 chickens. I will need 110 square feet of run, minimum, right??
In East Texas, it has been raining like crazy. I may need to deep litter the run as well (after the grass is gone). Will I need to put something around the run to keep the litter in place?? I will have a hog wire run with about 3-4 feet of hardware wire around the bottom. (Maybe 3 feet and a 12 inch skirt???)

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I currently have 11 chickens... I think 10 pullets. I'm not sure if I will be able to keep my two silkies in the same area as the other birds. I'll have to see how it goes. So... 9-11 chickens. I will need 110 square feet of run, minimum, right??
In East Texas, it has been raining like crazy. I may need to deep litter the run as well (after the grass is gone). Will I need to put something around the run to keep the litter in place?? I will have a hog wire run with about 3-4 feet of hardware wire around the bottom. (Maybe 3 feet and a 12 inch skirt???)

Nope, the hardware cloth keep it from being washed out, and your ground level will come up with time as it decomposes, which will help with water management, eventually.

 

[Reggan]

We're building a new run and I'm going to try the Justin Rhodes wood chip method for the run. Seems like a no brainer to let the chickens compost the wood chips and annually use it for my gardens. Currently I use sand in one run (which works great) and the other is dirt with straw I throw down as I have feathered feet bopping around. Growing anything in my runs is futile with 20 large birds. They free range almost everyday and still wear down any run quickly. Current run sizes 7x15 and 13x20 (365sq ft) both have perches, bales, etc for upward mobility. Both are attached (but separate) to a 8x17 shed/barn.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

We're building a new run and I'm going to try the Justin Rhodes wood chip method for the run. Seems like a no brainer to let the chickens compost the wood chips and annually use it for my gardens. Currently I use sand in one run (which works great) and the other is dirt with straw I throw down as I have feathered feet bopping around. Growing anything in my runs is futile with 20 large birds. They free range almost everyday and still wear down any run quickly. Current run sizes 7x15 and 13x20 (365sq ft) both have perches, bales, etc for upward mobility. Both are attached (but separate) to a 8x17 shed/barn.

^^^ very consistent with my experience. I'd use wood chips if I had them - but I don't, so I make due with the leaf litter as its free. We are using the same method, with differing materials.

The key to both is cold composting. LOTS of "brown". As opposed to hot composting with fresh grass clippings and the like, where the Green/Brown ration is closer to 50/50.

Which isn't to say green can't be thrown into the run with the Brown, just that you want to keep the green a small fraction of the brown.