Mobile compost bin(s) in the chicken run

[gtaus]

Besides, there's a good chance your chickens will dig and scratch your grass up before long anyway, compost pile or none.

Except that I built my 6x12 chicken coop on an old boat trailer. So, in theory, all I have to do is hook it up to the pickup and move it to fresh grass. The chicks have been on the same patch for about 2 weeks and it is still good grass. But I do go out there and rake it every few days. My idea was only to move the coop in the fall, closer to the house, for the winter months. But my wife is thinking I should move it around the backyard so as not to kill the grass in any one area. My idea to offer them additional grass clippings and a compost pile was to extend the time on any one patch of grass.

 

[PirateGirl]

Hmm... I don't see being able to have a pile in the run that can be moved actually working... If the chickens have free access to the pile, they will scratch it and spread it and you will no longer have a pile.

 

[IamRainey]

Except that I built my 6x12 chicken coop on an old boat trailer. So, in theory, all I have to do is hook it up to the pickup and move it to fresh grass.

Ah! An interesting and important detail.

Carry on! It sounds like you have a plan and it can always be adjusted as circumstances dictate.

 

[aart]

Except that I built my 6x12 chicken coop on an old boat trailer. So, in theory, all I have to do is hook it up to the pickup and move it to fresh grass. The chicks have been on the same patch for about 2 weeks and it is still good grass. But I do go out there and rake it every few days. My idea was only to move the coop in the fall, closer to the house, for the winter months. But my wife is thinking I should move it around the backyard so as not to kill the grass in any one area. My idea to offer them additional grass clippings and a compost pile was to extend the time on any one patch of grass.

Ahhh.....was thinking you had a permanent run!
Are you using movable netting to contain the birds?
Gonna be tough with feet of snow on the ground come winter.

 

[gtaus]

I'd also beware of giving too many fresh grass clippings, depending on the type of 'grass' and the length of clippings they may clog their crops gorging on them. And piles of fresh grass clippings can grow a nice batch of molds, not the best idea for a chicken run.

I use my little 16 inch Ryobi battery powered mower to collect grass clipping from mowing parts of the lawn. The clippings are maybe 1 1/2 inches long. I don't know how much of the clippings actually get eaten, as the chickens scratch through a pile and flatten it out pretty fast. They seem to be eating things in the grass clippings, and not necessarily the grass clippings themselves. But others have warned about feeding grass clippings to chicks, especially if they are not foraging on fresh grass, as they might gorge themselves.

I check on the clippings everyday, and so far I have yet to see any mold. Mostly, they scratch the clippings all over the place and the clippings dry out like hay. When I feed kitchen scraps, I remove the leftover/unwanted food within 24 hours and dump it in my big compost pile by the garden.

Since I keep their feed and water in the coop - so as not to attract predators - maybe I should give them their feed and then after they eat it open the pop door? Right now, I offer them the chick starter feed in trays, open the pop door, and they all run outside and forage. I can only imagine that they are finding enough good stuff outside that they are not as hungry for the starter feed inside the coop.

 

[gtaus]

Ahhh.....was thinking you had a permanent run!
Are you using movable netting to contain the birds?
Gonna be tough with feet of snow on the ground come winter.

My current run is 13x13, with t-posts in the four corners. I do have bird netting on top, but just use cable ties to secure it to the 6 foot tall 2x4 wire fence. It would take me about 30 minutes to pull out the t-posts and relocate the run.

I built my coop about twice the minimum size recommended for the birds (7.2 square feet per chicken) thinking that they would not have access to any run when the snow falls. I have talked to other local people that raise chickens and they report most of their birds stay in the coop for the winter and have no desire to go out into the snow. So when I move the coop closer to the house for the winter, I plan on having only a small run. This will be my first winter with laying hens, so I guess I'll learn what works and what doesn't this year.

 

[gtaus]

Hmm... I don't see being able to have a pile in the run that can be moved actually working... If the chickens have free access to the pile, they will scratch it and spread it and you will no longer have a pile.

That is why I was thinking of a 4 wheeled garden cart type of solution with high sides on the cart. Then they could scratch the pile and it would not scatter all over the place. I do have a wire mesh garden cart with 12 inch side panels, so I'm thinking I'll just give that try. But yeah, chickens can scratch down a pile in no time which is why I am out there every other day raking up the material and repiling it for them.

 

[aart]

Sounds like you have plenty of flexible options, and the flexible attitude to manage them.
Observe and Adjust!

 

[gtaus]

Carry on! It sounds like you have a plan and it can always be adjusted as circumstances dictate.

More like an idea, or a concept, at this point. But yes, I will adjust as circumstances dictate.

 

[CindyinSD]

If you want to save at least some of the grass in your run area, you can make frames of 1x4 or 2x4 painted or cedar/redwood/etc. and staple 1/2” hardware cloth over the top. Set the frames wire side up inside the run. Scatter them around wherever you want to leave a patch of grass. The grass will grow up through the hardware cloth mesh. It’s a small enough mesh that the chickens’ feet won’t slip through when they walk on it, but grasses and forbs can still grow through for the birds to eat.

I’d go ahead and set up a couple of ground-contact compost piles wherever you want to in there. Wait, if you like, until they’ve killed the grass. The only way to keep your birds from killing the grass is to give them the whole yard or move them around from day to day, and only have the run for snow season.

We have a lot of aerial predators. As of yet I haven’t had a problem though I’m sure it’s just a matter of time. I like having them out on grass. I don’t know what your situation is, but if you can let the chickens spend most of their time in a much wider area and just use the run on occasion, you may be able to keep it nice and grassy, at least for a longer time.

People actually use their chickens to destroy vegetation in prospective garden spots. If you have any projects of that sort, the girls will be delighted to assist. Just get some poultry netting, set them up inside it for the day and they’ll go to work. It’s not as fast as a tiller, but it’s a lot less work for you. At night you can put them in the coop for safety and a clean roosting spot, then back to “work” in the morning.