Moldy dirt help

[Hopeful homesteader]

We've had rain almost every night this past week and this morning I've noticed the the dirt in one corner of the chicken run has started getting moldy. It's the spot I put the feed at so some bits fall into to dirt and I'm guessing it's the feed that's spoiled and not the dirt. Anyway, were shoveling it out and I'm replacing that area of dirt with clean dirt we have collected in sand bags, my question is how deep should I dig out? Also will this be enough or is there anything I should add to the dirt to prevent a repeat? I've been feeding them in the coop because of the rain and I thought I got all the spilled feed off the ground but apparently not. Any advice before I let them out of the coop?

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I saw something similar & dug that bit out. Not healthy for anyone, especially birds pecking around. It's mostly just the moldy feed pieces so you don't have to dig deep unless they had already dug & scratched it into the ground so it's deeper.

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

I saw something similar & dug that bit out. Not healthy for anyone, especially birds pecking around.

Did you treat the dirt with anything?

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Did you treat the dirt with anything?

No, I just saw about a 3" area so I dug out a full shovel chunk, about 7" round 2" deep. I didn't see any more. I had put a little feeder out & they just spilled a little bit. Sunshine the rest of that day so it all dried out & I won't be putting any feed out like that again.

 

[IHeartChickaBabes]

One helpful tactic is to attach one of those torches used for asphalt to a propane tank. I find that does the trick - no chemicals and has the side benefit of burning out any parasites or spores you may miss while digging.

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

One helpful tactic is to attach one of those torches used for asphalt to a propane tank. I find that does the trick - no chemicals and has the side benefit of burning out any parasites or spores you may miss while digging.

My husband bought one of those last year to burn up all the goat head thorns we had in the yard. I did spray vinegar around the base of the run where the dirt and wood meet, I figure they drink some acv in their water and it's also used for cleaning so that at least wouldn't hurt them. I cleared out a 4×4 section of dirt maybe 2 inches off the top. It smelled fermented so I kept shaving it down until it just smells like dirt. I'll ask my husband to torch it when he gets up just in case. I did stumble across a baby toad while I was out there cleaning, it's the size of my thumbnail. I was surprised at how small they start out, the adults are the size of my foot or larger, almost stepped on it but it jumped away right on time. Hope the chickens don't get any, I know they are hallucinogenic when people lick them but not sure what would happen if a chicken happened to eat it.